Sounds of the Shofar- DAY1 Rosh HaShanah Sermon

This summer in Sfat, those of us who traveled to Israel together, went to an art gallery that specialized in kabbalistic art.  Several of the paintings we viewed were related to the blows of the shofar heard on Rosh HaShanah.  There are 100 sounds blown on each day of Rosh HaShanah which kabbalah has related to the movement of one’s soul from concern with only oneself (the singular sound of tekiah) to unconditional love for all being and the Divine (the sustained sound of tekiah gedolah).

We are familiar with the difference between the shofar blasts.  Tekiah is one long and steady sound.  Shevarim has three shorter blasts and Teruah is made up of 9 short choppy blasts.  Although the sounds are familiar, there are many various interpretations which have been given to each.

Rabbi Milton Steinberg who wrote BASIC JUDAISM, a book that was a source of great learning for me during my college days, wrote:

Tekiah says “Awake! Let not habit dull your minds, nor comfort harden your hearts. Examine your deeds, look well into your soul, mend your ways, turn to God... rouse yourselves from smugness and self-satisfaction, from callousness and self-righteousness.”

And Shevarim? “The broken refrain! Listen to the staccato cry. Hear the echoes of sighing and weeping. The deprived and the distressed, the neglected and the enslaved, the bruised and the broken - all cry for relief from their pain, for release from their torment... Let us open our ears to the cries of the afflicted and the oppressed, and let our hearts respond with compassion and love.”

And Teruah? “The call to battle:.. Join the struggle against evil and suffering. Give of your bread to those who hunger; give of your strength to those who stumble; give of your time to the lonely and the forsaken; heal the wounded; comfort the bereaved.... Let us hearken to the call to action, for in our hands, in our hearts, and in our minds are the means for building a better world, for fulfilling the promise of peace and justice...”

Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the Founder of Satmar Chasidism, explained the Shofar blasts differently.  “Tekiah tells us that we are born whole and that it is our obligation to strive to live with integrity. Shevarim and Teruah came to remind the listener that his or her life is filled with errors, with actions that one regrets and the final Tekiah Gedolah was a reminder that we CAN correct our mistakes, we CAN emerge whole again.”

And yet one more interpretation written by Rabbi Jill Jacobs:

““Tekiah - we are whole.

Shevarim - we are broken.

Teruah - we are completely shattered.

Tekiah Gedolah - We are more whole than before.”

In many ways, the blasts of the shofar are like our lives.  Judaism, unlike Christianity, adheres to the view that we are born without sin. At birth, we are blank slates upon which every choice we make, every situation we meet, every circumstance we encounter, makes its mark.  We are not born broken.  We are born whole, just like the sound of Tekiah.  But we also recognize that we have many challenges that we must face in life.  Relationships we form often become severed.  As we progress through life we face illness, death, and also the consequences of having aging bodies and minds.  Each of these challenges is like the sound of shevarim.  At times, we are overcome by doubt, grief, and the feeling that our lives have shattered. Sometimes the feeling of being completely shattered comes from viewing the violence and hatred that seem to be overshadowing events in our world.  Yet, Judaism also believes that we can repair ourselves and the world around us through our positive actions. That is the sound of the TEKIAH GEDOLAH….it is strong, sustained, and indicative of what we can accomplish even after we have dealt with life’s challenges.

As we gather here on Rosh HaShanah and reflect on our individual lives and the interactions we have with others, it is important to recognize that no matter how much we have felt as if our lives have been shattered this past year, that we can still strive for wholeness. Perhaps, it is only by experiencing the challenges of life, that we know how to re-connect to the incredible promises that life has to offer. 

So my wish for all of us on this Rosh HaShanah, is that as we listen to the sounds of the shofar, we think about the way in which they stir our soul.  May we always recognize that we have incredible potential to be whole again, to bring wholeness to the world through our combined actions and positive deeds.  May we never be satisfied with the brokenness we experience throughout our days and strive to focus on repairing our own lives and the world around us.