{"id":58037,"date":"2017-06-28T13:59:25","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T18:59:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/?p=58037"},"modified":"2017-06-28T13:59:25","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T18:59:25","slug":"remembering-r-meir-zlotowitz-artscroll-visionary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/remembering-r-meir-zlotowitz-artscroll-visionary\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering R&#8217; Meir Zlotowitz, Artscroll Visionary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is with great sadness that we note\u00a0the passing of Rav Meir Zlotowitz\u00a0<em>zt\u201dl<\/em>, pioneering founder of ArtScroll\/Mesorah Publications and one of the greatest disseminators of Torah in history. He was 73 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Zlotowitz, who resided in Flatbush, Brooklyn, led the \u201cArtScroll Revolution,\u201d a transformation in the availability of Torah literature in English and Hebrew.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Zlotowitz, during his formative years, studied at Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim, becoming a close\u00a0<em>talmid<\/em>\u00a0of Rav Moshe Feinstein\u00a0<em>zt\u201dl<\/em>\u00a0and, later, his son, Rav Dovid Feinstein.<\/p>\n<p>After completing\u00a0<em>yeshiva,<\/em>\u00a0he became director of a high-end graphics studio in New York. The firm, named ArtScroll Studios, produced brochures, invitations, and\u00a0<em>kesubos.<\/em>\u00a0First located on Coney Island Avenue, the company later moved to Second Avenue in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Nosson Scherman, then principal of Yeshiva Karlin Stolin Boro Park, was recommended to Rabbi Zlotowitz as someone who could write copy and they collaborated on a few projects.<\/p>\n<p>In late 1975, a close friend of Rabbi Zlotowitz, Rabbi Meir Fogel, passed away, prompting Rabbi Zlotowitz to do something in his memory. As\u00a0<em>Purim<\/em>\u00a0was a few months away, he decided to write an English translation and commentary on\u00a0<em>Megillas Esther<\/em>\u00a0and asked Rabbi Scherman to write the introduction. The\u00a0<em>sefer<\/em>\u00a0was completed in honor of the\u00a0<em>shloshim<\/em>\u00a0and sold out its first edition of 20,000 copies <span class=\"aBn\" tabindex=\"0\" data-term=\"goog_1019915022\"><span class=\"aQJ\">within two months<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>With the encouragement of Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Rav Mordechai Gifter and other\u00a0<em>gedolei Yisroel,<\/em>\u00a0Rabbi Zlotowitz continued producing commentaries, beginning with a translation and commentary on the rest of the five\u00a0<em>megillos.<\/em>\u00a0He went on to publish translations and commentaries on the\u00a0<em>Torah, Neviim,<\/em>\u00a0the\u00a0<em>Haggadah,<\/em>\u00a0the\u00a0<em>sidd<wbr \/>ur,<\/em>\u00a0the\u00a0<em>machzor,<\/em>\u00a0<em>Mishnayos,<\/em>\u00a0<wbr \/>and more.<\/p>\n<p>ArtScroll has produced, to date, over 2,000 books, including\u00a0<em>seforim,<\/em>\u00a0novels, history books, children\u2019s books and textbooks, and is now the largest publishers of Jewish books in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>ArtScroll is perhaps most well known for its transformative Shottenstein Edition of the Talmud, which opened up\u00a0<em>Gemara<\/em>\u00a0learning for people the world over.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Zlotowitz himself authored or co-authored, or served as general editor of, ArtScroll\u2019s\u00a0<em>Talmud, Chumash, Tanach, Siddur,<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Machzor<\/em>\u00a0series;\u00a0<em>Me<wbr \/>gillas Esther, Megillas Eichah, Koheles, Rus,Shir HaShirim, Yonah, Chanukah: Its history, observance and significance; Succos: Its significance, laws and prayers; Shema Yisrael; Pirkei Avos;<\/em>and other volumes.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Zlotowitz had recently been feeling unwell and underwent a procedure, from which he was recovering. He had a setback on\u00a0<em>Shabbos<\/em>\u00a0and passed away.<\/p>\n<p>It is difficult to quantify just how great an impact Rabbi Zlotowitz had on the Jewish world. Perhaps no other individual in the last century had as colossal an influence on the world of Torah as he did.<\/p>\n<p>His passing plunges the Jewish world into mourning, bringing to an end a life that saw extraordinary accomplishments in Torah publishing, unlike anything ever seen before. Rabbi Zlotowitz is truly irreplaceable.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Zlotowitz is survived by his wife, Mrs. Rochel Zlotowitz, and their illustrious family of\u00a0<em>bnei<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>bnos Torah,<\/em>\u00a0including their children, R\u2019 Gedaliah Zlotowitz, R\u2019 Ira Zlotowitz, R\u2019 Boruch Zlotowitz, R\u2019 Chaim Zlotowitz, Mrs. Estie Dicker, Mrs. Faigie Perlowitz, Mrs. Devorah Morgenstern, and Mrs. Tzivi Munk, and many grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p><em>Yehi zichro boruch.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Those who wish to send a message or sentiments to the family may do so by emailing <a href=\"mailto:familyofrabbizlotowitz@gmail.com\" target=\"_blank\">familyofrabbizlotowitz@gmail.<wbr \/>com<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is with great sadness that we note\u00a0the passing of Rav Meir Zlotowitz\u00a0zt\u201dl, pioneering founder of ArtScroll\/Mesorah Publications and one of the greatest disseminators of Torah in history. He was 73 years old. Rabbi Zlotowitz, who resided in Flatbush, Brooklyn, led the \u201cArtScroll Revolution,\u201d a transformation in the availability of Torah literature in English and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133450,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Remembering R&#039; Meir Zlotowitz, Artscroll Visionary - OU Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/remembering-r-meir-zlotowitz-artscroll-visionary\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering R&#039; Meir Zlotowitz, Artscroll Visionary - OU Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is with great sadness that we note\u00a0the passing of Rav Meir Zlotowitz\u00a0zt\u201dl, pioneering founder of ArtScroll\/Mesorah Publications and one of the greatest disseminators of Torah in history. He was 73 years old. 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