Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and his collection of Jewish books Image by Getty Images / Courtesy Ben Shapiro

By Laura E. Adkins December 10, 2018

On Sunday, Vanity Fair published a lengthy profile on Ben Shapiro’s rise to fame — but all Jewish Twitter seemed to care about was Shapiro’s bookshelf.

Great profile of @benshapiro and @JeremyDBoreing https://t.co/zIeThjhJtB

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) December 10, 2018

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

I was immediately intrigued by the fact that Shapiro’s bookshelf featured the Hebrew/English version of the Mishnah (the codified version of the Oral Law) published by Artscroll, and the Hebrew/English version of the Talmud (which includes rabbinic elucidation of this law, referred to as the Gemara) published by their biggest competitor, Koren. Though their titles are not clearly visible in the Vanity Fair photo, their spines are easily identifiable to Anglo Jews who study Torah regularly.

I wasn’t alone in my curiosity. Dovid Bashevkin, Director of Education for the Orthodox youth organization NCSY, tweeted:

**Broad-minded Yeshiva guy squinting at the Vanity Fair profile on Ben Shapiro**

“Artscroll edition Mishnah next to a Koren edition Talmud?!? This guy mamish is nonpartisan.” pic.twitter.com/4Fhcrh7U5z

— D Bash (@DBashIdeas) December 10, 2018

Others attempted to identify other books on the shelves:

@benshapiro’s sefarim shelf, deconstructed. What a collection. pic.twitter.com/tpdVshkfr9

— Yonatan Kurz (@yonatankurz) December 10, 2018

We reached out to Shapiro to set the record straight.

Many have noticed the unconventional choice of having an Artscroll Mishnah set and a Koren Talmud set. How did you choose which editions of the Mishnah, Talmud, and other works to purchase?

Ben Shapiro: My dad has a lot of the Artscroll Gemara, so I’ve diversified.

How many Sefarim (Judaica books) would you estimate you own?

BS: I haven’t counted; probably a couple hundred.

What books are the most often pulled off the shelf?

BS: Aruch Hashulchan, Tanach, Mesilat Yesharim, Gemara

To set the record straight once and for all, here’s the official unblurry view of Shapiro’s Sefarim:

The left-hand side of Ben Shapiro’s Sefarim shelf Image by Courtesy Ben Shapiro

The right-hand side of Ben Shapiro’s Sefarim shelf Image by Courtesy Ben Shapiro

Now we can get back to debating about his politics.

Laura E. Adkins is the Forward’s deputy opinion editor. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @Laura_E_Adkins

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount