Feb.-March 2001 Adar 5761 Vol. 4 Edition 2
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LIFECYCLE ARTS Archive MUSIC Archive BOOKSHELF Archive DAY-BY-DAY PERSONALITIES Archive WEEKLY TORAH PORTION FREE GREETING CARDS |
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Because this day
is the beginning of creation on which the Holy One, blessed be He, created
the world and reigned over it. Just as is with kings at the start of
their reign - trumpets and horns are blown in their presence to make
it known and to let it be heard in every place - thus it is when we
designated the Creator as King on this day. As David said: "With
trumpets and sounds of the horn, shout he before the King the Lord.[1]
Because the day of New Year is the first of the ten days of repentance, the shofar is sounded on it to announce to us as one warns and says: "Whoever wants to repent - let him repent; and if he does not, let him reproach himself." Thus do the kings: first they warn the people of their decree; then, if one violates a decree after the warning, his excuse is not accepted.
To
remind us of Mount Sinai, as it is said: "The blare of the horn grew
louder and louder"[2],
and that we should accept for ourselves the covenant that our ancestors
accepted for themselves, as they said "we will do and we will obey."[3]
To remind
us of the words of the prophets that were compared to the sound of the
shofar, as it is said: "Then whosoever hears the sound of the horn,
and takes not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood
shall be upon his own head... whereas if he had taken warning, he would
have delivered his soul."[4]
To remind us of the destruction of the Temple and the sound of the battle-cries of the enemies, as it is said: "Because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the horn, the alarm of war."[5] When we hear the sound of the shofar, we will ask God to rebuild the Temple. To
remind us of the binding of Isaac who offered his life to Heaven. We also
should offer our lives for the sanctification of His name, and thus we
will be remembered for good.
When
we will hear the blowing of the shofar, we will be fearful and we will
tremble, and we will humble ourselves before the Creator, for that is
the nature of the shofar - it causes fear and trebling, as it is written:
"Shall the horn be blown in a city and the people not tremble?"[6] To
recall the day of the great judgment and to be fearful of it, as it
is said: "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near and hastens
greatly...a day of the horn and alarm."[7]
To
remind us of the ingathering of the scattered ones of Israel, that we
ardently desire, as it is said: "And it shall come to pass in that
day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come who were
lost in the land of Assyria...and they shall worship the Lord in the
holy mountain at Jerusalem."[8]
To
remind us of the resurrection of the dead and the belief in it, as it
is said: "All ye inhabitants of the dead and the belief in it,
as it is said: "All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers
on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye;
and when the horn is blown, hear ye."[9]
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