Papers by Jeffrey Hoffman
La corónica, 43.2 (Spring, 2015). La corónica is the official journal of the Modern Language Association's permanent Division on Medieval Spanish. , 2015
A review of a volume that analyzes a fascinating medieval illuminated High Holiday mahzor created... more A review of a volume that analyzes a fascinating medieval illuminated High Holiday mahzor created, most likely, in Barcelona. Contains interesting data relating to Jewish-Christian cooperation and competetion.
Hakol Kol Yaakov: The Joel Roth Jubilee Volume, 2021
It is a delight to dedicate this essay to Rabbi Joel Roth. Rabbi Roth inspired me early in my rab... more It is a delight to dedicate this essay to Rabbi Joel Roth. Rabbi Roth inspired me early in my rabbinic training as my Talmud teacher (including a wonderful-group study of a chapter of Sanhedrin with now-rabbis Phil Scheim and Jay Rosenbaum) and has sustained me ever since as my Poseq. Rabbi Roth's passion for studying and teaching the classic texts of our tradition, and his dedication to living the life of a scholarly religious leader provided a wonderful model for his students. The following commentary, part of a larger work I am preparing on the Siddur, represents one small shibbolet of the lekket that has come to fruition from the seeds planted by this master-teacher. Literary Commentary One of the most prominent differences between the weekday and Shabbat Shaḥarit service is found at the conclusion of Pesukei DeZimra. On weekdays, Yishtabaḥ is the blessing that forms the concluding bookend paralleling the opening bookend of Barukh She' Amar. On Shabbat and festivals, Yishtabaḥ itself constitutes the concluding paragraph of a much longer poem called (after its first three words) Nishmat Kol Ḥai, "The Breath of All." I will briefly survey some of the history of this text and then analyze its interesting literary structure. When the Mishnah discusses the Passover Seder,1 it says that the chanting of Hallel (Psalms 114-118) is followed by Birkat HaShir, "The Blessing of Song." Two sages of the Talmud were divided regarding the identity of this blessing.2 One held that this blessing is Yehallelukha, "May They Bless You." The blessing concluding Hallel in post-talmudic prayer collections begins with the word Yehallelukha. The other held that it was Nishmat Kol Ḥai. As is typical of the 1 m. Pesaḥ. 10:7. 2 B. Pesaḥ. 118a.
It is a much quoted truism that moderns have difficulty with prayer in general, whatever the part... more It is a much quoted truism that moderns have difficulty with prayer in general, whatever the particular content of a prayer text. It is that much harder when the content of the prayer text itself seems foreign and antiquated. This, as is well known, is indeed the case regarding the musaf 'amidah of Shabbat, not only for lay people but for many rabbis as well. The difficulty is exemplified in the way the Sabbath and Festival Prayer Book, edited by Rabbi Morris Silverman, translated the section of the musaf 'amidah that presumably is the raison d'etre of musaf, namely, the verses from Numbers 28:9-10 detailing the additional animal and meal sacrifices which were brought to the Temple in ancient times. The Siddur's editor apparently could not see any useful purpose for a translation of these verses in a prayerbook for moderns, so he simply did not translate them and simply indicated the source of the Hebrew lines in the Bible. That, of course, was a convenient way of dodging the larger problem, which is: what possible meaning can a modern Jew, who doesn't believe it is God's will to ever reinstate the sacrificial mode of worship, derive from a major prayer whose very purpose was to petition God to restore the sacrificial service?
A perusal of the sources leads to the inescapable conclusion that the reading of the Torah and it... more A perusal of the sources leads to the inescapable conclusion that the reading of the Torah and its accompanying rituals constituted the main and, at least in Israel, exclusive function of synagogue worship. All four sources-Josephus, Philo, rabbinic literature, the New Testament, and archeological evidence-attest to this fact.1
Ra'u Or: Essays in Honor of Dr. Ora Horn Prouser, 2021
88 CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM sis, one that recognizes that ethics must be cultivated through repetitio... more 88 CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM sis, one that recognizes that ethics must be cultivated through repetition, rehearsed through ritual, and that ritual must be enlisted t o the service of justice. Either extreme is tempting for its simplicity. Both make sense in a world of chaos and purposelessness. But the notion of a single God who created the world o u t of love and who insists on righteousness renders each extreme logically suspect and behaviorally prohibited.
Drafts by Jeffrey Hoffman
What the rock 'n roll band "The Grateful Dead" can teach Jewish Prayer Leaders About Kavannah.
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Papers by Jeffrey Hoffman
Drafts by Jeffrey Hoffman