Shofar so Good!
By Rabbi Yehudah ben Shomeyr
Lev.
23:23-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the
children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first [day] of the month, shall ye have a
sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no
servile work [therein]: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the
LORD.
Every time I hear
that shofar at Rosh Hashanah it’s as if time stands still. Chills run up and
down my spine as a sense of holiness cleanses and even stops time for that
brief moment. I can easily see why the Rabbi’s and sages say the sound of the
shofar actually scares Satan away.
I bask in the echo
of that rams horn. I close my eyes and take a deep breath and prepare myself to
spiritually meet my G-d. For this starts the 10 Days of Awe leading up to Yom
Kippur. A time where I make sure things are right between me and G-d.
Legend has it that
the Rams horn was given to Avraham Avinu during the Binding of Isaac. The Ram
caught in the thicket had a large horn and a small horn and the smaller one was
given to Avraham to use while G-d took the other one to heaven to use to
announce the coming of Messiah in the Last Days.
As I hear and see
the shofar on Rosh Hashanah I am reminded of who I am to be this and every
year.
I am to be like a
ram’s horn, I am to be like a shofar.
Once a ram’s horn
is cut off from the head of the ram it begins a grueling process to become a
shofar. An instrument used for combat becomes a claxon to call one to combat
ones self. It becomes a spiritual alarm clock to wake the slumbering soul. It
becomes a too one uses to send a message of repentance and salvation to the
world!
First, the ram’s
horn is gutted of all of the gunk that is inside it. You can’t just cut of a
ram’s horn and immediately start blowing and expect to hear a sound; it’s
stopped up. It is like us before G-d can use us as His mouth piece. He needs to
clean us out of all of the gunk that is inside our lives that stops us from
making a sound for Him.
Next, after the
ram’s horn is hallowed out, it is buffed and polished. For G-d to use me and
get all the glory He has to put the finishing touches on me too.
And when one blows
a shofar, what is it filled with to make a sound? Wind! Wind in Hebrew is Ruach,
which also means spirit. We need to be filled with the Ruach Ha Kodesh, the
Holy Spirit of G-d to be able to make a sound.
When G-d created
man, didn’t He breath into Adam’s nostrils the “breath”, the “ruach” of life
(Gen. 2:7)!? Ruach, breath, wind, in Judaism is also synonymous with and
symbolic of wisdom. To be used as His mouth piece, to share His message with
mankind for His Glory we need to resound with a clear sound of wisdom for us to
truly be heard.
Also there must be
focus. You just can’t put your mouth on a shofar and blow and all you’ll get is
a sound like when one puts their ear to a conch shell. If I am blowing into a
shofar and no sound is coming out, what kind of “ruach” is being heard through
me? I’ll tell you, nothing but hot air! And does anyone want to listen to some
one who’s blowing of hot air? Does G-d get any glory from a bunch of hot air?
No, never!
To make a pure
clear sound one must focus ones lips and blow into the shofar a certain way. As
a shofar, I must be focused to be able to channel G-d’s “ruach” through me so I
can make a pure, clear sound so His message can be heard loud and clear through
me for His glory.
The shofar has
many uses. Very specific sounds send a very specific message.
I Cor. 14:8 For if
the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
Shofars were used
to call meetings together, to announce war, etc. But on Rosh Hashanah what
message does G-d want to sound through me for the people to hear? The sound of
Teshuvah (Repentance); for Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, leads to up to
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the day that’s all about repentance.
The blast of the
shofar on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is very specific and embodies the
process of repentance. There is a blast that awakens the soul. Followed by a
series of broken wailing, sobbing sounds, topped off with a peaceful mellow
steady blast of praise.
Some are confused
about the silver trumpets that are mentioned, because they have a similar use.
But most of the time (not always) when the word trumpet is mentioned by itself
with out the descriptor “silver” it is usually a rams horn, a shofar. The
silver trumpets were predominately used within the camp and on Rosh Kodesh (the
new month) according to Numbers chapter Ten, not so much on High Holy Days
except when one fell on the first of the month. Sometimes they were used in
conjunction with the Shofar.
Shalom and
Lashanah Tova!
-- Rabbi Yehudah
