The Shofar Is Calling
The Shofar Is Calling
The sound of the shofar is primal & ancient. It produces a strange sense of awe and reverence.
Think back to that moment before the first blast is sounded; a hushed expectancy fills the synagogue.
At the moment we hear the first piercing note, we are struck with an almost childlike wonderment. And for most of us, it is one of our earliest childhood memories.
The notes of the shofar are not beautiful by any musical standard, but somehow, we find in their thin piercing blasts something that calls to us.
We feel connected to the shepherds and kings, the prophets and prophetesses, who first heard these same notes in the land of Israel more than 3,000 ago.
But what is the call of the shofar?
You’ll notice that we hear basically 4 types of blasts (with different combinations): Tekiah, Shevarim, Truah, Tekiah Gedolah.
And you might recall that the number 4 appears in many secular and Jewish settings.
There are four directions (east, west, north, south), four seasons, (summer, winter, spring, fall) and four basic compounds (fire, water, earth, air).
And Jewishly, in addition to the four types of shofar blasts, there are 4 letters in the personal name of G!D (Yud, Hey, Vav, Hey), as well as four cups of wine and four questions at the Pesach seder.
Tziporah Heller Gottlieb, the American-born educator, author, and speaker based in Jerusalem, has written: “The number four is the number more than any other that encapsulates the message of exile and redemption… From a Judaic perspective, exile means far more than physical expulsion from one's natural home. The deepest level of exile is estrangement. We were (and to a degree are still) expelled not only from our land, but also from ourselves.”
Four = Exile leading to Redemption, Brokenness leading to Wholeness, _____ leading to ______.
You fill in the blanks for yourself.
The first call of the shofar, tekiah, is, as Maimonides interpreted, a call to wake up to who we have become.
What do we need to recognize and change in our lives to become our best selves?
The second call of the shofar, shevarim, is the sound of sadness, sobbing, regret.
What do we need to do to heal ourselves and others we have hurt?
The third call of the shofar, truah, 9 piercing blasts, was how the ancient Israelites summoned the people to war.
What actions do we need to take to conquer our base inclinations and reinforce our highest aspirations?
The final call of the shofar, tekiah gedolah, teaches us patience and hope — to stand quietly through this long blast, to dream of a better “you,” to dream of a world redeemed, to remember HaTikvah, the Jewish national anthem before it was the State of Israel’s anthem.
As my colleague and the Director of Mishkan Miami at Federation, Rabbi Fred Klein, wrote several years ago:
“On Rosh Hashanah, we are not only praying for physical life, but a life that is worth living. We do not want to just exist and persist; we want to thrive and grow.”
Through our many departments and areas of education, CAJE offers our entire community — children, teens, and adults-- many different opportunities to thrive and grow. Please visit our website to learn more.
May this new year 5785 be a year of personal and communal growth, health, learning and peace, for you, your loved ones, the Jewish people and the world!
