Simchat Torah, which will be celebrated this coming Monday, sums up the month of the holidays in which the keepers of tradition often visit the synagogues and study halls in order to pray and study.
In Hoshana Rabba, which is marked between Sunday and Monday, it is customary, for example, not to sleep all night and study Torah, and in Simchat Torah, of course, the Torah scroll reads both the end of the Book of Deuteronomy and the beginning of the Book of Genesis.
Bible bookmakers summarize the Hebrew year and report a significant jump in sales, in part due to the corona plague.
Weiss Cover CEO Ofer Assis says that until two years ago, before the outbreak of the corona plague, the market was divided so that 40% of the holy books were printed abroad and imported to Israel and 60% were produced in Israel.
However, in the shadow of the plague and other reasons such as a dramatic increase in the prices of transportation and transportation, there was a sharp decline in the import of holy books to Israel, which led to additional demand from the local printing industry.
Books at the Ponivez Yeshiva in Bei Barak, Photo: Moshe Shai
The Corona plague has led to people who used to use Siddur and Chumashim belonging to some beit midrash or synagogue, having to purchase the holy books themselves. "The significant increase in demand is clearly reflected in the company's data, according to which, in the last three years, which show the industry before the outbreak of the corona to date, there has been a significant increase in production," says Assis. "In 2020, there was an increase of about 2.5% in the total number of holy books produced, compared to 2019. Compared to 2021, the increase is even greater - a growth of 13.5% compared to the volume of production in 2019."
Koren Magid Publishing also reports a significant increase in demand in the shadow of the corona.
Joshua Miller, CEO of Koren and Magid Publishing, talks about the benefits of the crisis: "At the beginning of the crisis, there was a drastic drop in sales in stores, but at the same time a tens of percent increase in sales on the site," he says. Those who are at home in isolation for example prefer to spend their time reading books that will enrich their world instead of burning hours in front of the screen.
We see this both in Israel and in the United States.
The corona plague is not the only cause of demand in holy books.
The printing houses point out that the fact that the ultra-Orthodox population grows by about 10% every year, causes a natural increase in demand.
This is reflected, among other things, in the demand for basic books that must be in every ultra-Orthodox home - Shas, Hasidic books, the Bible, Shulchan Aruch, Maimonides books, as well as new holy books such as Yalkut Yosef, ArtScroll and other books of thought.
"Despite the development of technology that is hurting traditional printing houses, the Bible printing industry is actually thriving. Every year there is an increasing trend in demand for holy books, in Israel and around the world," says Yossi Gittleman, CEO and founder of Old City Printing. 52 years ago, the first time we saw a decline and a decline in demand was at the beginning of the corona. Then there was a decrease in the number of orders for the holy books, but pretty quickly, with the adaptation to the new situation, the situation returned to its former state and even more so. In addition, there is the aspect of culture and tradition here. If one of the design decisions a non-religious couple makes when they get married is what will be the number of inches of their TV screen, the decision placed on the shoulders of an ultra-Orthodox couple is what size bookcase they will place in their living room. The closet and the books symbolize social status, strength of faith and inspiration in ultra-Orthodox society. "
Oren Rambam, director of the Consumer Products and Construction Industries Association, explains: "Today, the holy book market is estimated at more than 10 million books and about NIS 200 million annually. It is no secret that in recent years the printing industry is being digitized. "Innovative processes for implementing technologies that will enable them to remain relevant. The Association of Consumer Products and Construction Industries accompanies the industrial companies that are members of it, in advising and guiding innovation processes in order to help them keep pace with the progress and trends in Israel and around the world."
