Spirituality

ArtScroll Huraie

Modern Orthodoxy presents
publishing challenge.

Ben Harris

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

New York/JTA

F

or decades, Mesorah
Publications has towered over
the English-language Jewish
publishing world like a Goliath.
The Orthodox publishing firm's
siddur, produced under the ArtScroll
imprint, is the most common prayer
text in American Orthodox syna-
gogues, and its myriad translations of
religious books — most notably its
groundbreaking English version of the
Babylonian Talmud — have made a
vast trove of Judaic literature available
to English speakers.
But two new initiatives are posing a
fresh challenge to the ArtScroll domi-
nance.
In May, Koren Publishers Jerusalem
will release the first English edition of
its popular Hebrew siddur featuring a
commentary and translation by the chief
rabbi of England, Sir Jonathan Sacks.
And the Orthodox Union has launched
a new publishing arm, which its back-
ers describe as filling a "niche" in the
Orthodox world, principally through the
publication of the writings of the late
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, the leading
thinker of Modern Orthodoxy.
"It is almost like the ArtScroll sid-
dur is a household word': said Carolyn
Hessel, director of the Jewish Book
Council. "The Koren siddur is really
remarkable, but it's going to take a long
time until they meet the marketing
expectations that ArtScroll has already
achieved."
ArtScroll declined to comment for
this article, but there are signs it is con-
cerned.
The company has taken ads in
various Jewish media offering steep
discounts in exchange for the worn cov-
ers of Hebrew-English siddurs "from
any publisher," an offer one Koren
spokesperson described as a "bizarre
preemptive strike." ArtScroll also has
approached the O.U. about publish-
ing a forthcoming siddur based on
Soloveitchik's writings, according to
O.U. officials.
ArtScroll, which was founded in the
1970s and is headquartered in Brooklyn,
may be right to be concerned.

Despite its command of the prayer
book market among a wide range
of Orthodox English speakers, the
ArtScroll siddur is written from a
fervently Orthodox perspective and,
at least in its main edition, eliminates
the prayer for the State of Israel that is
a mainstay in most Modern Orthodox
congregations. (A special edition is
available that does include the prayer.)
While leaders across the spectrum
of Orthodoxy uniformly praise the
company's invaluable contributions to
Jewish literacy, there are early signs of
some willingness to consider alterna-
tives. Major Modern Orthodox syna-
gogues such as Kehilath Jeshurun in New
York and Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto
already have purchased the Koren siddur.
"The new Koren siddur has wonder-
ful notes, comments and essays by the
chief rabbi which reflect a Modern
Orthodox, Zionist point of view, a point
of view which we absolutely share," said
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of Kehilath
Jeshurun.
The Koren siddur was introduced
in Israel in 1981 by Eliyahu Koren, a
German-born typographer and graphic
artist who immigrated to pre-state
Israel in the 1930s. Both the siddur and
the Koren Bible, produced in 1962, are
celebrated for their textual accuracy,
aesthetic appeal and Israel-centric sen-
sibility.
"We feel these values have not been
adequately served to the American
Jewish public," said Matthew Miller,
Koren's publisher.
While the desire for a more explicitly
Zionist and contemporary siddur gives
Koren obvious advantages over ArtScroll
among the Modern Orthodox.
Among the other projects the O.U.
Press is said to be working on is a sid-
dur influenced by Soloveitchik's writ-
ings on prayer. Lookstein and others
have lamented that ArtScroll fails to
reference many writings of Modern
Orthodox figures in its commentar-
ies, a complaint that Rabbi Nosson
Scherman, ArtScroll's general editor,
responded to in a 2007 interview with
the Jewish Press.
"It's not a question of trying to
include as many names as you can for
the sake of popularity," Scherman said.
"It's a matter of trying to clarify the
material."

Knowledge Blooms

Beth Shalom preschool students
nurture a garden of learning.

B

eginning as a tiny seed,
Gan Shalom Preschool at
Congregation Beth Shalom
in Oak Park is blooming.
Thanks to families like
the Rothenbergs and
Raimis, Beth Shalom's
outdoor "Garden of
Peace" is the product of Jeff
Rothenberg, owner of Everything
Outdoors and student Ethan's father.
Sydney Gartenberg, late husband of
Gan Shalom Parenting Center Director
Susan Gartenberg of Bloomfield Hills,
loved planting flowers. He was thrilled
to reap the harvest of the strawberry
plant for his grandchildren, Hannah and
Joshua Schreiber of Farmington Hills.
Growing up in Brooklyn and living
in apartments, Sydney did not have
the opportunity to plant flowers and
grow vegetables. He was proud that
his wife was a teacher and preschool
director at Gan Shalom Parenting
Center. He delighted her with bright
flowers planted in their atrium each
Mother's Day.
The children of the Gan are learning
how to select the plants and what the
plants need to flourish and grow. The

garden is divided
into eight sections
so other community members also
may take part in planting. The chil-
dren plan to harvest their garden to
prepare healthy foods and set up a
produce market at the Gan. The plants
were donated in memory of Sydney
Gartenberg by family and friends.
"This is an exciting project started
by Wayne State University's own pre-
school in Detroit," Susan Gartenberg
said. "Children learn about the envi-
ronment and nutrition."
The garden theme also is used to
encourage reading, math, science and
building self-esteem and independence.
"Caring for our Earth and our
bodies are Jewish values," Gartenberg
said.

The Gan welcomes contributions to nurture the children and garden.
Send contributions to Gan Shalom Parenting Center, c/o Gan
Shalom, 14601 Lincoln, Oak Park, MI 48237. Make checks payable to
Congregation Beth Shalom, earmarked for Gan Shalom garden.

Ex-Press Secretary
At T'cjhiyah

Congregation T'chiyah, Oakland
County's only Reconstructionist con-
gregation, will be joined by Daniel
Cherrin on Saturday morn-
ing, May 23. Cherrin, who
served as press secretary for
Mayor Kenneth V. Cockrel Jr.,
will speak of his experience
in the mayor's office. Rabbi
Jason Miller will interview
Cherrin. Services begin at
10 a.m.
Daniel Cherrin
Cherrin became Detroit's
lead spokesperson following a period
that rocked Detroit and sent its previ-
ous mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, to jail.
He was appointed by Detroit's 61st
mayor, Ken Cockrel as the communi-

cations director and press secretary
for the city of Detroit in September
2008.
Cherrin worked with reporters in
assisting them gathering informa-
tion for their stories on behalf of the
city, ranging from the automotive
crisis, economic stimulus, expansion
of Cobo, bond swaps, the budget and
health outbreaks such as the H1N1.
With Detroit's emerging film indus-
try, Cherrin acted as the city's publicist
and worked in tandem with produc-
tion companies such as HBO and A&E
in promoting new films in Detroit.
Cherrin currently serves on the
board for the Engineering Society of
Detroit and the Government Relations
Committee for the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit.

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