B"H

Thursday, Elul 12, 5778 / August 23, 2018

Each holiday has its special mitzvah or mitzvot. For example: The special mitzvah for Pesach is eating Matzah, performing the Seder, etc., On Sukkot we eat in the Sukkah, we recite a blessing over the four kinds, etc. The special mitzvah associated with Rosh Hashana is the blowing of the Shofar. 

The mitzvah to blow the Shofar on Rosh Hashana is found in the Torah (Leviticus 23:24), but as with many other mitzvot, the Torah does not state the reason for this mitzvah.

The sages have related various explanations for the mitzvah of the Shofar and its connection to Rosh Hashana.  Here are some of them:

* Rosh Hashana, the Day of Judgment, is the first of the Ten Days of Repentance. The sound of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana serves as a call to repent, to better our ways and become closer to G-d.

* On Rosh Hashana, we declare and accept G-d as our King, as proclaimed in the Rosh Hashana prayers. At the coronation of a king, it was customary to blow trumpets. Blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashana is part of our proclaiming G-d Kingship over us and the entire universe.

* The sound of the Shofar reminds us of the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, which was accompanied by "thunder, lightning and the sound of the Shofar" (Exodus 20:15).  Sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashana reminds us to observe the Torah and adhere to its mitzvot.

* The Shofar is made from a ram’s horn. Sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashana recalls the ram which Abraham sacrificed in place of our forefather Isaac. With that, Abraham withstood the greatest of all tests. By sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashana we pray that G-d take into account the merit and dedication of Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, and Isaac’s merit for accepting his fate willingly. We pray that G-d bless us, their descendents with a sweet New Year. 

* The Shofar is also a sound of hope for it reminds us of theultimate redemption, with the coming of Moshiach, whose arrival will be announced with the sound of the Shofar. May it be speedily in our days. Amen.

Q.  Why is the ram's horn, from which we blow at the Rosh Hashana service, called "Shofar?"  

A. "Shofar" comes from the same root as "Shapru" which means to "better" and "beautify."  The sound of the Shofar is a call which reminds us to "better and beautify" our deeds in the coming year.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY & SHANA TOVA.