New York – Rabbi Yair Hoffman, an Orthodox educator, author of several Seforim on Halachah and former Morah Desarah of a Shul in Long Island, is a well respected Torah figure with close contacts with many leading halachic authorities.
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He is also a frequent contributor to VIN News and Five Towns Jewish Times.
Most recently, Rabbi Hoffman’s editorial on the Martin Grossman execution became one of the most read article on VIN News, with over 32,000 unique readers on the day it was posted, with nearly 400 comments.
The editorial, which reminds readers of Grossman’s guilt and that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist was virtually guaranteed to not change his mind on the eve of an election, generated a fierce firestorm in the Orthodox community online and in the brick-and-mortar shuls and study halls over the past several days.
Now, Rabbi Hoffman will be interviewed on the popular Dov Hikind show tonight, explaining his position.
The show starts at 11PM You can listen on WMCA 570 AM, or online at talkinlinecommunicatins.com
**UPDATE** 1:30 AM below is the audio replay.
rabbi hoffman, chazak v’ematz!! true leaders are few and far between in the frum community nowadays.
the outpouring of support from the frum commnity during the grossman episode illustrates perfectly the perversion and moral bankruptcy that (sadly) has become what 21st century yiddishkeit is all about. when the color of one’s shirt, the opaqueness of one’s stockings, the number of times one’s salad is inspected via electron microscope, etc., is how a society judges ‘frumkeit’, it is really no surprise that a cold blooded killer (who wore tefillin, to be sure) can be held up as a hero, saint, martyr, etc.
after all, the frumme’ askonim and gedolim (‘daas torah’) have been working overtime for years now to paint any and every jew accused/convicted of any crime (no matter how heinous) as a hero/martyr/victim. (off the top of my head: the rubashkin family, chasidic boys in japan, meah shearim mother, meah shearim father(s), rioters in meah shearim, etc. etc.).
i’ve known for years now that the frum velt has gone crazy, but i prayed that somehow things would turn around. now i worry that we may be past the point of no return.
Rabbi Hoffman was totally correct in his approach to this Grossman error and to the ridiculous move by the phony Jews, who decided that Grossman was a Super Jew.
And I happen to be proud of that frum community that u so nicely demonize! When a fellow jew is in a problam, yes, we will try to help! Did u ever heard of “pidyon shviem”?! And it don’t matter for what!
To 1&2: You are a bunch of anti samites we go according to the torah and only that!!! according to the torah there needs to be 2 aidim to have some one killed. and yes the holocha is that when a jew killes a goy he is not chayiv misa wheather u ike it or not, if u think differant yell at god not at me. there for according to our torah this man should of bein alive. I know u don’t like to hear this but to bad!!!
Am I the only VIN reader that disagrees with rabbi hoffman?
When a jews life is at hand, then we do everything in our power to help save his life… That’s a major kiddush hashem…
I work very closely with goyim and they actually filled out the petition to save him.
It was a major major kiddush hashem.
Goyim respect very much that a Jew will do anything to help another jew.
I’m not embarressed of it and I will never take it back.
He’s a jew, and jews do what we have to do to save another jew.
Do we as jews think that he doesn’t deserve to get punished??? I would hope your answer would be “as jews, Were too close to the case to have an objective view, so ask someone else.”
I love jews
there are a bunch of other jewish inamtes on death row all over america. google this one: “chayim ben sholom”
I have a pragmatic problem with Hoffman’s statements. I think it is bad policy to make nice to Crist and say that the Jewish agencies didn’t expect a positive response. When a petition is made, all parties involved have to demonstrate that they mean what they say. This means that that they have to back it up and stick to their guns. Now that the execution was carried out, Crist should know that there will be political repercussions for his inaction. I personally understand Crist’s position, as much as it saddens me. But If a petition is made by so many Jewish agencies, there must be teeth to it.
did you forget that they also stabbed a young tourist (Reb Yankel Rosenbaum H Y D) what was the murderer punishment?
