Rabbi Hoffman B"H stabilized and was moved from the ICU to a step down unit, but is still unable to speak due to his ventilator. He is in need of tefillos and rechamay shamayim (heavenly mercy).

Please have him in mind in prayers, משה יהושע בן יונינה, לרפואה שלמה במהרה בתוך שאר חולי ישראל - among the other ill of the nation.

Badge of Honor (encore edition)

By Rabbi Moses Joshua Hoffman

Parshas Tzav begins with a discussion of the mitzvoh of terumas hadeshen, of removing the ashes produced by burned sacrifices from the altar. The kohein is commanded to wear his priestly garments when performing this service, although at first blush one would think that he would wear ordinary garments to perform such a seemingly unholy task. Rabbeinu Bachya, in his commentary, writes that the lesson of terumas hadeshen is that dignity comes from performing God's commands, no matter how insignificant or lowly we may think the specific action is. The very fact that it is God's command that we are doing gives the act dignity, and therefore demands that it be done in a dignified manner, while wearing the priestly garments. We may add that any ash that may happen to settle on these garments as a result of the mitzvoh should be viewed, in fact, as a badge of honor. In fact, Rabbeinu Bachya, in his commentary to parshas Ki Sisa, explains that the 'ornaments' that the Jews received at Mt. Sinai, and which they had to remove after the sin of the golden calf, consisted of their outer garments that were splattered with the blood of the covenant that Moshe sprinkled on them at Mt. Sinai. This blood came from the korban which was brought as part of the nation's process of collective conversion. Rather than viewing this clothing and filthy and undignified, the people cherished it as a symbol of their dedication to God, and mourned the need to remove them as a result of their sin. Similarly, the stains that the kohein's garments received as a result of his performing the mitzvoh of terumas hadeshen were a symbol of his service to God, and therefore something to take pride in.

New addition from Rabbi Hoffman, via his medical aide. Eliyahu L.: Each of us, not only Kohanim, also can strive, by maintaining our dignity in all situations, to serve as an inspiration for others.

Context and Perspective (E.L., Rabbi Hoffman's medical assistant): Please continue to pray for R. Hoffman. He remains conscious and alert, but still on a ventilator. He continues to need tremendous Divine Mercy for continued progress. It can be assumed that when he discusses "maintaining our dignity in all situations" he is certainly including himself at this stage of his life, when maintaining dignity is extremely difficult given all of the machines and lines that are attached to him.

Two people merited to see him laboriously write the one sentence of new content in this week's Netvort. They saw someone who maintains his dignity and continues his Avodas Hashem by spreading Torah even when he currently cannot speak, and exerts himself tremendously to write every letter of every word with a marker in very large print on many pieces of paper. Hopefully, this inspires others in their Avodas Hashem.