Translator
This website is managed by Charles Stein, who has prepared all
of the translations shown.
I express my gratitude to The International Organization to
Disseminate the Works of the Zera Shimshon, the organization
started by Rabbi Yisroel Zilberberg in Jerusalem and Rabbi
Benjamin Paskesz in Brooklyn. These men have worked tirelessly
for twenty years in learning Zera Shimshon and
popularizing this great sefer, as well as publishing a
beautiful edition of Toldot Shimshon.
The Introduction of Zera Shimshon, called Akdamut
Milin, is especially challenging, as it contains about 400
snippets of quotations from the Torah, Talmud, Midrash, Zohar,
halachic sources, and more — many in poetic language, all woven
together. Identifying the sources is not just an intellectual
exercise; knowing the source can provide a nuance that might not
be present otherwise. For example, Zera Shimshon says
that one who strives to learn the Torah will be rewarded with
"delightful things on his right side, delicious things on his left
side." The ultimate source must be Song of Songs 5:16: "His mouth
is delicious, and all of him is delightful." However, I found a
prayer at the end of the burial service in Nusach Roma, imploring
the guardians of the Garden of Eden to open the gates, so that the
departed will find "delightful things on his right side, delicious
things on his left side." This provided a nuance: that Rabbi
Nachmani was saying this particular reward will come after a
person's death. Because the Introduction was especially poetic, I
prepared my translation in the form of a table with two columns —
a literal translation in one column and an interpretation in the
second.
My wife, Batya Grunfeld, and I welcomed a beautiful baby girl,
Shaina Sarah, in June 2019. She has brought tremendous joy to
our lives. I don't know whether learning Zera Shimshon
had any relation to this miracle, but whether one believes in segulot
or not, I appreciate the beautiful Torah offered by Zera
Shimshon. I have continued learning Zera Shimshon,
and am happy to share my translations with you.
—Charles Stein