ArtScroll

ArtScroll
Name	ArtScroll
Founded	1976
Founder	Meir Zlotowitz, Nosson Scherman
Country	United States
Headquarters	Brooklyn, New York
Publications	Books, prayerbooks, commentaries, translations
Topics	Jewish law, liturgy, Bible, Talmud, philosophy

ArtScroll

ArtScroll is a publishing imprint known for producing English-language Orthodox Jewish texts, prayer books, and translations. It became prominent through widely used editions of the Tanakh, Talmud, and Siddur, and its editions are common in synagogues, yeshivot, and Jewish homes across Israel, the United States, and Europe. Founders linked to Haredi networks and institutions helped drive its distribution among communities associated with Agudath Israel of America, Chabad, Yeshiva University, and numerous yeshivot and kollelim.

History

ArtScroll was established in the 1970s by Meir Zlotowitz and Nosson Scherman, emerging amid shifts in American Jewish life that included the growth of Orthodox Judaism, the expansion of postwar American Jewish communities, and changing publishing markets. Early projects included liturgical works that intersected with needs of institutions like Congregation Beth Jacob and educational programs in neighborhoods such as Boro Park and Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The imprint expanded through relationships with printers, booksellers on Mesorah Publications circuits, and volunteer scholars from institutions including Lakewood Yeshiva (Beth Medrash Govoha), Mir Yeshiva, and Ponevezh Yeshiva. Over decades the company grew into a major supplier of Jewish texts alongside competitors such as Koren Publishers Jerusalem, Jason Aronson, and Feldheim Publishers.

Publications and Series

ArtScroll’s catalog includes prayer books, Torah commentaries, Bible translations, legal codes, and study aids. Signature series include the English translation and commentary of the Babylonian Talmud (the "Schottenstein Talmud") produced with editorial teams of rabbis and scholars; the Schottenstein editions became staples in many kollelim and study centers like Ner Israel Rabbinical College and outreach programs such as Aish HaTorah. Other major titles span the Humash with commentaries, Siddur editions for Ashkenazic and Sephardic rites, the Mishneh Torah and selections from Shulchan Aruch, and anthologies of Midrash and Zohar. ArtScroll also published biographies of figures associated with Rav Kook, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, and collections of sermons by leaders connected to Agudath Israel and other organizations. Its prayer books and chumashim are widely used in venues ranging from synagogues in Manhattan to campus Hillel centers associated with Columbia University and Yeshiva University.

Editorial Philosophy and Translation Approach

The imprint’s editorial approach emphasizes fidelity to traditional Orthodox interpretations and practical accessibility for English readers. Translation projects drew on rabbinic authorities such as Rashi, Maimonides, Ramban, Ibn Ezra, and Rabbi Akiva Eiger while privileging halakhic perspectives of later decisors like Rabbi Yosef Karo and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Scholarly contributors and reviewers included rabbis and educators associated with institutions such as Yeshiva University, Lakewood Yeshiva, Chabad-Lubavitch, and seminaries linked to Torah Umesorah. The editorial policy often favored literal renderings combined with explanatory notes, cross-references to classical sources like Talmud Bavli tractates, and practical halakhic annotations referencing Shulchan Aruch and its commentators.

Impact and Reception

ArtScroll’s editions had a large impact on prayer life, textual study, and English-language Jewish education. Their volumes influenced learning in yeshivot, kollelim, congregational schools, and outreach programs such as Aish HaTorah and Chabad Houses. The Schottenstein Talmud facilitated daf yomi study groups modeled after initiatives promoted by figures like Rabbi Meir Shapiro and institutions such as Kollel networks. Critics and supporters alike noted the imprint’s role in shaping popular understandings of Jewish law and textual interpretation in communities tied to Haredi Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, and beyond. Libraries and collections, including those at Jewish Theological Seminary, National Library of Israel, and university Judaica libraries, often hold multiple editions.

Business and Distribution

ArtScroll grew from small-scale production to large print runs, leveraging synagogue sales, Jewish bookstores in neighborhoods such as Flatbush and Upper West Side, mail-order catalogs, and partnerships with bookstores like Hebrew Bookstores and chains serving Orthodox communities. Distribution networks included wholesalers supplying schools and institutions such as Merkaz HaRav and campus Hillels. Philanthropic funding, endowments, and donor-backed projects—often coordinated with organizations like Agudath Israel and orthodox philanthropists—helped underwrite large translation projects. The imprint’s financial model combined retail sales, institutional bulk orders, and subsidized editions for outreach.

Controversies and Criticism

ArtScroll’s editorial choices prompted debate over translation philosophy, annotation selection, and theological framing. Scholars at universities such as Bar-Ilan University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and critics writing in venues associated with Commentary (magazine) and academic journals questioned aspects of approach when compared with scholarly critical editions from publishers like Koren Publishers Jerusalem and academic translations. Debates addressed representation of textual variants, selection among commentaries including Rashi, Talmudic emendations, and the presentation of medieval philosophers like Saadia Gaon and Gersonides. Other disputes involved market dominance and competition with independent presses, responses from Modern Orthodox figures including followers of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and editorial stances perceived as aligning with particular rabbinic authorities tied to institutions such as Agudath Israel of America and major yeshivot.

Category:Jewish publishing houses