Pidyon shevuim is not meant for innocent people. It is for guilty people incarcerated by goyim. Grossman would be a good Pidon Shevuim case, if there had been a chance that his life could be saved. We are after all in gualus, and dina demalchusa dina. To be told that our emails, phone calls and letters have a chance of saving, when in fact it does not. Not to be told the full story – that all excuses where unsuccessfully argued in court – countless times – over 25 years, just made our united stand that much weaker.
Sure we are obligated to voice our collective distress, but please, lets use it where we stand a chance ot success.
I don’t understand why Agudah took such a sand on Grossman, and I don;t see much from them on Rubashkin.
I cannot speak for how the outcry was perceived, but I hope it will be seen as a kiddush Hashem. No one was vindicating Grossman, and there was no protest to his conviction. The reaction was to the execution. I joined that outcry, despite feeling that it was foregone. The above was my reason. I did not feel that I was party to interference with the secular judicial process. I also do not believe that the secular government needs to follow the rigors of halacha, making the above discussions about witnesses and hasra’ah moot points.
While rabbi hoffman might make sense as of common sense
Its sure not the torah view to try to save any jew even who did wrong from the hands of the goyim
And to the posters who talk about hisgarus bumos there no such jewish law against hisgrus bumos its only in agudos maharshu as midresh and satmarer rebbe zl made maybe a halacha out of it
A. I never understood the need of a Jew, let alone a rabbi, to come out and defame efforts of others greater and more in the know than he is.
B. Somehow the facts get lost after one or two sentences. The Rabbis who pleaded on behave of Grossman, were asking for one thing – not to put him to death. Period. Bringing up his heinous crime as a rebuke to those protestors of the death sentence is ludicrous. No one but no one is denying the monstrous murder he committed and the need for him to stay in prison for life. Many people fight the death penalty.
C. Constitutionally Florida is not exactly on the up and up. Due to Grossman’s very limited intelligence and the non-premeditation of the murder are reasons judicially not to put a man to death.
The truth gets so lost that most posters don’t even remember the original statements. READ, READ, READ, and understand exactly what the Rabbis tried to do and why. As one poster wrote, painting Grossman as knight….is so ludicrous. Where did that idea show up in the news
We tried to save him because he was jewish, not because he wore tefillin, he wrote in a letter that he wore tefillin 15 times in his life.
I just have a question to the good rabbi. He makes a point that why should we call if we know that there was zero chance anyway, which would insinuate that if there was a chance then the right thing to do was to call. However don’t we have a concept that even if the sword is on ones neck he still should not give up hope. therefore we should still daven and do our hishtadlus. ( i address this question only to the belivers who also belive in the concept of tshuva unlike what seems to be most posters)
We should all not regret what we did. We must stand tough and back up what we say. We should gather 100 thousand letters and warn any politician who does not support tax breaks for yeshiva parents and carrys his personal liberal agenda of gay marriages will be outvoted in a wink. This should be fowarded to Schumer and his ilk. We have so many chareidi Jews today we can outvote every liberal skunk who opposes our frum agenda. We can have government sponsored yeshivas and we would not have to struggle at all. We are fools that we dont take advantage of our G-d given opportunities to empower ourselves. We need to unite and do this here and in Israel as well. Chareidi power number one.
People ?!? no one asked the gov to keep him alive or released ? all we asked is to postpone for 60 days so we can get more investigations and lawyers…
Grossman was not mechuyev misah and we had to do what we can and yes we have to do for schalit. and rabbi hofman go back to (a jewish) school.
I was very disappointed of rabbi hoffmans comments on the dov hikind show
He was trying to say that its a sofek if this martin grossman did teshuva like this lubavitch shaliach is a liar
Not to mention his try to make it look like yossi gestetner blames the government of antisemitizem that dov didn’t let rabbi hoffman do that
While tens of the thousands of phone calls coming in may seem very impressive, they don’t mean as much as you may think.
