Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz (13 July 1943 – 24 June 2017) was an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

, author and founder of

ArtScroll ArtScroll is an imprint of translations, books and commentaries from an Orthodox Jewish perspective published by Mesorah Publications, Ltd., a publishing company based in Rahway, New Jersey. Rabbi Nosson Scherman is the general editor. ArtScroll ...

Publications.

Early life

Meir attended Yeshivas Rabbi Jacob Joseph ( RJJ) on the Lower East Side of New York. He went on to attend Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem and was a student of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.

ArtScroll

After graduation, Zlotowitz, who as a youth used his talent in art to overcome his stuttering, became director of a high-end graphics studio in New York. The firm, named ArtScroll Studios, produced brochures, invitations, awards and

ketubah A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...

s. Rabbi

Nosson Scherman Nosson Scherman ( he, נתן שרמן, born 1935, Newark, New Jersey) is an American Haredi rabbi best known as the general editor of ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications. Early life Scherman was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where his pare ...

, then principal of Yeshiva Karlin Stolin

Boro Park Borough Park (also spelled Boro Park) is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heights to the southwest, Sunset Park to the west, ...

, was recommended to Zlotowitz as someone who could write copy, and they collaborated on a few projects. In late 1975, he wrote an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

translation and commentary on the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther ( he, מְגִלַּת אֶסְתֵּר, Megillat Esther), also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Jewish '' Tanakh'' (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the ...

in memory of a young married friend, a rebbe in Yeshiva Torah Emes who died childless, and asked Scherman to write the introduction. The manuscript was completed in honor of the ''

shloshim Bereavement in Judaism () is a combination of ''minhag'' and ''mitzvah'' derived from the Torah and Judaism's classical rabbinic texts. The details of observance and practice vary according to each Jewish community. Mourners In Judaism, the p ...

'' (the 30-day commemoration of a death) and "was published in February 1976, just in time to market it for

Purim Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...

that year." Its first edition of 20,000 copies sold out within two months. With the encouragement of Rabbi Moses Feinstein, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky and other Rabbis considered

Gedolei Yisrael ''Gadol'' or ''godol'' (, plural: ''gedolim'' ) (literally "big" or "great" in Hebrew ) is used by religious Jews to refer to the most revered rabbis of the generation. Usage The term ''gadol hador'' refers to the "great/est (one of) the generati ...

or eminent rabbis, the two continued producing commentaries, beginning with a translation and commentary on the rest of the Five Megillot ( Song of Songs,

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly us ...

, Lamentations and Ruth), and went on to publish translations and commentaries on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, Prophets,

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, Passover Haggadah,

siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...

s and machzors. By 1990 ArtScroll had produced more than 700 books, including

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

s, history books, children's books and secular textbooks, and became one of the largest publishers of Jewish books in the United States. Zlotowitz was also chairman of the Mesorah Heritage Foundation, ArtScroll's fundraising arm. Zlotowitz died in Brooklyn on June 24, 2017 at the age of 73. By the end of the year of mourning for a parent, Zlotowitz's son Gedaliah was listed in newly released ArtScroll publications, alongside his late father's partner

, as general editor.

Family

With his first wife, Miriam, Zlotowitz had two daughters and one son; Estie Dicker, Mrs. Faigie Perlowitz, and Gedalia. With his second wife, Rochel Zlotowitz, Zlotowitz had three sons and two daughters; Ira, Boruch, Chaim, Mrs. Devorah Morgenstern, and Mrs. Tzivi Munk. Ira is founder and president of Eastern Union Funding, a commercial real estate mortgage brokerage in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Chaim is a real estate attorney based in New York. His older brother Bernard (1925-2015) was a leading rabbi in the

Reform Jewish movement Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

in the USA and had originally attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaas. Their father, Aron Zlotowitz, led Congregation Etz Chaim, a Brooklyn congregation, for 60 years.

Selected bibliography

Until the death of Meir, Zlotowitz and Scherman were the general editors of ArtScroll's

, Chumash,

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Siddur A siddur ( he, סִדּוּר ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, '' ...

and Machzor series. They co-authored ''Megillas Esther: Illustrated Youth Edition'' (1988), a pocket-size Mincha/Maariv prayerbook (1991), and ''Selichos: First Night'' (1992). They have also produced a host of titles of which Scherman is author and Zlotowitz is editor. Newly released publications list Scherman first, followed by Gedaliah Zlotowitz as general editors. Zlotowitz is the author of: *''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 A biography, authored by Rabbi Yisroel Besser (Montreal), was written by the time of the first Yartzeit.

Gedaliah Zlotowitz

Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz is Rabbi Meir's oldest son. Arscroll's ''Titles by Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz'' had nine entries as of August 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zlotowitz, Meir 1943 births 2017 deaths Writers from Brooklyn American Haredi rabbis American publishers (people) Hebrew–English translators Jewish translators of the Bible Jewish American writers 20th-century American translators 21st-century American Jews