The two previous components, Malkhuyot and Zikhronot, dealt, respectively, with God’s majesty and with remembrance of the revelation at Sinai.
In thinking about Shofarot, I went back to the beginning of our story – to Mount Moriah with Abraham and Isaac.
Maybe I’m wrong but I would think that a ram caught in a thicket would be visibly striking and make a lot of noise. We know the story – the Akedah – in which Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son Isaac. Isaac is on a stone altar, bound, and at the last minute, an angel stops Abraham from sacrificing him. Abraham then notices a ram caught in the thicket, catches it and sacrifices it. Obviously when Isaac was on the stone altar, Abraham was very focused on what he was doing and didn’t hear the racket caused by the ram.
Tradition tells us that that ram was specifically created at the end of the sixth day of Creation for the Akedah. Tradition also tells us that its horns, as shofars, were designated for later events- its left one to be sounded at Sinai; its right, at the day of revelation.
Back to the story. When Isaac was freed, Abraham was then able to wake up to hear and see the ram. For us, on the High Holidays, the shofar blasts wake us up. But it’s not in the everyday sense like an alarm clock. You know, “it’s 6 a.m., time to get and go to work.” It’s not that. Rather, it’s a call to true mindfulness, to a complete awareness of ourselves in our lives and in the world – where are we, what are we doing, where are we going?
Like the ram in the thicket created for the Akedah, we too have unique purpose, and our lives are lived and experienced to define that for ourselves. Today, we sound the shofar to awaken and reorient us – to Malkhuyot, the majesty of God; to Zikhronot, the collective memory of the revelation at Sinai; and to Shofarot to a future revelation that will occur.
I’ve created a morning habit. In addition to saying the modeh ani of thanking God for my re-emergence to consciousness and the saying of the Shema, I’ve added that wonderful line from Psalm 1:18 “This is the day the Lord has made. Rejoice and exult in it.” It’s not yesterday and not tomorrow, it’s today that exists. That passage has become my daily shofar blast. TODAY is my opportunity to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.
And as I stumble through the day, sometimes, perhaps often, making mistakes but trying my best, I also know that the blast of the shofar is for God also. The Talmud asks, “Why do we blow on a ram’s horn? The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Sound before me a ram’s horn, so that I may remember on your behalf the binding of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and account it to you as if you had bound yourselves before Me.”
Upon hearing the shofar, God moves from the Throne of Judgement to the Throne of Compassion. That’s exactly where I need Him to be as He and I work together in covenant.
