The Shofar – The Sound of Rosh Hashanah

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of what is known as the “High Holidays” in Jewish life.  What you see pictured here is a shofar.  The shofar is the sound of Rosh Hashanah, a blast of horns to start the Jewish New Year, which marks the beginning of a 10-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance.

We see the shofar as an element used throughout the scriptures of the Talmud, or first 5 books of the Bible. Although the holiday includes elements of joy and celebration, Rosh Hashanah is a deeply religious occasion. The customs and symbols of Rosh Hashanah reflect the holiday’s dual emphasis on both happiness and humility.

The shofar plays a very important part in the celebration of Rosh Hashanah.  The sound of the shofar being blown, is a symbol of new beginnings.  It is also a declaration of God as “King of the Universe”.  By blowing the shofar, we  are asking God for a new beginning, believing He wants to bestow His goodness on us.  The request for new life in the new year is based on the desire for a relationship with Him.

At the Jewish website Chabad.org Rosh Hashanah is explained like this:

“It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world.

Rosh Hashanah thus emphasizes the special relationship between G‑d and humanity: our dependence upon G‑d as our creator and sustainer, and G‑d’s dependence upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world. Each year on Rosh Hashanah, “all inhabitants of the world pass before G‑d like a flock of sheep,” and it is decreed in the heavenly court “who shall live, and who shall die . . . who shall be impoverished, and who shall be enriched; who shall fall and who shall rise.” But this is also the day we proclaim G‑d King of the Universe.

The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which also represents the trumpet blast of a people’s coronation of their king. The cry of the shofar is also a call to repentance, for Rosh Hashanah is also the anniversary of man’s first sin and his repentance thereof, and serves as the first of the “Ten Days of Repentance” which culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to G‑d; we evoke Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and plead that the merit of his deed should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.”

May this Rosh Hashanah be the beginning of a Happy New Year for each who observes it and for their  families.  And may the coming new year be filled with love, joy and great abundance!

(The shofar pictured above has personal significance.  It belongs to Robin’s grandson Jeremy. He got it while on a recent trip to Israel for the bar mitzvah of his cousin, Daniel.)