Keep in mind the following – 1) there are many more phones around today than years ago, including many cellular phones in hands of everyone and his brother. So generating so many phone calls is not as great a feat as in the past. 2) Some of the calls may have been the same people calling more than once. 3) With caller i.d. and other technology, it can be revealed where calls are coming from. If the governor’s office sees that 85% of the calls to his FL office are from NY, from people who cannot vote in his state, they will not be as concerned as if they were from FL residents.4) After a while they will realize/figure out where the calls are coming from. They may say think and say, hey these NY Jews/Hassidics don’t live here (in FL), who are they to tell us what to do? Screw them! 5) On the contrary, trying to pressure could backfire. The Gov. could say, hey, I am standing up for FL, against certain people from NY who want to tell us what to do.
I petioned governor Christ “not” to free Mr. Grossman, but to let him live and spend the rest of his life in jail. All the major Jewish Organization did the same as myself. We should be proud that so many Jews came together to try and avoid an execution that is still banned in many states and against our religious beliefs. Yasher Koach!
Rabbi hoffman really went over board.They are looking for truth and justice!he better look at cases where the prosecutor bdavka witheld information.
I listened to your position and would like to reply as follows
your argument that there was little chance of overturning the verdict – does not the gennora say in brochos that even of a sword is by your neck one shoulld not give up hope
We can not overlook how grave and eckeldick the crime was as you said, however, Mr grossman was but 19 at the time with a lot of extenuating circumstances at the time all we were asking was that he not be put to death
As for your argument to apply our kochos to other causes I do not see how this cause detracts from others
respectfully I take issue with you position
It is amazing how many people can play armchair quarterback after the fact. Many of the comments below are all over the place without a true basis. I dont question Rabbi Hoffmans knowledge of torah. I do however question the timming of his op-ed. Why After the fact? especially if as he said on the radio show he took the time to go thru the evidence and call the psychiatrist who evaluated Mr Grossman. What I see is rather a pathetic attemt to make a statement which is just generating comments from many foolish people who if this was their child in jail they would be running around and saying please save my child, and that includes Rabbi Hoffman.
It is correct to mention that there are many other causes that we should fight for! why was this case so different and why were we fighting to save this “murderers life” is another question.
We learn the concept of gilgulim, we may learn them and sometimes do not understand them. Is it possible that his neshoma had to come down to this world and suffer in jail and be executed? (thats not in anyway justifying the murder of Officer Parks). Is it possible that we had to unify and try to help, Could this be the rotzon hashem?
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It is interesting that for every comment made regarding torah law, Rabbi Hoffman had a Taz or other torah commentary so say the opposite. Well that goes in line with the concept of shivim ponim latorah. Therefore the question is what are the true facts and why was this case different. Furthermore, is it maybe possible that this was the rotzon hashem that hashem wanted everyone to come together and try to save this soul. After all, this case was very different then most murder cases and most death row cases. additionally the sentencing was allowed only because he was on probation for a previous crime of breaking and entering.
1) Fact, – there was an accomplice who started the hitting of officer parks.
2) even if you disagree with the phsycologists analasys since he did work for the deffendants you still have to agree that he would have to have a real basis to prove the 77 IQ. He cant just pull it out of the hat.
3) Fact – the only reason that he was elegible for the death penalty was a technicallity of the fact that he was on probation, ad by the way under FL law that is inadmissible today in FL court.
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4) the testimony to the murder was based on a) Taylor who later committed suicide and a witness who heard about it from Taylor and wanted an lighter sentance and later addmitted he lied.
So the question then is why wasnt this brought up in court thru the 11 appeals as Rabbi hoffman so eloquently pointed out? the answer is it was but the “public deffender did not argue the case right! We were too late in getting a good legal team in place after Jan 12th. Additionally I dont know if Rabbi Hoffman is a lawyer but he should know that once evidence is addmited you cannot argue it again even if it was done incorrectly.
Next point
To say that politically we damaged the jewsih community is a fals statement and even Rabbi Hoffman said on the show it was based on his ligic and opinion. I can say from a position of authority I was involved in this case and that is factually not true. Additionally he said that “usually elected officials do not commute sentences during their terms”. That is factually not true go look up president bush he did commute a few sentences most of them for real petty crimes, Additionally when it comes to capital punishment its annually.
