Artscroll Youth Haggadah

by Nosson Scherman, Yitzchok Zev Scherman

There has never been a Haggadah that offers so much for all ages, especially for young The full text in large easy-to-read type; a new translation that is not only simple and accurate, but that adds words and phrases to clarify difficult passages; clear instructions throughout; more than 50 full-color illustrations that add beauty and inspiration to the Haggadah; and a selection of comments that give pleasure to the reader and can be read aloud at the Seder, so that every participant can be more involved in this high point in the life of every Jewish family. Full color soil resistant laminated cover.

64 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

About the author

Nosson Scherman (Hebrew: נתן שרמן‎, born 1935, Newark, New Jersey) is an American Haredi rabbi best known as the general editor of ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.

Scherman was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, where his parents ran a small grocery store. He attended public school, but in the afternoons joined a Talmud Torah started in 1942 by Rabbi Shalom Ber Gordon, a shaliach of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. Rabbi Gordon influenced many of the 200 boys in his afternoon Talmud Torah to enroll in yeshiva, including young Nosson Scherman, who became a dormitory student at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas at around age 10. Afterwards, he studied in Beth Medrash Elyon in Spring Valley, New York

Scherman worked as a rebbi (teacher) for about eight years at Torah VoDaas of Flatbush, later known as Yeshiva Torah Temimah. Afterwards he was a principal at Yeshiva Karlin Stolin of Boro Park for six years. During his tenure as principal, he was recommended to Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, director of a high-end graphics studio in New York named ArtScroll Studios, as someone who could write copy, and they collaborated on a few projects of brochures and journals.

In late 1975, 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) and sold out its first edition of 20,000 copies within two months. 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), 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.

In its first 25 years, ArtScroll produced more than 700 books, including novels, history books, children's books and secular textbooks, and is now one of the largest publishers of Jewish books in the United States.

Selected bibliography:
Zlotowitz and Scherman are the general editors of ArtScroll's Talmud, Stone 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). They have also produced a host of titles on which Scherman is author and Zlotowitz is editor.

Scherman contributed translations and commentaries for ArtScroll's Stone Chumash, the ArtScroll Siddurim and Machzorim, and the Stone Tanach. He served as general editor of the 73-volume translation Schottenstein edition of the Talmud from 1990 until 2005.

Scherman attributes his strong English language skills to the stronger general-studies departments that yeshivas had when he was a student, and his correspondence with two out-of-town high school classmates, Mendel Weinbach and Nisson Wolpin. He has said: "During the summers we used to write letters. Does anyone correspond today? We wrote to each other – that helped. We tried to outdo each other; we were big-shot teenagers. The only way to learn how to write is to write."

Reviews

[Gary]

The Art-Scroll Youth Haggadah is a wonderful tool to help Jewish children to take part in the Pesach Seder. It takes us through the preparations for Pesach and the Seder itself, with the complete text , while using language in the translation and comments that children can understand. It also has the Hebrew text alongside the English text.
It has fabulous illustrations that bring the Jewish Festival of Freedom to life.
It ends off with the songs sung on Pesach including the song well known to children in Israel - Chad Gadya- One Kid. This cheerful song-on which The House that Jack built was later based-also has a deeper spiritual meaning.
Every Jewish child should have a copy of this remarkable book, ready for Pesach.

[Courtney]

I liked this haggadah because the translations were not overly stuffy. It got to the point simply and, en route to four glasses of wine that's definitely a benefit. Plus, illustrations are always fun. Hurray for holiday whimsy :)

[Nechamah Goldfarb]

The English is frustrating to me. I realize they are trying to give the main idea (according to their agenda at least) but I teach children of various ages and am frustrated when they look at the English and get the wrong idea, or think that a word or phrase they are not sure of means something that it does not. This is common with most if not all Artscroll books, but they are still valuable because the commentaries and explanations are very good.

Still, I use this Haggadah at seder every year, and my adult daughter really appreciated the explanations!