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Joel M. Hoffman

teacher . translator . author

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Sep 20, 2023, 7:00 PM

Living in Unprecedented Times: Three Ancient Lessons For Today

Living in Unprecedented Times (Joel M. Hoffman)

Do you feel like you're living in unprecedented times? You're not alone. Most people do. Because of COVID, politics, climate change, technology, or some combination, most people think that today is like no other time. And as a result...

Apr 28, 2016, 6:55 PM

What Will We Teach Our Children? And How?

It's fairly well known that each of the Haggadah's four children (wise, wicked, simple, and unable to ask) elicits a different lesson about who we are. It's less well known that the four children, their questions, and their lessons...

Feb 25, 2016, 11:07 PM

Hebrew School is the Answer – But Not If You Ask the Wrong Question

If you think that "Hebrew school is not the answer," as a man who almost shares my name wrote a few days ago, then I believe you're asking the wrong question. In condemning Hebrew schools, my near near namesake, Joel...

Sep 18, 2015, 6:10 PM

The Case of the Israeli Taxi Driver

"I'll tell you what," I said to the taxi driver in Haifa who was trying to cheat me. "It's Shabbat. Whatever price you tell me --- that's what I'll pay." It was Friday night, and I was on my way...

Oct 2, 2014, 11:59 PM

Yom Kippur’s Hidden Message of Consolation

"Who shall die by fire, and who by water?" That haunting question accompanies a promise of divine justice in the defining and controversial High Holiday prayer, Unetaneh Tokef. But the harsh liturgical words conceal a surprising message of consolation. Yom...

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About Me

A pioneer of applying modern translation techniques to dead languages, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman brings the unappreciated wisdom of ancient texts to modern audiences.

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