tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post2050921343436812148..comments2024-03-25T09:43:27.402-04:00Comments on Divrei Chaim: the BA era -- Before ArtscrollChaim B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-23895829171080291642010-03-08T23:35:00.489-05:002010-03-08T23:35:00.489-05:00Thanks for this nostalgia-inspiring post. I rememb...Thanks for this nostalgia-inspiring post. I remember the blue chumashim - I must have one lying around somewhere - which were, incidentally, surpassed by the Metsudah first and subsequently by the copiously footnoted Artscroll Humash with Rashi.<br /><br /> Birnbaum Siddurim I remember well, I grew up in Young Israels although I always used a Sephardic Siddur anyway. <br /><br />And I recall the very first Artscroll Gemaras that came out in the early 90s (if I am not mistaken), at the time they seemed so unbelievably superior to Jastrow/Soncino that we were in awe. (As a commenter above noted, Steinsaltz' English gemaras were too expensive to be popular; then again, Artscrolls are pretty expensive now too, but one gets more for the money with the extensive commentary, footnotes and cross references.)<br /><br />I actually learned a lot of English vocabulary from Soncino, since I needed a dictionary to understand some of the translations.Rabbi Joshua Maroofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12585369620887846940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-50591878127321916412010-03-02T08:28:33.457-05:002010-03-02T08:28:33.457-05:0030 years of secretly wondering what "Turkish ...30 years of secretly wondering what "Turkish Delight" tasted like was finally answered a couple of years ago when I noticed a kosher version on the shop shelf.<br /><br />To be honest, it wasn't that tasty...<br /><br />SBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-7118092763999342922010-03-01T19:30:40.925-05:002010-03-01T19:30:40.925-05:00The first Artscroll publication was their little b...The first Artscroll publication was their little booklet on Ruth actually.<br /><br />As for what's come after, I've always had mixed reviews.<br /><br />Their gemara, as you noted, certainly opened the world of the Talmud to many who otherwise might never have tried to delve into in. On the other hand, one of the kavannos of creating the series in the first place was to put Rav Steinsaltz' English version out of business because of the whole cherem issue. (Fortunately for Artscrool, the Rav's English gemaras were so unwieldly and expensive they put themselves out of business)<br /><br />However, Artscroll often has a habit of assuming that its audience not only needs English but is also not capable of handling difficult subjects. Unlike Feldheim which translated the classics as close to the original as possible, most Artscroll classics aren't the original but someone's selection of topics from said original interpreted in a particular fashion. If you read a Feldhim Luzatto book, you can get an idea of what the original was like. Reading an Artscroll book on the Maharal still gives you no clue as to what he actually wrote.<br /><br />Finally, there's their selective translation to avoid difficult subjects. Their Hebrew-English Ramban glosses over the kabbalistic parts of the peirush on Torah which are the most difficult to figure out in the Hebrew but also important to understand the surrounding text. If Soncino could do it, why not them?<br /><br />Finally, I still use a Birnbaum whenever I can and I have a full set of those really old blue Rashi's and I use them to teach my kids, except when the Olde Englishe words confuse them.<br /><br />"Daddy, what's a secret part?"Garnel Ironheartnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-33152956860060177162010-03-01T17:57:27.971-05:002010-03-01T17:57:27.971-05:00No, kids don't get the undertone of the story,...No, kids don't get the undertone of the story, which is probably why it is so successful. <br />Along the lines of your comment, elsewhere someone brought up aggada (the Rabba bar bar Chana stories in particular) as being of the same genre. I don't know if I would quite say that, but it is an interesting point.Chaim B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-55986971161816534362010-03-01T17:23:06.966-05:002010-03-01T17:23:06.966-05:00We read megillas narnia on Purim, then I realised ...We read megillas narnia on Purim, then I realised something was wrong - it wasn't Artscroll!<br /><br />I think that fantasy is an important aspect of cultivating a child's imagination and creativity. <br /><br />Dimyonos we have of olom habo, melachim, etc., are all fantasy. But that's fine, because we don't understand what they are, so all we can do is imagine that it is at least that.<br /><br />For example, a mussar technique of imagining nitzchiyas is to imagine an enormous muntain of sand, after 1000 years a bird comes and takes one grain of sand...<br /><br />Narnia is a story of cardinal sin, starting with Turkish Delight. Average kids don't get that. Stories like this are only a problem when they form part of the culture, then the kids 'get it', i.e. they don't understand the nuances but they pick up the undertone.<br /><br />pc :-)pchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11244393584007636608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-56739545568514326942010-03-01T15:20:14.483-05:002010-03-01T15:20:14.483-05:00I think that the megilas esther was the first thin...I think that the megilas esther was the first thing that Artscroll/Mesorah every published.anon1noreply@blogger.com