Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud


Schottenstein Edition of the Babylonian Talmud is a 20th-century, 73-volume edition of the Babylonian Talmud featuring an elucidated translation and commentary.
The text is published by ArtScroll, a division of Mesorah Publications, with the financial assistance of Jerome Schottenstein, an Orthodox Jew and founder of an Ohio department store. The Schottenstein Edition is published in three languages: English, French, and Modern Hebrew. The edition has gained much popularity since its release and is used in many congregations throughout the English-speaking world. The total cost of the project was $40,000,000 ; some sources estimate the cost of production for each volume to be $250,000. The publication of all 73 volumes took fifteen years. The Schottenstein Edition is the first Orthodox non-academic English translation of the Babylonian Talmud since the Soncino Edition. An academic English translation of the Babylonian Talmud was completed in 1995 by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, and others in the series, The Talmud of Babylonia. An American Translation, Atlanta: 1984–1995: Scholars Press for Brown Judaic Studies.

Structure

Each page of the Hebrew/Aramaic text is in the classic Vilna style, with various classical commentaries surrounding the text of the Mishnah and Gemara. Each Hebrew page is opposite a page of English translation—one Hebrew folio takes approximately six to eight pages of English to translate. The literal meaning of the text is shown in bold, while supplementary words and phrases that ease the quick transition of topics are shown in regular font.

Personnel

Rabbis Chaim Malinowitz and Yisroel Simchah Schorr are the general editors of the project. Nothing was considered final until Malinowitz approved the finished drafts.