In a recent blog entry on Mavin Yavin, Reb Mississippi Fred MacDowell, gives praise to ArtScroll... or more accurately Mesorah Publications, for their magnum opus publication, The Shotenstein Edition Talmud Bavli.
I pretty much agree with his “two cheers” view. Why only two cheers? This will become evident shortly. This new Shas is a wonderful asset to Torah learning for the English speaking public. The Shotenstein Edition Talmud is probably responsible for much of the greatly increased Daf Yomi learning by Balei Batim today. It was a massive undertaking and IMHO the best thing they've ever done... by miles. In fact, whatever criticism one has of Artscroll, it pales in comparison to the achievement of its English Shas. For this alone the publishers have earned a place in Gan Eden.
Here is the reason for the removal of the third cheer.
Their biography series is unfortunately woefully lacking and is an affront to the very word biography. Mesorah Publications is probably the largest publishing house in the Jewish world (with the possible exception of Chabad’s Kihot) and certainly the most prestigious. Their other books, therefore, have a prominence all their own and cannot be ignored or glossed over. In my view these biographical books are relatively worthless. They are not serious biographies. They are nothing more than an aggrandized look at their subjects which leaves out their humanity. One can only call them hagiographies.
To white wash a historic figure is to lie about him. But this is their Modus Operandi. When "My Uncle the Netziv" was first published it contained information revealing the Netziv had been involved in things which are today considered politically incorrect. Not bad things, God forbid, just un-PC by today’s standards in the Charedi world. The complaints were registered and the book was withdrawn and re-published without those items.
I will never forget my Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik’s response when I asked him about it. He angrily said that this book was a faithful translation of the “Mekor Baruch” written by no less a Gadol than Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, author of the Torah Temimah. Rabbi Soloveichik said that none of those involved with the banning of this book could even stand at the footstool of Rabbi Epstein.
This has been Artscroll’s pattern with every historic figure. They make them look like they were born holy in the womb. They might as well make one Gadol book stencil without names and just fill in the name of the Gadol whose picture is on the cover.
This type of attitude was grievously culminated when another publisher published the book "The Making of a Gadol". Its author, Rabbi Nosson Kaminetsky suffered the slings and arrows of the Charedi leadership he so cherishes when they condemned and banned his magnum opus which took him so many years of hard work to write... for being something more than Hagiography. There was nothing in that book that was bad about those Gedolim. But some of the things objected to by the banners were politically incorrect. Rabbi Kaminetsky primary sin? He made them look human. He didn't make them look Kodesh MeRechem (emerging holy from the womb).
ArtScroll is part of this Charedi establishment mindset. They dare not publish anything which the PC police deem unflattering to these historically great figures.
For this they get a raspberry.
