How to Choose an ArtScroll Chumash: Stone, Shnayim Mikra & Sizes

You may be standing in front of a shelf of dark-blue ArtScroll volumes that all say “Chumash” and still have four completely different books in front of you. One is a substantial all-in-one volume for the home or shul. Another divides the Torah across five lighter books. A travel edition combines the Chumash with Shabbos davening. A Shnayim Mikra edition repeats each pasuk and places Targum Onkelos directly into the reading sequence.

The right choice is not the most elaborate binding. It is the edition whose page, contents, size, and nusach fit the way the reader will actually use it each week. This guide compares four current ArtScroll formats using the specifications on their exact Judaica Square listings.

Start with the job the Chumash needs to do

Picture the real moment. Will the book stay on a dining-room shelf for Friday-night parshah learning? Travel to shul every Shabbos? Sit open beside a notebook? Be used specifically for Shnayim Mikra V’Echad Targum? The answer immediately narrows the field.

• One complete home or shul volume: begin with the full-size Stone Edition.
• A lighter weekly volume with the Stone translation and commentary: compare the five-volume mid-size Stone set.
• Chumash and Shabbos davening in one compact book: inspect the travel edition and confirm the nusach.
• A page arranged around the Shnayim Mikra routine: choose the purpose-built Shnayim Mikra edition, one sefer at a time.

If a rebbe, school, chavrusa, or family member named a specific edition, use that exact title or SKU. Page numbers, commentary placement, and included tefillos can differ even when two covers look related.

Four ArtScroll Chumash formats compared

Specifications above come from the linked current product pages. Other bindings and editions may differ.

The full-size Stone Chumash: the broad all-in-one choice

The full-size Stone Edition Chumash is the straightforward choice when someone wants the Torah, an English translation and anthologized commentary, Rashi, Onkelos, Haftaros, and the Five Megillos together in one volume. ArtScroll lists this hardcover at 1,313 pages and 8 × 9.5 × 1.8 inches.

That completeness is useful on a table or shtender, but it is also the reason to pause before calling it a travel book. Put a ruler beside the space where it will live and think about whether the reader will carry it to shul. “One volume” does not automatically mean “small.”

This is also where gift buyers often make a good-looking but wrong choice. A recipient who already owns the standard hardcover may value a portable format more than a leather-bound copy of the same basic edition. Check the shelf first.

The five-volume Stone set: familiar content in lighter weekly books

The mid-size five-volume Stone Edition set divides the Torah into five hardcovers in a slipcase. Judaica Square’s current listing describes a 6.5 × 8-inch format, an individual index in every volume, and the Haftaros and appropriate Megillos.

This format makes sense for a person who prefers to take only Bereishis, Shemos, Vayikra, Bamidbar, or Devarim off the shelf. It also creates a different reading experience: less physical bulk in the hand, but five separate books to organize and eventually replace if one goes missing.

Read the product title carefully. A photograph of several spines usually suggests a set, but the title and included-volume list are the reliable evidence. If the listing names one sefer, do not assume it includes the others.

The travel Stone Chumash: compact does not mean abridged

The current hardcover travel listings place the Stone Chumash and the complete Shabbos service into one 5.38 × 6.5-inch volume. That can reduce what someone carries to shul, but the page necessarily holds a great deal of material. A buyer who values large type may prefer the full-size or five-volume format even if the travel book fits the bag more easily.

Confirm Ashkenaz or Sefard

The Chumash content is not the only decision because the bound-in Shabbos davening follows a nusach. The store currently has separate hardcover listings for the Nusach Ashkenaz travel edition and the Nusach Sefard travel edition. If this is a gift, ask rather than infer from a family name, school, or neighborhood.

The Shnayim Mikra edition: the page follows the routine

Shnayim Mikra V’Echad Targum is not simply another cover option. The Bamidbar volume in the current catalog prints each pasuk twice, followed by Targum Onkelos, with an English rendering based on Onkelos. It also includes the full Hebrew text of Rashi and short introductions by Rabbi Moshe Bamberger before each aliyah.

The Orthodox Union’s overview of Targum Onkelos describes the weekly practice as reviewing the parshah twice in the original Hebrew and once with Onkelos. The shopping question is whether a page that already repeats the text will make the routine easier to sustain. Questions about timing, sequence, using another commentary or translation, and one’s particular practice belong with a rav; this guide is not a substitute for halachic guidance.

Also check the sefer name. The linked item is Bamidbar. A person beginning again with Bereishis after Simchas Torah needs the corresponding Bereishis volume rather than assuming one book contains all five chumashim.

Choose the page before the binding

Leather, color, and personalization matter for a gift, but the page determines whether the book will be used. Before ordering, compare:

1. Text order: Is each pasuk printed once or twice? Where are Onkelos, Rashi, and English placed?
2. Print density: A compact volume can be complete and still feel too dense for a particular reader.
3. Included services: If Shabbos davening is bound in, confirm the nusach.
4. Physical format: Record exact dimensions, page count, number of volumes, and binding.
5. Actual routine: Home table, shul, school, travel, weekly review, or deeper commentary study?

If a sample page is available, look at it at the approximate size the book will be used. A title can tell you the series; it cannot tell you whether the reader finds the type comfortable.

A 60-second ordering checklist

• Write down the exact edition or SKU.
• Confirm Hebrew-only or Hebrew-English.
• Check whether the item is one volume or a complete set.
• For editions with davening, confirm Ashkenaz or Sefard.
• For Shnayim Mikra, confirm the specific sefer of the Torah.
• Compare dimensions with the shelf, bag, or shtender.
• If it is a gift, check what the recipient already owns before choosing a duplicate.

Browse the live Chumash and Torah editions collection for additional publishers and formats. For a broader shelf plan, use the ArtScroll home-library guide. If the Chumash is part of a simchah gift, the Bar Mitzvah gift guide helps coordinate it with the family and avoid duplicates.

Stone Chumash sizes side by side

All formats carry the same Stone Edition content: the Hebrew text with English translation, Rashi in Hebrew, Onkelos, the haftaros and commentary. The choice is about weight and where you will use it. Full size and travel size figures come from the publisher; mid and personal size figures come from our listings.

Frequently asked questions

What sizes does the Stone Chumash come in?

It comes in full size (one volume), mid size (five volumes), personal size (five small volumes, also sold singly) and travel size (one compact volume).

Is the travel Stone Chumash abridged?

No. It is a smaller format, and the publisher lists it as including the Sabbath service.

Which Stone Chumash should I buy for shul?

Many people use the full size at home and a personal or travel size for shul or travel. If you will carry it, a five volume set means you only bring the current sefer.