Koren Publishers Jerusalem - History

History

Koren Publishers Jerusalem was founded in 1961 by Eliyahu Koren, who sought to publish the first Hebrew Bible designed, edited, printed, and bound by Jews in nearly 500 years. The first printed Hebrew Bibles from Italy (1488) were printed by Jews, but after Daniel Bomberg’s 1517 Venice printing, all editions up to the 20th century had non-Jewish publishers or printers, and errors had found their way into the text.

The text, vocalization, and cantillation for The Koren Bible were based on an early 19th-century Bible edition of German-Jewish grammarian and masoretic scholar Wolf Heidenheim. Koren created a new font, Koren Bible Type, for the project, developed a graphic layout that allowed for the unity of the Hebrew type, and corrected numerous errors of earlier editions. The Torah, the first part of The Koren Bible, was published in 1962, during the Chanukah holiday. The entire Bible followed nearly two years later.

The Koren Bible quickly gained wide acceptance among many different Jewish communities. It is the edition accepted by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel for reading the Haftara (prophetic portions) in synagogues when the handwritten parchment scroll is not used, and, until the introduction of the Jerusalem Crown, was the Bible on which the President of Israel is sworn into office. Koren Publishers Jerusalem later introduced a Hebrew/English edition of the Bible with a translation by Biblical and literary scholar Professor Harold Fisch.

Koren Publishers Jerusalem went on to publish other Jewish religious texts, including a Passover Haggada, Five Megillot, and The Koren Siddur (Prayerbook), introduced in 1981, which featured a new font, Koren Book Type, to maximize legibility, and a new graphic layout to facilitate proper reading, reinforce the inner meaning of the text, and create an elegant overall appearance.

Koren Publishers Jerusalem continues to publish various editions of The Koren Bible, The Koren Siddur, and other religious texts in Hebrew, English, and other languages. In 2009, it published its first Hebrew/English prayerbook, The Koren Sacks Siddur, based on The Koren Siddur and with an English introduction, translation, and commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth. It published The Koren Sacks Rosh HaShana Machzor in 2011, which was named a National Jewish Book Award finalist by The Jewish Book Council that same year. The Koren Sacks Yom Kippur Mahzor was released in 2012 and the Koren Sacks Pesah Mahzor was released in March 2013. The Jewish Press calls the introduction to the Koren Sacks Pesah Mahzor "a thematic and theological entree to the very essence of Passover."

In 2010, Koren expanded its range of titles when it became the publisher of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, including his groundbreaking editions of the Talmud.

Koren also offers Maggid Books, a division for contemporary Jewish thought by leading rabbis and scholars, including Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Rabbi Berel Wein and others.