The Mesorah Heritage Foundation will be celebrating the historic completion of the Schottenstein Hebrew and English Editions of Talmud Yerushalmi at an overnight Siyum Celebration at the Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, November 9-10. The event will gather together over 800 people, including international Jewish leaders, leading philanthropists, patrons, supporters, and friends of the Mesorah Heritage Foundation, to celebrate the completion of the Schottenstein Editions of Talmud Yerushalmi and to pay tribute to the visionary sponsors who made it a reality. Among those slated to address the gathering are Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman, chief rabbi of Migdal Ha’Emek, who is traveling in from Israel for the occasion, and Mr. Gary Torgow, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Huntington Bank.
The completion of the Schottenstein Hebrew and English Editions of Talmud Yerushalmi is truly a monumental accomplishment in the world of Torah scholarship. When these projects were started over 16 years ago, it was perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of ArtScroll/Mesorah. And its successful completion may well be its greatest achievement.
As Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz zt”l, legendary founder of ArtScroll/Mesorah, asserted, “History will show that the crown jewel of our accomplishments will be our opening of Talmud Yerushalmi to all of Klal Yisrael.”
Talmud Yerushalmi is exceedingly difficult to learn, and despite its great significance, it has been a closed book to all but select, elite scholars – until now. Although it’s one of the fundamental components of Torah Shebe’al Peh, the Oral Law, it has been one of the most difficult and neglected areas of Torah study. Its language, its terseness, and Roman persecution prevented it from being edited, making it a sealed book.
After consultation with the great Torah sages of our day, in Israel and America, the Mesorah Heritage Foundation undertook the elucidation of the Jerusalem Talmud. It was made possible thanks to the vision and generosity of Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein and their children, Joseph and Lindsay and family, Jonathan and Nicole and family, and Jeffrey and Ariella. They recognized the importance of this project. They were joined by other visionary dedicators of Sedarim and individual volumes, who understood the need for this undertaking. So it was that these historic editions of Talmud Yerushalmi in Hebrew and English came into being after over sixteen years of intense scholarship. The Jewish people will forever be enriched by this Torah masterpiece.
The upcoming Siyum Celebration in honor of this achievement promises to be an unforgettable, inspiring experience.
