The Forest Supervisor Who Became a World-Class Mekubal

At the Rebbe Maharash’s instruction, R. Leib Hoffman spent twenty-two years as a forest supervisor learning and mastering Kaballah. When he passed away, the Rebbe Rashab confirmed that he left no one with the same knowledge of Kaballah as himself.

R. Yehuda Leib Hoffman from Tchashnik was a chossid of the Rebbe Maharash. As a young man he was instructed by the Rebbe Maharash to work in the forest but as a supervisor, so not to be overloaded with work.

He did so for twenty-two years, learning every day for about fifteen hours, and with time became a great talmid chacham and mekubal. Even though he worked in the forest, his real essence was Torah and avoda.

In the year 5658 (1898), he was chosen by the Rebbe Rashab as a shadar to repeat Chassidus and collect money for tzedaka. He was also a talented baal menagen.

*

At a certain point, R. Leib lived in Vitebsk. When a chossid from Vitebsk entered yechidus with the Rebbe Maharash, and told him that R. Leib recites Chassidus but that he was not one of those that listened, the Rebbe Maharash told him that he should begin listening, adding, “R. Leib has a clean mouth.”

*

R. Leib once predicted that the rabbeim would one day end up in the Western Hemisphere. He explained that mattan torah did not occur there since that hemisphere is related to the highest of spiritual levels that cannot be ordinarily related to. However, since moshiach will reveal these lofty levels, one of the Rebbeim would surely end up there.

*

The Frierdiker Rebbe related how he visited R. Leib just 10 days before he passed away. R. Leib told the Frierdiker Rebbe that the only thing that saddened him about his imminent passing, was that he did not leave anyone with the same breadth of knowledge of kabala as himself. When the Frierdiker Rebbe recounted this to the Rebbe Rashab, the Rebbe Rashab responded that it was true.

R. Leib also told the Frierdiker Rebbe then that he wasn’t davening for long life, as he knew that his time was up, but rather that he have his full mental capacity until his final moment.

For sources, visit TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com