Soncino Press
Encyclopedia
Soncino Press is a Jewish publishing company based in the United Kingdom
that has published a variety of books of Jewish interest, most notably English translations and commentaries to the Talmud
and Hebrew Bible
. The Soncino Hebrew Bible and Talmud translations and commentaries, now half a century old, were a standard of Jewish publishing for many years, and were widely used in both Orthodox
and Conservative
synagogues.
Soncino translations and commentary on the Hebrew Bible are based on traditional Jewish sources. They accept the Bible as Divine and the Biblical history of the Exodus
from Egypt and the giving of the Torah
to Moses
at Mount Sinai
as true, and have been widely regarded as Orthodox
. Nonetheless, they tended to have some input from modern academic scholarship. and tended not to treat Rabbinical Midrash
and Aggadah
as fact.
As Orthodox and Conservative Judaism have diverged in recent decades, they have tended to move to different Bible translations reflecting their increasingly different theological viewpoints. Orthodox Jews are now more likely to use Artscroll
translations, which shun academic scholarship and treat Midrash
ic and Aggadic
accounts, as well as the Biblical text, as literally true. Conservative Judaism has moved in the opposite direction, publishing a commentary, the Etz Hayim
Bible, which is considerably more liberal in tone, based on academic sources that accept the documentary hypothesis
as the Bible's origin and question the accuracy of its accounts of Jewish history.
Nonetheless, Soncino books still retain a following, particularly among traditional Conservative, Conservadox, and Modern Orthodox Jews in the English-speaking world. No popular Jewish translation with Soncino's intermediate approach, combining traditionalist outlook and exegesis with openness towards academic scholarship, has appeared since. Additionally, because the Soncino publications were generally released without copyright notices at a time when notices were mandatory for establishment of copyright
, the works were generally considered as public domain
. Legally, however, this is no longer the case in the United States since 1994. (Judaica Press
, which operates in partnership with descendants of the family that owned Soncino Press, considers the works as non-public-domain and that the lack of copyright notices was simply a mistake. Thus, some in the frum
world contended that unlicensed reprint of Soncino texts was unethical and perhaps illegal, although this was certainly not a majority position.)
The firm is named for the Soncino family
of Hebrew book printing pioneers. Based in Northern Italy, this family published the first-ever printed book in Hebrew type in 1483 (an edition of the Talmud tractate Berakhot) and continued a string of printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, and various rabbinical works until about 1547.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that has published a variety of books of Jewish interest, most notably English translations and commentaries to the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. The Soncino Hebrew Bible and Talmud translations and commentaries, now half a century old, were a standard of Jewish publishing for many years, and were widely used in both Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
synagogues.
Soncino translations and commentary on the Hebrew Bible are based on traditional Jewish sources. They accept the Bible as Divine and the Biblical history of the Exodus
The Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
from Egypt and the giving of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
to Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
at Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
as true, and have been widely regarded as Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
. Nonetheless, they tended to have some input from modern academic scholarship. and tended not to treat Rabbinical Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
and Aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
as fact.
As Orthodox and Conservative Judaism have diverged in recent decades, they have tended to move to different Bible translations reflecting their increasingly different theological viewpoints. Orthodox Jews are now more likely to use Artscroll
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 Brooklyn, New York...
translations, which shun academic scholarship and treat Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
ic and Aggadic
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
accounts, as well as the Biblical text, as literally true. Conservative Judaism has moved in the opposite direction, publishing a commentary, the Etz Hayim
Etz Hayim Humash
The Etz Hayim Humash , also known as Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, is a humash published and used by the Conservative Jewish movement. Its production involved the collaboration of the Rabbinical Assembly, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and the Jewish Publication Society.-Authors:*...
Bible, which is considerably more liberal in tone, based on academic sources that accept the documentary hypothesis
Documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis , holds that the Pentateuch was derived from originally independent, parallel and complete narratives, which were subsequently combined into the current form by a series of redactors...
as the Bible's origin and question the accuracy of its accounts of Jewish history.
Nonetheless, Soncino books still retain a following, particularly among traditional Conservative, Conservadox, and Modern Orthodox Jews in the English-speaking world. No popular Jewish translation with Soncino's intermediate approach, combining traditionalist outlook and exegesis with openness towards academic scholarship, has appeared since. Additionally, because the Soncino publications were generally released without copyright notices at a time when notices were mandatory for establishment of copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
, the works were generally considered as public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. Legally, however, this is no longer the case in the United States since 1994. (Judaica Press
Judaica Press
Judaica Press is an Orthodox Jewish publishing house founded in New York City in 1963 by S. Goldman, and then taken over by his son Jack Goldman in response to the growing demand for books of scholarship in the English-speaking Jewish world...
, which operates in partnership with descendants of the family that owned Soncino Press, considers the works as non-public-domain and that the lack of copyright notices was simply a mistake. Thus, some in the frum
Frum
The Yiddish adjective frum , from the German fromm, meaning "devout" or "pious", is a Yiddish word meaning committed to be observant of the 613 commandments, or Jewish commandments, specifically of Orthodox Judaism...
world contended that unlicensed reprint of Soncino texts was unethical and perhaps illegal, although this was certainly not a majority position.)
The firm is named for the Soncino family
Soncino family (printers)
The Soncino family is an Italian Sephardi Jewish family of printers, deriving its name from the town of Soncino in the duchy of Milan. It traces its descent through a Moses of Fürth, who is mentioned in 1455, back to a certain Moses of Speyer, of the middle of the fourteenth century. The first of...
of Hebrew book printing pioneers. Based in Northern Italy, this family published the first-ever printed book in Hebrew type in 1483 (an edition of the Talmud tractate Berakhot) and continued a string of printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, Talmud, and various rabbinical works until about 1547.