4-20-21

This Evening is 9 Iyar - 4th Yartzheit of Josh AKA The Hoffer AKA Rabbi Joshua Hoffman

Dear Friends, Many of whom were part of the Netvort Audience, While Rabbi Josh Hoffman is no longer physically writing new material for the weekly “Netvort”, thanks to Baruch Kelman in Israel, his words of Torah are still distributed to a vast audience on a weekly basis. It’s not often someone could continue to inspire 4 years after their death, but I came across the last D’var Torah he ever wrote - he actually wrote it a week early - if you personally know Josh, this was true divine intervention - by the week this was published, he was in a coma.

He wrote this with a thick marker to enable him to hold it and with 8 pieces of paper. I can personally attest that when he wrote this, he was connected to the ventilator, in horrific physical condition, but still singularly focused on writing a creative D’var Torah to share with his beloved and devoted audience. He was sweating profusely while he wrote this from the tremendous strain and toll it took on his body to write this while in such a physically horrific condition. The various medical alarms relating to his heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygenation level almost never stopped tolling throughout the entire time he wrote these words due to the great strain writing this D’var Torah took on his body - but all of these physical reflections of the physical devastations that were ravaging his body at that time at least didn’t have any apparent affect on his dedication to Hashem and the ability to use his intellect to serve Hashem by writing a D’var Torah one final time.

I came across his original writing of this D’var Torah this year so I have included the typed version below and a scanned attachment of his original writing to this email.

His dedication to Torah while in health and while in sickness was a true reflection of his beloved Rebbe, Rav Aaron Soloveichik, ztz”l, whom he merited to be buried very close to on Har Ha’Zaisim, thanks mainly to the advice of Rabbi Reichman, who should continue to be marbitz Torah in good health, and who was always dedicated to Josh’s well being, along with a few other people who assisted in enabling Josh to be buried near his beloved Rebbe.

And a very special thanks to Mrs. Debbie Hes and Rabbi Dovid Roth for frequently helping Josh while he was in Washington Heights.

Thank you to the Netvort staff for spreading Rabbi Hoffman’s Torah and a special thank you to a member of the staff who stayed with Josh in the hospital for what ended up being his final Pesach Seders. May how Josh lived and how he died continue to be an inspiration. Chaval al da’avdin viain mishtakchin.

Respectfully,

Eli Lazovsky

Josh Hoffman’s assistant (whom he never wanted to need)

Thank you to Rabbi Ben Zion Lazovsky for organizing a vast collection of Rabbi Hoffman’s Torah Thoughts on the Parsha which can be accessed at this link: http://yeshivasbrisk.freeservers.com/netvort.html

The original typed D’var Torah follows:
From: Levi Mostofsky
Sent: Wed, Apr 19, 2017 11:47 am
Subject: Rabbi Hoffman

Rabbi Hoffman took a precipitous turn for the worse over Yom Tov, is now unresponsive, and the doctors are battling the pneumonia and septic shock that now threaten his life.
He is now in room 755,
Montefiore Einstein Hospital, Jack D. Weiler Division,
Bronx, NY

Please daven for
משה יהושע בן יונינה
בתוך שאר חולי ישראל

Not in Your Hands

by Rabbi Moses Joshua Hoffman

In this week's sidra, Nadav and Avihu, in the course of the celebration of the inauguration of the Mishkan, bring a strange fire that they were not commanded, and a fire comes from before G-d and kills them.

It seems strange that they should have merited this penalty.

We know from many sources that they were holy men, and that certainly they intended to get closer to G-d. Perhaps if we look at the sin on a deeper level, however, the punishment will make more sense.

There is a machlokes (difference of opinion) between Rashi and Ramban as to whether the Mishkan was commanded before or after the sin of the eigel (golden calf). For Rashi, it was commanded after, because prior to that sin there was no need for the kapparos (atonements)offered by the Mishkan and its karbanos (sacrifices). For Ramban, however, the Mishkan had an additional purpose, namely to serve as a center for the shechina (Divine presence) revealed at Har Sinai to dwell among the people.

The Shem MiShmuel says, that even for Ramban, once the Mishkan was commanded by G-d, it served as a kapparah as well.

What was the sin of the eigel?

Rav Yehudah HaLevi, in his Kuzari, says that the people wanted a physical object to look at, to make it easier to connect to G-d. The problem with this is that they decided it in contradiction to the Divine command not to make graven images.

According to Rav Yehudah HaLevi, Yahadus (Judaism) comes from above down to us on earth below. They were in essence, then, contradicting a basic fundamental of our faith. Observing all the fine details of the Mishkan and karbanos would serve as a kapparah. Nadav and Avihu bringing their strange fire that had not been commanded, on the other hand, were repeating the same mistake as the eigel, which therefore led to grave consequences.

Note from Eliyahu L., who continues to extend himself greatly to help Rabbi Hoffman:

Rabbi Hoffman is not conscious at this time. He is battling a serious infection, and remains on a ventilator. He wrote this week's Netvort last week while he was on it, with tremendous determination and perseverance. We pray for his Refuah Shelaima and that he should be able to continue to be marbitz Torah. (Please have in mind in prayer) Moshe Yehoshua ben Yonina (among the ill of the nation in general).