About Mesorah Heritage Foundation

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PRESERVING THE HERITAGE... ONE BOOK AT A TIME
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    Imagine that you are standing in front of a vault filled with gold, silver, and precious stones. They are yours for the taking.
     But the vault is locked and you don't know the combination!
    If you have no access to all that wealth, it might as well be on another planet. How much would you give to unlock it?
    There is a treasure far more valuable than the contents of any safe, but it has been locked away from millions of Jews. That treasure is our Jewish literary heritage: the Torah, the Talmud, the Mishnah, the Siddur and Machzor, our history, the stories and values that connect us to our past and lay the foundations of our future.
    This incredible wealth of spiritual, intellectual, ethical, religious, historical, legal, and moral texts is the bedrock, the inspiration, of Western civilization.
    But most of this wealth is in ancient Hebrew and Aramaic, and presented in literary styles and with complex reasoning that are incomprehensible to most modern readers. Our authentic Jewish heritage has been locked away from English-speaking Jews for too long.
    This fact was sadly true for centuries - until thirty-one years ago.
    The Mesorah Heritage Foundation was created to "unlock the vault." Our goal is to remove the language barrier and make the riches of Jewish eternity available to English-speaking Jews. Here is what we do:

Sponsor literature that celebrates the rich Jewish heritage

Create works of intensive scholarship and unexcelled beauty

Produce books that will be read, studied, and cherished for generations

How does the Foundation do it?
The Mesorah Heritage Foundation recruits accomplished translators, scholars, writers, and editors who free our great texts from the captivity of ancient languages and bring them to English-speaking Jews in books that are beautifully produced and literarily graceful. At this writing, more than a hundred scholars in America, Israel, and Europe are producing an English-language Torah literature that will endure for generations.

What have we accomplished so far?

The English-language edition of the Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud is now complete! This monumental 73-volume work, fifteen years in the making is universally acknowledged as, in the words of Lord Immanuel Jakobovits a"h, the late Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, "one of the most momentous publishing efforts gracing the entire length of Jewish History." A Hebrew Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud is more than two thirds of the way to completion.
Taken together, these two editions have "enrolled" many tens of thousands of people in Talmud study every day. In offices, homes, synagogues, commuter trains, on airliners - everywhere, throughout the world - volumes of the Schottenstein Talmud are proving that Jews thirst for Torah, and these editions are quenching it.
Compiled about 1650 years ago, the Jerusalem Talmud has long been the most neglected of our great classics. Never elucidated in the vernacular, very complex and difficult, it has been closed to all but exceptional scholars. The new Schottenstein Editions of the Jerusalem Talmud, in English and Hebrew, are opening eyes and minds to this treasure. All this has been made possible thanks to the vision and generosity of the Schottenstein family of Columbus, Ohio, and more than 200 patrons who have dedicated volumes in these historic projects.

Now, the Talmud is being published in French, The Safra Edition, in a new and truly historic venture to bring our Torah heritage to thousands of French-speaking Jews worldwide.

The new Schottenstein Interlinear Series presents siddurim and other prayer materials with the translation directly under the Hebrew text. An ingenious, patented format helps readers view the Hebrew and English texts simultaneously.

The Stone Edition of the Chumash has become the Chumash of choice throughout the English-speaking world. This new translation of the Five Books of Moses and its flowing, inspiring commentary speak to today's Jews. It is sparking renewed interest in the Torah as it has been studied for thousands of years.
Now in progress is a contemporary Hebrew edition to benefit Israelis who appreciate its readability and extensive elucidation. The Rubin Edition of the Prophets is doing for the Books of the Prophets what the Stone Edition is doing for the Chumash. The commentary sheds light on the framework of our history. The Books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings are already in print and the Book of Isaiah is in preparation.

The ArtScroll Siddur and Machzor Series has become standard in home and synagogue due to its clear translations, inspirational and informative commentaries, and user-friendly instructions. These siddurim and machzorim have become indispensable to experienced users and beginners alike. That is why a Russian edition and the Fischmann Edition Spanish Siddur were published.

The Seif Edition Transliterated Series rolls out a welcome mat to people with difficulty reading Hebrew. The siddurim, machzorim, and Haggadah in this series have enabled those who are not yet familiar with Hebrew to pray using the original text. With the newly-released Transliterated Tehillim/Book of Psalms they can now read and be inspired by the actual words of King David, the Sweet Singer of Israel.

The Sapirstein Edition of Rashi shines new light on the premier commentary on the Torah. Acclaimed by scholars and students, this edition is the most popular phrase-by-phrase elucidation of its kind.

