In Breisheet Raba 87:6, a Roman noblewoman asked Rabbi Yose:
“Is it possible that Yoseph at seventeen with all the hot blood of youth could
act with such self restraint (when Potiphar’s wife was seducing him)?” Rabbi
Yose brought out the book of Breisheet and began reading to her the story of
Reuven and Bilha and the story of Yehuda and Tamar and said: “If Scripture does
not cover up for adults still under their father’s authority, how much less
likely is it that Scripture would cover up for one who was a minor living on
his own!”
It is clear from here that the Torah is not censored.
Why do modern publishing companies feel that they have to censor
the Torah and other Jewish books?
Let’s take Shir HaShirim, Song of Songs, one of the Megillot
written by King Solomon in the form of a love story. Artscroll Mesorah
Publications can’t bring themselves to translate the love story literally so they
use an “allegorical reading following Rashi’s translation.”
In Artscroll’s Stone Chumash, they provide the complete
commentary of Rashi in Hebrew. In English they provide an anthology of
commentaries from the Rabbinic writings. In other words, they pick and choose
which commentaries they will provide in English and which will be left out.
Recently, Artscroll put out a Hebrew Mikraot Gedolot Chumash
(Czuker Edition Hebrew Chumas Mikra’os Gedolos Sefer Bereishis). This series is
supposed to include all of the famous commentaries found in the regular Mekraot
Gedolot as well as Rabeinu Bechaya and Chizkuni. It sounds like Artscroll is
trying to compete with Mosad HaRav Kook’s Torat Chayim series. There is just
one difference. In the Torat Chayim series you are receiving the full
commentaries while in Artscroll’s version they censor out some of Rashbam’s
commentaries that they are not comfortable with, without bothering to tell
anybody!
According to Marc B. Shapiro in The Seforim Blog, Artscroll
left out parts of Rashbam’s commentary on Breisheet 1:4-1:5 as well as in 1:8
and 1:31.
If the Torah didn’t leave out the stories about Yoseph,
Reuven and Yehuda which would be considered R-Rated in the movies, then why
does Artscroll feel that they are better than the Torah where they can cut out
commentaries that they don’t agree with without letting anybody know? Are they
so afraid of a difference of opinion?
Censorship is not acceptable and neither is Gneivat Daat,
theft of the mind (tricking someone into buying something different from what
they thought that they were buying).
Unfortunately, Artscroll’s agenda that was used in the
English translations is being used in their Hebrew books as well.
Take for example the Siddur Ner Naftali, the Artscroll all
Hebrew Siddur adapted for use in
the Mishaberach for the Soldiers and the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of
Israel.
Need I say more?
