Olomeinu Explained

Olomeinu (1945-2011; also Anglicized as Olameinu) is the title of a defunct monthly Jewish children's publication. Several reprint books were published.

Overview

Olomeinu refers to "stories published monthly in the pages of Olomeinu/Our World magazine have been favorites of young readers for three generations."[1] Publication ceased in 2011.[2] Torah Umesorah, which began Olomeinu in 1945, included "stories, holiday supplements, Hebrew pages, cartoon cartoon strips, puzzle pages and short biographies of Jewish greats."[3] [4]

When the publication had financial difficulties in 1960, Chabad, which had competing youth publications, made a one-time large donation to encourage support;[5] Olomeinu continued into the 2000s. The student readers included Modern Orthodox/Ivrit B'Ivrit[6] and Hareidi.

Reprintings

Artscroll, not the original publisher, issued two series of volumes that reprinted content.[7] [8] The second series began "more than two decades" after the first, which sold "nearly 85,000 copies."[9] using the title Best of Olomeinu.[10] These were followed in 2008 by "The Very Best in Olomeinu: Back Pages" which were published by Mahrwood Press.[11] This (third) series had two volumes.[12]

Nosson Scherman, prior to his work at Artscroll, was the editor of Olomeinu, beginning in 1970, and editor/co-author of some Best of Olomeinu reprints.[13] [14]

Audience and content

Yeshiva students were given subscription forms; circulation was throughout the English-speaking world: USA, Canada, England, and Australia, and was not limited to just major Jewish population centers.[2] Different features were more appreciated by different ages and grades. Mendel the Mouse appealed more to one age, People, Places and Things to another. From the 1960s thru the 1990s many features were a constant source of learning about "Baal Shem Tov ... the Vilna Gaon, the Chazon Ish" and included stories written by rabbis Brailofsky and Gevirtz.

Some items, such as history of Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov movement, were limited in scope and duration.[15]

Olomeinu also introduced readers to having and being a Pen pal.

Among those who contributed to the founding of Olomeinu and its early day continuity were rabbis Elias Schwartz[16] and Nisson Wolpin. When the latter left in 1970 to become editor of The Jewish Observer, Nosson Scherman, later to be known for his accomplishments at Artscroll, was Olomeinu's editor.[17]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Best Of Olomeinu - Series 2: Stories For All. June 18, 2003.
  2. News: The Demise of Olomeinu. Rabbi Avrohom Birnbaum. December 5, 2012. Yated_Ne'eman.
  3. Web site: How the Rebbe Saved 'Olomeinu'. March 27, 2018.
  4. News: The Jewish Press. Boundless Love. Dov Shurin. My father had for 60 years written a Hebrew page featuring biographies of great rabbis in the children's magazine Olomeinu.. March 20, 2014.
  5. News: The Jewish Press. Time to give Chabad its due. Rabbi Sholom B. Kalmanson. June 15, 2007.
  6. News: The Jewish Press. Reaffirming Israel's Centrality to Modern Orthodoxy. October 18, 2017.
  7. the seventh book in the first series was published in 1986: Book: 978-0-8990-67629. The Best of Olomeinu, Book 7. Scherman. Nosson. 1981. Mesorah Publications .
  8. Book: 978-1-5781-93981. The Best of Olomeinu, Book 1. 2003. Mesorah Publications in conjunction with Torah Umesorah Publications .
  9. Book: Best of Olomeinu - Series 2.
  10. Book: 978-0-8990-67513. Best Of Olomeinu - Series 1: Stories For All Year. Rabbi Yaakov Fruchter. 1981. Mesorah Publications, Limited .
  11. Book: 978-1-5982-63008. Yaakov Fruchter . Aryeh Mahr. 1955-2008. The Very Best in Olomeinu: Back Pages. 2008 . Mahrwood Press .
  12. the first focused on biographies, the second on short stories
  13. Book: The Best of Olomeinu, Book 6. Yaakov Fruchter. Nosson Scherman. Yosef Dershowitz.
  14. Book: The Best of Olomeinu: Book One . 1981. Book One by Nosson Scherman (Editor), Yosef Dershowitz (Illustrator), Yaakov Fruchter (Compiler.
  15. Web site: Bais Yaakov in the Olomeinu Magazine.
  16. News: Hamodia. Rafael Hoffman. Rabbi Elias Schwartz. November 23, 2016. May 19, 2019.
  17. Web site: Sharing Spaces, Shaping Identities: American Haredi Children's Literature. March 7, 2020.