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Since he spoke from a possition of an informed source I will tell you that what was being offered to The Gov of FL and the pressure that was on him from major FL donors who I can list but would rather not on this blog “al pi derech hateva”should have gotten him to agree to the 60 day stay of execution as was requested and not the commuting as was mentioned”. Additionally it was guaranteed to him that there would be no backlash from the Rubio Camp.
So to state that it was a lost cause from the beggining is absolutely false. After all we just finished reading a few weeks ago about the makos. And Moshe went to Paroh every time to ask to let my people go. however hashem had a different plan. We do have to try and to not try would leave the question did we fail according to the halachic opinions that Rabbi hoffman disagrees with!
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Next- Family Harrasment
Its nice that as he said on the Radio show he got his facts from a Gainesville newspaper and a blog. Why didnt rabbi hoffman call the Parks family like he did the phsychiatrist? so that he can find out the truth instead of stating that we have “mishugoyim” in the jewish world. It so hapens that the family was not contacted by many people and what they were contacted about was to set up a fund in momory of Peggy Parks so that her memory should not be forgotten additionaly the head of the episcopalean church did this to convince them that this would be a better way to bring closure rather than to see Mr Grossman die. I dont believe thats considered harrassment.
Point here is, Please get all the facts straight and then play armchair quarterback. and to all those who called Mr Grossman a cold blooded murdered, yes according to what you read in the papers that is true, however not always what you read is the truth.
I was at the burial in Liberty and a gentelman came and said I want to say a few words. He mentioned that he met someone in shul who asked him about grossman and can we save him
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One of the issues is the aftermath. The large levaya in Monsey. The learning of Mishnayos etc… This is my issue. We are making him a hero. Agudah, YI etc… had good intentions but something went wrong here.
If you listen to the interview Dov is simply in bed with Agudah. With the Lazar/Greenfield election he had made some deal with someone so he is defending the Agudah position.
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So he asked him what is your shaychus with Grossman? the man answere I know him for 20 yrs. he said how do you know him? he said he is in charge of a certain tzedaka and 20 yrs ago they sent him and all the jewish prisoners jewish callendars and Grossman sent back tzedaka from his prison account! and for the past 20 years he has been doing this. The question to be asked to all those who called him a bloody murdered who is chayav missa without realy knowing the truth! how many murderers do you know on Death row that send tzedaka? I dont know of any.
I took time in writting this because yes although grossman was not a tzaddik and in no way was he physically a good person when he was 19 yrs old. he did have a neshoma tehorah and for his neshoma alone we had to do what we had to do. after all the true average on death row in FL is 14 yrs not like Rabbi Hoffman said of 20 or more, however it does say Tzedoka tatzil mimoves. He must have had some merit. I for one do not want to be the judge I will let hashem decide that and I ask all of you that had strong comments to remmeber what I wrote on Rosh Hashana when you say mi yichyeh and mi yomus
Happy Purim
Really, “Involved”.
You didn’t ask for commutation?
Then why ask for the 60 day stay? It couldn’t be for legal appeals, because all of those were exhausted.
Rabbi Yair Hoffman I love you !!
“Alan Dershowitz publicly stated for the record….” Who cares? He’s an ultra-liberal
radical. “Very responsible and intelligent people looked at the same case with
a greater focus on truth…” Baloney. There were, doubtless, sincere people
who tried to perform a virtuous deed. To my dismay, however, there were,
simultaneously, malicious, biased and irresponsible people hiding behind
the cloak of bogus religiosity who defamed other Jews, vilified the jury, the
governor of Florida and other rabbis—including Rabbi Hoffman.
“People looked at the same case with a greater focus on truth”, you say.
Not true, they misread and misunderstand the pertinent facts. Guys on your
side are culpable of mudslinging. What a disgrace! It is shocking that those
defending a cop killer add insult to injury by heaping abuse on their opponents,
questioning their integrity and lineage. Shame on such fanaticism.
What and where is the taz Rabbi Hoffman said he has? thanks
There have been several Jews who are totally innocent, whose doctors or nurses seek to convince their families to withdraw care (“pull the plug”) and hence cause their death–because the patients are disabled, perhaps dying, or do not have the same quality of life the doctor / nurse feels justifies living.
