The significance of the shofar

In the midst of last year’s COVID lockdowns, even as shules were closed, the sound of the shofar was heard across many otherwise silent streets. By special arrangement with the authorities, rabbis and others ensured that while we were confined to our homes that crucial element of Rosh Hashanah would not be missed. As these lines are written it seems that once again such arrangements will be required in both Melbourne and Sydney, and I understand that rabbinical authorities are already preparing plans for submission to authorities. However the very fact of the effort put into achieving those arrangements begs the question – what is so compulsive and magical about these raw sounds that so dominate the atmosphere even during Elul as Rosh Hashanah approaches and on Rosh Hashanah itself?

The Torah itself does not refer to Rosh Hashanah as “new year” or even “head of the year”. After all, in the Torah’s own words, it is “bachodesh hashvi’i ba’echad lachodesh – in the seventh month on the first of the month”, hardly the date for a new year. The Torah describes what we refer to as “Rosh Hashanah” as “Yom Teruah” (the day of trumpeting) or “Zichron Teruah” – a remembrance of trumpeting. Only in rabbinic works do we find that there are in fact four dates referred to as “Rosh Hashanah” of which this is but one. (The others are Rosh Chodesh Nissan, the new year for calculating the years of the reign of a monarch and the dating of documents, Tu b’Shevat the new year for trees significant in regard to many agricultural laws and Rosh Chodesh Elul which was the date for the livestock farmer to calculate his tithe due regarding animals born the previous year.)

But back to the shofar – a simple ram’s horn without the holes of a flute that facilitate different sounds and without embellishments such as the silver decorations so often placed on a Sefer Torah. What is its significance for us?

To understand the answer let us look to the musaf service of Rosh Hashanah itself during which the shofar features so prominently. Unlike all the amidah prayers of all other Shabbat and festival services that have seven blessings, the musaf amidah of Rosh Hashanah has nine. As with every amidah the first and last three are basically identical (give or take some short insertions) but in this case the middle three are particularly distinctive. Termed “malchiyot”, “zichronot” and “shofarot”, they encapsulate the three themes of the day: declaration of God as our ruler, the fact that this is a day of remembrance and finally matters to do with the shofar. Regarding each theme 10 biblical verses are quoted – three from the Torah, three from Ketuvim (the latter biblical writings), three from the books of the Nevi’im (prophets) and one more. And it is through examination of the 10 verses of the Shofarot section that we can come to an understanding of the significance of the shofar.

However before we analyse the Shofarot section perhaps an introductory note is in order. For in fact the conclusion of the previous blessing – Zichronot – provides a perfect segue into Shofarot. It concludes with us imploring God “Ve’akedat Yitzchak l’zar’o hayom b’rachamim tizkor – that God should on this day with mercy remember the binding of Isaac – and we be awarded the merit of that event and granted life. The connection? The ram substituted as a sacrifice to teach the sacredness of human life was caught in the thicket by its horns(Bereshit 22:13).

Now to the Shofarot section itself. It is introduced by a description of the Revelation at Sinai. Speaking directly to God we say: “You were revealed in a cloud of Your glory to Your holy nation to speak with them; out of the heavens Your voice was heard … in thunder and lightning You revealed Yourself to them and amid the sound of the shofar You appeared.”

This is followed by the first group of three verses that are of course from the Torah. Two are from the lines preceding the giving of the Ten Commandments.

The first reads: “Then on the third day in the morning thunder and lightning and heavy cloud covered the mountain; there was a very loud sound of the shofar and all the people in the camp trembled” (Shemot 19:16). The second reads: “And the sound of the shofar grew ever louder; Moses spoke and God answered him with a voice” (Shemot 19:19).

The third of this sub group is the verse immediately following the Commandments: “And all the people saw the thunder and the flames and the sound of the shofar and the mountain smoking; the people saw and they trembled and they moved far back” (Shemot 20:15).

Clearly this section that takes us back to the key event that shaped our nation, is one that leads the shofar sound to inspire us with majestic dread.

The next group has a very different tone. In lines taken from three different Psalms we read of God’s majesty as our King.

The first (which is also recited as the last of the verses introducing the shofar-blowing ceremony itself that precedes musaf) reads: “God has been raised up in sound; the Lord is raised through the sound of the shofar” (Psalm 47:6).

The second instructs: “With trumpets and the sound of the shofar shout for joy before the Lord, the King” (Psalm 98:6).

And the third, referring directly to Rosh Hashanah on the first day of the lunar month, tells us to: “Sound the shofar on the new moon and on the feast day when the moon is hidden, For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the Lord of Jacob” (Psalm 81:4).

We conclude this section with the full text of the last of the Psalms (Psalm 150) – the ultimate triumphant song of praise:

Halleluyah: Praise God in His holy place; praise Him in the heavens of His power. Praise Him for His mighty deeds, praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with blasts of the shofar, praise Him with the harp and the lyre.

Praise Him with timbrels and dance, praise Him with strings and flute.

Praise Him with clashing cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let all that breathes praise the Lord, Halleluyah.

Indeed in this group of verses the shofar symbolises our positive relationship to God’s kingship.

Finally we come to the third subgroup comprised of three verses from the prophets that look to the future and bear Messianic overtones.

From Isaiah we hear: “And all the inhabitants of the world, all the dwellers on this earth – when He lifts up a banner on the mountains you will see it and when He sounds the shofar you shall hear” (Isaiah 18:3). Further, regarding the day of the Messianic revelation Isaiah prophesied: “And it will be on that day a great shofar will be sounded, and those who are lost will come from the land of Assyria and those who were banished, from the land of Egypt, and they will worship the Lord at the Holy mountain in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13).

Finally, from the words of the prophet Zachariah (9:14) we read that on that great day at the end of time: “The Lord will appear to them, His arrow will come out like lightning, and the Lord God will sound the shofar and will move in storm winds of teiman (the south) – the Lord of hosts will protect them.”

And so, following our having looked to our glorious past and a glorious future, this section of the Amidah then ends with a prayer that God should: “Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise high the banner to gather our exiles, bring close our scattered ones from among the nations and gather our exiles from the ends of the earth to the city of Zion in joy.” And there once again we will fulfil the verse commanded in the Torah: “And on the days of your celebration and at your times of gathering and at your New Moons, sound the trumpets over your offerings and your peace offerings and those days will be a remembrance for you before your God – I am the Lord your God” (Bamidbar 10:10).

May our current troubles soon be dissipated and these verses be soon fulfilled – speedily in our day.

Ketivah vachatimah tovah,
Shabbat shalom,

Yossi

Yossi Aron OAM is The AJN’s religious affairs editor.