By Rabbi Michael Bram
Perhaps the most well-known part of Rosh HaShanna is the blowing of the Shofar, the ram’s horn blown during the service on both days of Rosh HaShanna. What may be less well known is the purpose of the Shofar blowing. Rosh HaShanna focuses on the creation of the world and God’s place as its ruler; it’s a day when God judges all of creation and decides our future for the coming year. When the King comes to judge His people, we blow the Shofar to herald His coming and to awaken us to the serious events of the day. Rosh HaShanna reminds us to examine our deeds and correct our ways.
This may not be something we can easily relate to. A Shofar is a small object, even the large ones are only a couple of feet long, the sound it makes is not always impressive, and we may not feel particularly awakened by the annual blowing of the Shofar. How can we relate to the Shofar blowing the way we are meant to?
On Rosh HaShanna 2009, I was deployed to Iraq as a US Air Force Chaplain. The base chapel had different spaces for various faith groups. The Rosh HaShanna service was in the smaller multi-faith space. Next door in the main chapel space was the Protestant Gospel service, a very enthusiastic service with music, singing, and dancing.
As I blew Shofar, the loud Gospel service was instantly silent. It turns out, they mistook the Shofar for the alarm that signals incoming fire (we were fired upon multiple times a day) and immediately took shelter in accordance with procedures. After we made sure everyone was safe, we all had a good laugh and returned to our respective services.
It’s a cute story, but it gave me perspective on how we relate to Shofar. The Shofar is indeed a warning of what is incoming. It’s not enemy fire that comes on Rosh HaShanna, but the Creator of the universe, Whose rule over the world we acknowledge and celebrate, each in our own ways. While we are joyous in our celebration of the new year, there’s also a solemn aspect to the holiday that reflects the seriousness of our judgment. The Shofar heralds the coming of the Judge of us all. We should take the opportunity to joyously coronate the King and celebrate the opportunity for growth and self-improvement the High Holydays represent.
Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and sweet new year!
Rabbi Bram