What are we doing as a community to help these patients and their families?
Are we sending emails to the hospital CEO? Are we offering emotional support to the family? Are we offering ANY support whatsoever to the family? What are Jewish organizations doing when they learn of such cases, from desperate family members, when the hospitals make unilateral decisions supposedly based on ‘secular ethics’ but often more likely based on financial considerations?
Cool everyone.
1) Do u know that grossman had somebody with him (Thyne Taylor) to commit and cover-up the crime?
2) Do u know that Taylor was the one who started hitting Parks, and Grossman only followed (and with his mental limitations, didn’t know when to stop)?
3) Do u know that shooting Parks was during a struggle, after she fired and shot, and NOT was stood against a wall to be shot?
4) Do you know that Taylor brought another person, in addition to Grossman, to do the cover-up?
5) To u know that Grossman’s guilt is based mostly on Taylor’s testimony which he gave in exchange for a smaller sentence?
6) Do u know that Taylor took his life later out of guilt for screwing over Grossman?
7) Do you know that some of the other testimony was from someone who told the court what Taylor told him about that night?
8) Do you know that the other person and/or Taylor took back their testimony, but too little too late.
So all of you smart ppl should shut the hell up B4 making ur anti-Grossman points.
I understand Rabbi Hoffman/s position, but take issue with his criticism of the mishnayos-learning undertaking. If anyone needs zechusim, it’s this soul.
“Timche es zecher AMALEIK” for all we know maybe he was mkayeim a mitzvah many of us will never be able to do. May his neshama have an aliya.
can som1 explain me why do they point out again and again rabbi hoffman & dr kats, that the cop was shot in the back of her head
Rabbi Z at Agudah: What would Reb Moshe Sherrer have done? Wasted political capital on a lost cause with the high potential of a backlash from many sides? I think not! Just a bit naive and Rabbi H is correct.
You need someone to translate the proceedings for you. They did not keep repeating that fact. It was mentioned just to remiind those who were uninformed that
a brutal crime had been committed. I just took a look at some of the stuff on this
subject here. It seems some of you guys are trying to make a martyr out of
that criminal. Maybe that’s why the rabbi and professor saw fit to educate the
public regarding the gravity of the crime committed.
I thank HKB”H for Rabbi Hoffman every day! It truly pains me to see how far the klal has fallen.
Yasher Koach Rabbi Hoffman! A voice of reason emanating from a cacophony of… unreason.
Rabbi Hoffman, during a week where I was totally depressed because it appeared that my fellow Jews were not only heartless towards the actual victims but had lost their collective minds, you spoke with such clarity and common sense. I am so grateful for you, you have no idea. I was losing faith, and then you wrote what you wrote.
reply to
yankie you are correct, let these organizations raise big outcries for what we are doing to ourselves and Rabbi Hoffman wrote an excellent article and we need more rabbonim who will say it like it is and not march to the same tunes. Yasher Koach, Rabbi Hoffman
Rabbi Hoffman is wrong! The false testimony of Charles Brewer at Grossman’s testimony, and the underhanded deal that Brewer worked out with the State’s Attorney’s Office to eleicit his false testimony, is just one example of went wrong with this trial. There are laws in this country, Rabbi Hoffman! And if Capital punishment is to be metted out, it must be done in accordance with the law. Rabbi Hoffman’s emotional feeling do not dictate the rules and laws of capital punishment. I know Vos is Nais will not publish my comment, and that is fine with me, as long as they publish Rabbi Hoffman’s incorrect and incorent views.
I am appalled at the EGO Rabbi Hoffman emits. On one hand he says that we all got on the band wagon over information we heard that was only from one side of the fence and then he promotes the concept that Yidden called the family of the victim and called them “Nazi’s” because it was reported by a newspaper. Did he actually speak to the family himself????? Sorry RABBI that is a double standard.
In addition, the assumption that YIDDEN in general are “for” the death penalty is a huge assumption. Yidden are “FOR LIFE”, we respect life and we believe that only Hashem can give life and take life.
