Harry M. Orlinsky: The Philosophy of the New Jewish Translation of the Torah into English (1965)

This broadcast from February 14th, 1965 presents excerpts from the paper, “The Philosophy of the New Jewish Translation of the Torah into English” delivered by Dr. Harry (Tsvi Orlinsky), at YIVO’s annual conference, which had taken place the month before. Orlinsky was editor in chief of the Torah for The New Jewish Publication Society translation of the Jewish bible.

As a report on the conference in Yedies noted:

In his address "The Philosophy of the New Jewish Translation of the Torah into English," at the opening session, Professor Harry M. Orlinsky, chairman of the group that made that translation, traced the history of the translations of the Bible from the Septuagint to date. Beginning with the Septuagint and following through Aquila and Onkelos and up to the present, Jewish translators followed the principle of the most faithful adherence to the original. They rendered a word-for-word translation, with utter disregard for the syntax or the usage of the language into which they translated. Underlying this method was the idea of acquainting the reader of the translation with the character, flavor and texture of the original, in sum, with the spirit of the original. (This was also the method followed in the Jewish schools.) The new translation into English is rooted in a different principle, namely, that of translating the underlying idea of the original, rather than the words in their order, into contemporary idiomatic English. It also takes into consideration the varying exegesis traditions. Thus the opening sentence of the Bible is rendered: "When God began to create the heaven and the earth…” instead of the customary "In the beginning God created…”

At the end of the program, a listener’s question about the names of shtetls in Yiddish is addressed.

From 1963-1976, YIVO had its own program on WEVD, the radio station established by the Socialist Party of America in 1927 (its call letters stand for the initials of American socialist leader Eugene V. Debs), which was purchased by the Jewish Daily Forward in 1932 and became a major venue from Yiddish programming.

YIVO used its spot on WEVD for Yiddish-language interviews and discussions with leading New York Yiddish cultural figures, as well as for reporting on its own scholarly and cultural work.

A new podcast of this program in the order in which it was originally broadcast will be posted here every two weeks.

Presentation of series curated by Matt Temkin, YIVO Sound Archives.

Listen to the program [in English].