Meir Zlotowitz
Meir Zlotowitz is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, author, and founder of ArtScroll Publications.
Biography
Zlotowitz was a student of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem.[1][2]
After graduation, he became director of a high-end graphics studio in New York.[3] The firm, named ArtScroll Studios,[4] produced brochures,[5] invitations, awards and ketubahs.[4] Rabbi Nosson Scherman, then principal of Yeshiva Karlin Stolin Boro Park,[4] was recommended to Zlotowitz as someone who could write copy, and they collaborated on a few projects.[2]
In late 1975,[4] a close friend of Zlotowitz, Rabbi Meir Fogel, died in his sleep, prompting Zlotowitz to want to do something to honor his memory. As Purim was a few months away, he decided to write an English translation and commentary on the Book of Esther, and asked Scherman to write the introduction. The book was completed in honor of the shloshim (the 30-day commemoration of a death)[4] and sold out its first edition of 20,000 copies within two months.[6] With the encouragement of Rabbi Moses Feinstein, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky, and other Gedolei Yisrael, the two continued producing commentaries, beginning with a translation and commentary on the rest of the Five Megillot (Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and Ruth),[7] and went on to publish translations and commentaries on the Torah, Prophets, Talmud, Passover Haggadah, siddurs and machzors. The name ArtScroll was chosen for the publishing company to emphasize the visual appeal of the books.[8] In its first 25 years, ArtScroll produced more than 700 books, including novels, history books, children's books and secular textbooks,[3] and is now one of the largest publishers of Jewish books in the United States.[5]
Zlotowitz is also chairman of the Mesorah Heritage Foundation,[9] ArtScroll's fundraising arm.[6]
Family
His son,[10] Ira Zlotowitz, is founder and President of Eastern Union Funding, a commercial real estate mortgage brokerage in New York City.[11]
Selected bibliography
Zlotowitz and Scherman are the general editors of ArtScroll's Talmud, Chumash, Tanakh, Siddur, and Machzor series. They co-authored Megillas Esther: Illustrated Youth Edition (1988), a pocket-size Mincha/Maariv prayerbook (1991), and Selichos: First Night (1992).[12] They have also produced a host of titles on which Scherman is author and Zlotowitz is editor.
Zlotowitz is the author of:[12]
- Esther: The Megillah: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1976
- Eichah (Lamentations): A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1976
- Koheles (Ecclesiastes): A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1976
- Ruth: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1976
- Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs): A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1976
- Yonah (Jonah): A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic sources, 1978
- Chanukah: Its history, observance and significance (co-author: Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm), 1981
- Succos: Its significance, laws and prayers: A presentation anthologized from Talmudic and Midrashic sources, 1982
- Shema Yisrael: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources, 1982
- Pirkei Avos, 1984
- Bereishis: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and rabbinic sources (2-volume set), 1986
References
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