prayerbook censorship, wah
Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) is over. That's my excuse for not being around for two days. As for the other days? Uh I gotta blame life for that. I'm online, on the comp now cause I've got a coding assignment due tomorrow. I hate coding, though lately I'm being told that that's pretty much how my combined psych/engineering skills can be utilized, in coding neural network models. *headdesk* I've basically spent all of last week learning all about research options and the requirements for double majoring. Info overload. And I've got a complaint letter of sorts:
Dear Artscroll,
I'm your average consumer. I've gone to frum schools and camps and even was a member of a youth group. I've been decoding text since first grade. (Late bloomer, yes, but it was a kiruv school. I have fully internalized that texts might not mean what they say, and that allegory appears all the time. The man/woman, God/Nation metaphor is pretty transparent, one that every child has decoded. I understand that sex and lust might not be appropriate for a tefillah, but considering what's in other tefillahs, why make an exception now? You don't censor Eicha and it makes use of a very similar metaphor. Rashi's translation of the allegory has a lot of merit, but don't you think that Shlomo wrote Shir Ha'Shirim the way he did for a reason?
Your statement " a literal translation would be misleading - even false - because it would not convey the meaning intended by King Solomon" doesn't even line up with your business practices. You publish the literal translation in your full version of Shir Ha'Shirim, so you must believe that the real translation has merit. Shlomo may have used that allegory because people could relate to it, because they can visualise a romantic relationship more easily than the one they have with Hashem. He could have used it because it's more vivid, more emotional. By taking away that translation, you made it harder for many readers to get to the soul of the teffilah.
I need to read Shir Ha'Shirim for a class, and somehow, I doubt my teacher would be okay with me using Rashi's translation. I don't think it's fair that I can't use my trusty siddur because you felt the need to censor a translation. So it's okay to know the real translation when reading the full version, but not when saying it erev Shabbos? I doubt that's what anyone had in mind when they put Shir Ha'Shirim into davening. I understand that you have the best intentions at heart and probably consulted with a zillion Rabbis before deciding to omit this translation, but I'd love to know what the final reason for the omission was. Most of all could you please put a literal translation of Shir Ha'Shirim in your siddurim? At least a couple of them, and let the customer decide which they would like to purchase?
Sincerly,
Glossery:
Artscroll - major Jewish publisher of all things Hebrew/English
frum - orthodox
kiruv - outreach, catering to kids from non-orthodox homes
Shir Ha'Shirim - lit - Song of Songs (i.e. Song of Solomon)
siddurim - prayer books
Shlomo-Solomon
tefillah - prayer
Eicha - Lamentations
Rashi- Rabbi/commentator
erev shabbos - Sabbath eve (friday afternoon)
Hashem- God (lit: the name)
davening - prayer
I'd actually never send it to them, but I'm just so ticked off, cause now I have to track down a copy of something I thought I had, and I'm picky. I want a Jewish, Hebrew/English version, and tracking down a friend to borrow it from might be hard, cause everyone is busy. Not the best way to start off the Jewish New Year.
So how is everyone?