My problem with Artscroll

I don't like Artscroll. I don't like their Talmud. I don't like their Siddur. I don't like their Chumash. I don't really like anything they publish (with the possible exception of the biographies they publish, which I think are hysterical examples of bad history). I don't dislike them primarily because of ideology, though I do have ideological differences. I don't dislike them because I think they put out inferior products, at the end of the day the work they do is thourough, accurate and, for the most part, honest. I dislike Artscroll because it makes us lazy.

Artscroll publications give us a crutch, but not one we can use to build up strength. Simply put, it makes it so easy to aquire knowledge about Judaism, that we no longer really have to learn. Thus, far from promoting real Talmud Torah, the real work of going through the text and figuring out what is going on, Artscroll translations and commentaries undermine it, the central commandment in our text centered religion. It creates an intellectual laziness, because it obviates the need for real thought in study.

"But," you might protest, "what am I to do? I have no background, I understand neither Hebrew nor Aramaic! How am I to have access to Torah?" First, the Soncino translations of the Talmud and Midrash are fine tools, and there are many excellent, non-Artscroll translations of the Bible and its commentaries (The Linear Rashi and Martin Lockshin's translation of Rashbam are two good examples). They are more difficult to work with with than Artscroll, it's true, but Talmud Torah is not supposed to be easy. It is a discipline that most people don't master, even after a lifetime. Nobody knows the entire Torah, nor should one expect to. It is far more important to work through things, though less material gets covered, than to take the easy way out. Of course, if you really want to get serious about Torah study, it becomes neccesary to take some time out, find a teacher, and devote large chunks of time to it. At some point in your life, if you can, take some time out to learn. Not to have religious epiphanies, not to "grow in Torah," but simply to devote yourself to the mitzvah of Talmud Torah. Ultimately, this is the most efficient way to gain proficiency with the vocabulary and thought catagories of learning.

But even if you can't, please, don't fool yourself into thinking that Artscroll will help your learning. Use Soncino, even though you can only cover a few lines in the time you could do a whole page in Artscroll. If you speak Hebrew, use the Steinsaltz edition. If you study it closly, it can actually be a valuable tool in eventually graduating to unaided Talmud study. It will be difficult, it will be frustrating, but nothing good comes easily. Please, for your own sake, and for the sake of maintaining the high standards of Torah study in Klal Yisroel, boycott Artscroll.