The institute was an independent non-profit organization that conducted leadership-training programs and facilitated rituals in over 100 synagogues across North America.
[2][3] Hoffman's first book came out in 1979, but he remained unknown outside of his field until the publication of his magnum opus, Beyond the Text: A Holistic Approach to Liturgy, in 1987.
[5] Hoffman first gained media attention for a series of articles in the early and mid-1990s advocating a "post-ethnic Judaism", which criticized efforts to turn Hanukah into a multicultural festival.
His early works include: During the 1990s, he co-edited with Paul F. Bradshaw, a former colleague of his at Notre Dame University, and Janet Walton of Union Theological Seminary a series of five books on the dual liturgical traditions of Christianity and Judaism.
The final three books were aimed at a more general audience and discuss the meaning of religious holidays, liturgical music and notions of the sacred and the profound.