Jacob Hoffman

Jacob Hoffman (Hebrew: יעקב הופמן) was born in Pápa, Hungary, in 1881. Hoffman studied in traditional Hungarian yeshivot and was ordained by, among others, Rabbi Simcha Bunem Sofer, who headed the yeshivah in Pressburg (Bratislava) founded by the Chatam Sofer.

In Pressburg, where the phrase chadash asur min haTorah (the new is forbidden by the Torah) originated as a contra- modernist slogan, the pursuit of secular studies was discouraged. Yet, Rabbi Hoffman, always an original thinker, exhibited his individualism at an early age. As a yeshivah student, he did not participate in the institution of “days,” the practice whereby students were hosted for daily meals in different homes. He studied privately and received his matriculation diploma, which enabled him to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Vienna. His doctoral dissertation was entitled “Halachic Elements in the Koran.” He expressed his independence in other ways as well. While still in Pressburg, he joined the Zionist movement even though most yeshivot, including the Pressburg yeshivah, were anti-Zionist. In 1904, when Theodore Herzl died, Rabbi Hoffman delivered a public eulogy. This fiercely rugged individualism would mark Rabbi Hoffman’s entire rabbinic career.

Hoffman’s life spanned a period in which the Jewish community experienced cataclysmic changes, such as the holocaust the establishment of the state of Israel, and growth of secularism. After ascending to the chief rabbinate of Radauti in 1912, Hoffman began reaching out to the secular and even anti-religious communities. His defense of the non-religious left a lasting impression on all who knew him.

A test of Hoffman’s tenacity and independence came in 1923 when he was invited to serve as rabbi of the Jewish community (Judische Gemeinde) in Frankfurt am Main. There he succeeded the late Rabbi Nehemiah Nobel (the teacher of Franz Rosenzweig) in the position previously held by the illustrious Rabbi Márkus Horovitz, the talmid muvhak of Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer.

In this position, Hoffman presided over a community with a vast array of community services including kashrut, mikvaot, etc. Additionally, he served as the head of the Rabbinical court (av beit din) of the community and head of the Hoffmansche Yeshiva. Rabbi Hoffman’s kehillah existed alongside another Orthodox community of Frankfurt am Main, Adas Yeshurun, founded by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. During Rabbi Hoffman’s tenure, Rabbi Shlomo Breuer, the son-in-law of Rabbi Hirsch, served as the rabbi of Adas Yeshurun. The very existence of two kehillot (communities) side by side, each with its own system of kashrut, for example, can lead to rivalry and conflict. In this particular case, however, there was another element that institutionalized the conflict — the issue of Austritt (secession).

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