In addition, for someone who works or worked with the at-risk population it is outrageous that he does not even have one iota of compassion or understanding of this man as a 20 year old with an IQ of 77 with the unfortunate background he had.
In addition, as Yossi Gestetner pointed out, Grossman did not go out looking to shoot a cop. It was a spur of the moment incident. And Hoffman attacks Gestener for not speaking to any of the prosecutor’s expert witnesses, I would like to know who Hoffman spoke to that he became an expert on Grossman and his abilities at that time.
Hoffman, does not recognize that most death penalty charges are implemented against premeditated murder. This was not the case with Grossman. In addition, when he says that “we must choose our battles” he doesn’t seem to realize is that it is exactly what we did. WE chose to fight for his life, not his freedom. It does not take away for any efforts we should make towards any other person in trouble.
The problem here is that Hoffman has to defend his position and he won’t back down. When the Agudah, headed by an ilui like the Noviminsker Rav decides to beg for his life, I feel very comfortable saying that HE knows better than Hoffman and that he has studied Halacha a lot longer than Hoffman therefore his judgment in this case far outweighs that of Hoffman. I don’t know Grossman personally but when I get a request to help a fellow Jew and that the request is supported by Daas Torah, I take that request seriously.
On the other hand, I might not necessarily go out of my way to do something for a goy I don’t know, however if it was someone I know, or someone that someone I knew did, and I was asked to help I would. Don’t trust the death penalty, the justice system is not just.
Hoffman says that it is a “sofek” whether or not Grossman did teshuva. How could he say that, did he spend even one minute with him that he can excuse him of that? I feel that is a very harsh and inappropriate comment.
In addition, when he says why are people saying mishnayos for him. Why not say mishnayos for Gilad and the others? My answer is why not????? Why don’t you, Rabbi Hoffman, start a program for people to be saying mishnayos for IDF prisoners. It is a very good idea, but that doesn’t mean that people should be taken to task for choosing to say mishnayas for a lost yiddish soul who has no one to pray for him.
To say that we wasted our efforts here when our efforts could have been used to save lives in other situations is a chilul Hashem. Who are you to choose which one of Hashem’s children is more important than the other? Everyone should be treated equally.
Why do you say that no one was presented with both sides of the position? Again, were you there? Do you know who researched what? You ASSUME too much.
I think Dov made an excellent point. There was a time limit and deadline we were working against and the need was great to work quickly.
It is unfortunate that Rabbi Hoffman has made such an issue of his own personal opinion and that because the crime itself is so “ekeldek” he chooses to support the death penalty for this nebech of a person up to the point that he calls his “teshuva” questionable. Even after Rabbi K said that he and Rabbi Katz along with other Lubavitcher Rabbonim and bochurim spent a lot of time with Grossman over the span of his incarceration and stated in fact that there was a tremendous change in him over the years. He also spoke about his abusive and neglectful childhood.
Let me ask you this Rabbi Hoffman, how many prisoners have been let go from our Justice and criminal system after many years of incarceration because they have later found out they basically “hung” the wrong man???? How would you feel, since you are for the death penalty, if someone was put to death and was later discovered that they were actually innocent? I don’t care if it is a goy or a yid, one mistake is one too many in my book.
To Rebbe, Professor, Dave, Mario, Yidishe Bubby and all the others who post anonymously. On behalf of all those who cared to save a life and tried to look beyond the facts that were presented thru the various news outlets. Let me be the one to inform you the following
If the shoe was on the other foot I am sure you would’nt be talking so negative.
I wish no harm on you nor on your families, but if god forbid one of your childrem, grandchildren or relatives commits a crime whether it be Vehicular homicide or even if they get into a fight and someone gets hurt or gets murdered even if it is by mistake, or if he or she is arrested for a mistake or petty crime, Please dont call us for help. I repeat PLEASE DONT CALL US FOR HELP. Who is us? The Rest of the jewish nation other than yourselves. Why because as you all put it, “they will be guilty as sin and therefore should suffer for their crimes, No questions asked.