New York – A major publisher of Jewish books is moving into the digital age while trying to strike a balance between technology and Jewish observance.
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ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, which calls itself the world’s largest Jewish publishing house, has begun digitizing the first batch of some of its 1,500 titles.
But ArtScroll’s most popular books — its Shabbat and High Holidays prayerbooks — will not be coming out for e-readers like the iPad and Amazon’s Kindle. The reason?
The Shabbat prohibition against using electronic devices is a major barrier.
“The vision of people coming to shul on Shabbat with their e-siddur just doesn’t cut it,” Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, president of the Orthodox-run publishing house, told JTA.
What they should actually do, is to have their own reading app on the devices like iPad where the user can choose in the settings not to allow it to work on Shabbos. Then, at any other time of the week it would be working normally but not on Shabbos
i dont think its Kvod HaTora to do so.
what, so jews cannot sell electronics because they cant be used on shabbos? how far is this going to go?
there is already a siddur app for iphone- many ppl use it on the subway or for mincha at work. also for birkat mazon. if artscroll put one out it would probably be very successful
Artscroll e-Shas would be nice too.
But then again the iTalmud app for iPhone and now iPad is already miles ahead. Artscroll would definitely have a lot of catching up to do.
Kudos to the publisher. It makes a lot of sense to not put Shaboss specific texts into the digital media arena.
If Artscroll could put the Artscroll Shas on a CD like Bar Illan did with information searches it would be great. It would save much needed bookshelf space in my house and it would make finding and accessing information much easier. It would also make it easier to carry around to be used anywhere instead of shelping a big bulky sefer around.
Rambam Hilchos Shabbas 1:3 being oiver a d’rabannan for Shabbas receives makas mardus. Using a kindle or similar is definitely not d’oraysa
thank you kanaim
I’m pleased to see that ArtScroll is taking this step. It’s needed. The price of printed books is getting prohibitive. I looked on Artscroll’s website and some of their eBooks are half the price of a print edition. As shomer Shabbos people, we’ll always have print versions of serious seforim to use – on Shabbos, Yom Tov, and even yom chol, if we so choose. But there are many other books that I would use in a digital version. So – “shkoyach, Artscroll”. And the idea that, when done, the Shas and the weekday siddur will be interactive and cross-referring between Hebrew and English – wow – love the idea.
iPhone, iPad, iPod, and now iTalmud? iBroke !!!