Reply To: English Translations of Seforim

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yitayningwut
Participant

There’s a saying attributed to Reb Chaim or the Brisker Rov or some other rosh yeshiva which goes, “az s’ felt in hazboreh, felt in havoneh.” Or as Albert Einstein allegedly said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

If there are no good translations, doesn’t it follow that none of the translators are understanding the originals well enough? And if that’s the case for professional translators, what does that say for amateurs?

If you ask me, most translations are good. All the major ones are fine, you just have to bear in mind that the translation will reflect the translator’s general hashkafa, because it’s not always about translation as much as it is about interpretation. So if you come across anything you aren’t quite sure about, do some research. But by all means, read.