Feature Stories
Volumne 17 Number 1
September/October 2000
Elul/Tishrei/Cheshvan 5760/5761
Give Heed To The Sound Of The Shofar!
By Rabbi Barney Kasdan
Fall is indeed a special time of year. The kids are back to school. Schedules once again become more predictable. Even where I live in Southern California, the weather has just a touch of coolness to it which reminds us all of the approach of a new season. Of course, it is a unique time if you are Jewish as well for we embark on the most holy time of our religious calendar; namely the High Holy Days. Commencing on the evening of the first of Tishrei (September 29 this year), our people around the world will be assembling together to contemplate the meaning of Rosh Hashanah (New Year). So many themes are evident during the services; repentance, prayer, reviewing the year in light of God’s call on our life. Certainly the most graphic symbol of Rosh Hashanah must be the shofar/ram’s horn. Why is a shofar sounded at this most serious occasion? Some of the answer lies in the traditional Psalm that is read during the shofar service at Rosh Hashanah.
“O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth. God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of a shofar” [Tehillim/Psalm 47:1-2, 5].
Among the many lessons of the shofar, it is a call for his people to acknowledge the Kingship of HaShem. Too often during the year we may forget that we are not the boss! The King of the universe has put us here, given us life and blessed us in so many ways. Lest we entirely forget, the shofar should jolt us into the remembrance that we bend the knee to a greater King. In fact, the very notes that are sounded with the shofar remind us of some essential realities. The first sound, called “tekia”, is the long sustained note that ends abruptly. Roughly translated “blowing”, this note was often sounded to make important announcements such as the arrival of a holy day. Interestingly, it was often used in the ancient society to announce the arrival of a king, hence, the centrality of Psalm 47 every Rosh Hashanah. The second series of notes is called “shevarim” (broken) because it breaks up the one note into three distinct segments of the same length. “Terua” is the third sound of the shofar. This consists of nine stacato notes that give a sense of urgency. Translated as “alarm”, the terua was often used in biblical times as a wake-up call for the troops as they faced a battle. The final note of the shofar is “tekia gedolah” or the great blast that often marked the end of an important occasion, such as Rosh Hashanah.
No wonder the sound of the shofar is quite awesome and respected in the Jewish community! At Rosh Hashanah we are reminded by its shrill sounds that we are appearing before the King of Kings, blessed be He. Likewise we should understand that we are indeed standing in a distinctive spiritual battle on this Holy Day as we examine our soul and try to set things right with our God and fellow man. Yet, it should be noted that there is a special prophetic symbolism associated with the shofar often alluded to within Jewish tradition. The distinctive sounds are to remind us of our future, both as individuals and as a collective people. One Midrash from the middle ages makes a rather astounding statement: “Messiah ben David, Elijah and Zerubbabel, peace be upon him, will ascend the Mount of Olives. And Messiah will command Elijah to blow the shofar. The light of the six days of creation will return and will be seen, the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and God will send full healing to all the sick of Israel. The second blast which Elijah will blow will make the dead rise. They will rise from the dust and each man will recognize his fellow man, and so will husband and wife, father and son, brother and brother. All will come to the Messiah from the four corners of the earth…. The Children of Israel will fly on the wings of eagles and come to the Messiah…”(Ma’ase Daniel as Quoted in Messiah Texts, p.143 by Raphael Patai).
Indeed, the sound of the shofar is our wake-up call every Rosh Hashanah. It beacons us to consider the past and reflect on our present relationship with God. Yet there is coming a day when all the symbolism of the shofar service will be translated into the prophetic future. Perhaps Elijah will be the Baal Tekia (shofar blower) in the great day when the Mashiach, Yeshua of Nazareth, returns to fulfill the second part of his messianic mission. As the New Covenant confirms; “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with the shout (terua), with the voice of the archangel, and with the shofar of God; and the dead in Messiah shall rise first” (I Thessalonians 4:16). On the evening of September 29 we come one year closer to our messianic redemption. As we enter this new year 5761, let us give heed to the sound of the shofar and understand its prophetic message to us all. L’shana tova/Happy New Year!
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