27/09/2011
A Message from the Kalever Rebbe for Rosh Hashana 5772
Hear the Shofar – Heed the Call
Our fast-paced, busy lives leave us precious little time to reflect upon the direction and meaning of our journey in this world. Even as we rush from place to place, eyes wide open, we are often asleep with regards to our true purpose, ignoring the eternal in favor of the temporal. Hashem, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, grants us a special opportunity once a year to awaken from our sleep-walk and reorient ourselves in accordance with His will and our highest purpose. That opportunity is Rosh Hashana.
The highlight of the holiday is the Mitzvah—commandment—of hearing the manifold blasts of the Shofar which, traditionally, is fashioned from the curved horn of a ram. Each set of Shofar blasts consist of three distinct sounds. We begin with the Tekiah, a strong, uninterrupted blast much like the sound of a trumpet. This is followed by a Shevarim and Teruah, or combination of the two; these are short, doleful, mourning sounds akin to a brokenhearted cry. Then a final Tekiah is sounded, concluding the triplet.
What is the significance of these elements? What message of inspiration should we draw from the Shofar as we hearken to its sounds on the holy day of Rosh Hashana?
First and foremost, Rosh Hashana marks the anniversary of the creation of man. So we ask, why did Hashem create man? Our Rabbis explain that Hashem is the beneficent King of the universe whose innermost desire, so to speak, is to bestow goodness and kindness unto his creations. Hashem created man with a spark of divine intelligence that allows him to recognize and acknowledge his Creator and express gratitude for the goodness he receives from Him. This expression of gratitude is what brings Hashem into this world and raises His glory in creation itself. For if we receive without gratitude, then He is removed from the picture entirely (perceptually) and life degrades into a hedonistic hunt for pleasure instead of the noble quest for purpose which comes from the Divine. In essence, Hashem gave us Torah and Mitzvos so that we can follow His plan for creation and thereby merit the sweetest reward of all—reward that is earned through the performance of His will.
The initial blast of the Tekiah is our way of trumpeting Hashem’s kingship and sovereignty over all of creation on this, the anniversary of creation. Unfortunately, we often fall short of the mark and lose sight of our Creator. We naively believe that we alone are the arbiters of our destinies, that we can control our own fates. Witness the arrogance of so many world leaders today who cruelly oppress their own people and, more often, direct their hatred toward Hashem’s special children, the Jewish people, who serve as a constant reminder of Hashem’s presence in this physical world. But, as we see world events unfolding, in the end, inhuman tyranny is overthrown by the hidden hand of the Divine, literally in the blink of an eye!
The challenge of life is to come back to Hashem with a broken heart and a cry of repentance and reconciliation with, “Avinu Malkenu,” our Father and King in heaven. This is symbolized by the sound of the Shevarim–Teruah, the broken blasts emanating from the depths of our souls lamenting the rift we have allowed between ourselves and our King. And Hashem responds by embracing us and helping us to repair and straighten any crookedness we have allowed in our path toward Him. This is represented by the concluding Tekiah, sounding a strong and confident note of rapprochement between Hashem and us, His precious children.
The Shofar then is a metaphor for life itself. On Rosh Hashana let us heed its clarion call to the possibilities of new beginnings with the help of the Almighty. And may we thus be inscribed in the book of life for a sweet, healthy and spiritually uplifting new year.