The Stone Edition of Tanach is a one-volume translation, with an annotated commentary, of all twenty-four Books of the Bible.

The ArtScroll Mishnah Series with the Yad Avraham commentary translates and explains the Mishnah with unparalleled clarity. The series is near completion and a pocket edition is now being published. Plans are underway for a Hebrew edition.

The Foundation sponsors a host of other projects, including works of practical Halachah, Torah commentary, such as the Davis Edition of the classic Baal HaTurim, and even high school literature textbooks that incorporate the values and morals that are increasingly absent from many modern textbooks.

What's next? Five major new projects are in progress:

The Schottenstein Edition of the Jerusalem Talmud in English and Hebrew
For centuries, this basic text has been a closed book. Now, in a projected 49-volume set, the world-class scholars who produced the renowned Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud are bringing the Talmud of the Land of Israel to world Jewry in English and Hebrew. With the support of Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein and of generous patrons, our staff is opening the door to one of Judaism's great treasures.

Ramban on Chumash
This seminal, classic commentary belongs on the study list of anyone who is serious about understanding the Torah. ArtScroll's new 7-volume treatment will make this work accessible to all. The first four volumes have been published and succeeding volumes are on the way.

Schottenstein Interlinear Chumash
The Siddur, Machzor, and other works in the enormously popular Schottenstein Interlinear Series proved how much this patented innovation could do for the quality of prayer and study. So we took it to the next step: a Chumash with an interlinear translation, and a commentary. Two volumes - Bereishis/Genesis and Bamidbar/Numbers - have been published. When all five Books of the Chumash are completed, they will be published in a 1- volume edition, with Haftaros and the Five Megillos.

The Kleinman Edition of Limud Yomi - A Daily Dose of Torah
A revolutionary new English-language learning program which provides a systematic, daily regimen presenting core areas of Torah study. Each day's study includes an insight on the weekly Torah reading, a Mishnah, an adaptation from the Talmud, a Mussar thought, a halachah, and a study in a section of the Siddur - with many of each day's selections focusing on a single theme. Each of the thirteen volumes includes study for 4 weeks, based on the Torah portions, and a fourteenth volume is dedicated to Holy Days and Festivals. Limud Yomi can be studied in as little as eighteen minutes a day and provides a stimulating boost to anyone's Torah study.

Laws of Daily Living
The first volume of this new series has been enthusiastically received. One reader called it "a Kitzur Shulchan Aruch for our time." Based on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, and Mishnah Berurah, it presents the laws of daily observance and includes rulings of preeminent authorities on modern-day questions. By the time it is finished, it will undoubtedly be considered a necessity for every Orthodox home.

Why the need for a Foundation to do this?
The amount of research and intensive review necessary to produce such a voluminous literature cannot be supported by the commercial market. Look at the most important secular cultural undertakings: great universities, libraries, orchestras, even medical research - all must have substantial public and private support. The production of a great Torah literature is no different. Without generous public participation, it cannot be created.

What can you do to help this work go on?
Everyone can be a part of this monumental undertaking. People of vision and means can do more. Virtually everyone can contribute something. There are many alternatives:

Dedicate a volume in honor or memory of a loved one. All dedications are in perpetuity. Talmud dedications are mentioned in every single volume, so your dedication may appear in millions of volumes over the years. The same applies to the Mishnah and all other volumes.

If you can't undertake a dedication on your own, you may wish to join family and friends in doing so.

Be acknowledged in an individual volume.

Be a contributor so that Jews from Jerusalem to Johannesburg, from Moscow to Melbourne, from London to Los Angeles will benefit from your generosity for generations.

Look at it this way:
Whatever your means, you can be a partner in projects that have been acclaimed by great scholars and leaders throughout the world as "the greatest English-language Torah dissemination undertaking in history." Your help will bring Torah literacy to countless Jews.

Your contribution is tax-deductible
The Mesorah Heritage Foundation is an IRS-recognized, not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) trust. Every contribution is tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. And every dollar goes to support the work of bringing Torah to all of the People of the Book.
Join the Mesorah Heritage Foundation in making Jewish history. Help us bring pride to our people and inspiration to future generations by supporting the scholars who are returning the legacy of our past to the builders of our future.

To send your generous contribution, for further information about the Foundation and its activities, or to request a catalogue including the Artscroll volumes sponsored by the Foundation, please write or call:
4401 SECOND AVENUE / BROOKLYN, N.Y. 11232
Phone: 718 / 921-9000 Fax: 718 / 680-1875
email: heritage@mesorahheritage.org
web: www.MesorahHeritage.org

Mesorah Heritage Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.