The shofar is sounded to stir our conscience. It sounds and we listen, to experience one of the original and uncanny sounds of historical Jewish life. It is not a pretty sound—like the birth of a baby it can be noisy and piercing—a shrieking noise that announces the new.
In various cultures, the sounds of the rhythm of life and its transitions are celebrated by the percussion of drum beating, horn blowing, cymbal clashing, the ringing of bells and firecrackers. Sharp and persistent noises heighten the human sense of drama.
To listen to the shofar’s shrill blasts disturbs our senses so that we might respond to deeply felt realities of admonition and warning. The shofar is reminiscent of G-d’s revelation at Sinai, which was accompanied by the sounding of a shofar. It thus reminds us of our destiny—to be a people of Torah, to pursue its study and to practice its commandments.
The sound of the shofar summons us to the feeling of humility before G-d’s majesty and might, which are manifested by all things and by which our own lives are constantly surrounded.
The sounding of the shofar serves to remind us of the destruction of the Beit ha-Mikdash and the trumpet calls of the armies of our enemies. Thus when we hear the shofar, we should pray for the rebuilding of our Holy Temple.
The sound also foreshadows the jubilant proclamation of freedom, when Israel’s exiled and homeless are to return to the Holy Land. It calls us to believe in Israel’s deliverance.
Listen then to the noise of the shofar. Perceive the labor required to blow it, hear its pitch, and feel it speaking about the birth of our world.
