Inside ArtScroll Episode 16: Why Did a Lawyer Write an Index on Shas?

The newest episode of Inside ArtScroll features Daniel Retter, an attorney by profession, who undertook to compile a complete index of the entire Shas. The newly expanded and updated Hebrew HaMafteach® HaChadash, encompassing all of Shas Bavli and Mishnayos in one volume, has received the approbation of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, and other Torah leaders, who recognized its magnificence in enabling anyone – man, woman or child – to locate virtually every topic, saying, anecdote, maxim, parable, significant subject matter, Talmudic and rabbinical law, Biblical exegesis, and Biblical and Talmudic personalities mentioned in Shas Bavli and Mishnayos. HaMafteach® HaChadash includes 78,102 subject matter entries and sub-entries, with 92,400 Talmudic and Mishnayos sources. In this interview, we find out why Mr. Retter, whose vocation involves legalities related to immigration and real estate, made this endeavor – indexing all of Shas – his life’s passion. He shares interesting anecdotes, including Rav Chaim Kanievsky’s fascinating response upon looking something up in HaMafteach®.