The Jewish Press joins Klal Yisrael in mourning the passing of Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz. He was the founder and driving force (along with his longtime associate, Rabbi Nosson Scherman) behind ArtScroll Publications, which established him as a major and historically significant figure, responsible for making the Talmud, Midrash and other foundational works of Torah literature accessible to countless thousands of Jews around the world unable to navigate them in the original.
ArtScroll sefarim provide running English, Hebrew, and French translations but also feature the transformative innovation of translated elucidations based on and faithful to the classic and authoritative commentaries that are so indispensable to any meaningful understanding of the texts.
Thanks to ArtScroll, Jews as never before have been given the means to gain Torah knowledge and to connect with authentic Judaism through Torah study – and are doing so in unprecedented numbers.
Jewish prayer and Shabbos and Yom Tov observance have been impacted as well, as ArtScroll’s various editions of the siddur, machzor, Haggadah, etc., provide greater understanding of texts and concepts.
Rabbi Zlotowitz also deserves credit for novels, works of history, and children’s books from a Torah perspective that have revolutionized Jewish reading habits. The inculcation of Torah values to generations of Jews will be an important and enduring part of his legacy.
An accomplished Torah scholar in his own right, he was a confidant of several great Torah leaders, including Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, and Rav Dovid Feinstein, shlita’h, who guided him in his publishing work, which doubtless was a key reason his efforts met with such acceptance.
May his memory be a blessing.