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Dear Friends, As individuals and as a community we prepare to stand before Hakadosh Baruch Hu (God) on Rosh Hashanah. The Rabbis teach us that within the mitzvah of shofar there are two paradigmatic sets of blasts, tekiot de’meyushav and tekiot de’meumad. The first series of blasts, tekiot de’miyushav, or the ‘sitting blasts’, are blown either before or during the personal amidah (silent prayer service). These blasts ask us to reflect on our growth and development as individuals in our personal rendezvous with God. Have I spiritually grown as an individual? Have I grown in my relationship with God through more effective interpersonal relationships? Have I modeled a behavior of yashrus (integrity) in my personal and professional associations? What must I change as I stand apart from the community, as an individual searching for a personal meaningful relationship with God? The second set of blasts of tekiot de’meumad, or ‘standing blasts’, are sounded during the communal amidah (prayer service). They are the blasts that serve to arouse community reflection. What have we done as a community to create more effective spiritual portals of entry for our members and guests? What role must I play in helping to rid the economic promiscuity that seems to have a cancerous stranglehold our community’s spiritual well being? Have we, as a community, raised awareness and provided support for issues concerning Israel in a time in which our homeland is being attacked by so many. What role have I played in aiding important local communal causes? It is our task to jointly integrate these two paradigms of teshuvah represented by the shofar blasts into our lives and actions. It is our hope that the Torah found in this pamphlet will help guide our personal and communal self reflection. May we all find the strength to incorporate the messages of the shofar blasts, enabling us to live more meaningful and productive lives. Wishing you all a Ketiva Va’chatima Tovah. B’yedidut, Rabbi Kenneth Brander The David Mitzner Dean Yeshiva University Center for the Jewish Future 4 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • ROSH HASHANA TO-GO • TISHREI 5771
The Shofar: A Tool for Dialogue 5 YESHIVA UNIVERSITY • ROSH HASHANA TO-GO • TISHREI 5771 Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster Faculty, Yeshiva College Who listens to the shofar? Two opposite answers to this question are given in the two berakhot we say before blowing the shofar on Rosh HaShana. Before the first set of shofar-blasts, we say a berakha, using the standard form that is used before performing many mitzvot: “Baruch atta…asher kiddeshanu be-mitzvotav ve-tsivvanu lishmoa kol shofar” (Blessed are you…who sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to hear the voice of the shofar). But in Musaf, which contains the central tefillot of the day (Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot), we conclude shofarot with the berakha “for you listen to the voice of the shofar, and hear the cry, and there is none like you. Blessed are you, who hears the cry of His people Israel with mercy.” In the birkat ha-mitzva, we mention the obligation of Jews to hear the shofar, while in Shofarot, we evoke the expectation that God hears the shofar. Recognizing these two opposite answers is a central part of understanding the mitzvah of shofar. The tefilla of Shofarot itself shows that the shofar is designed to evoke a sort of meta-moment in history in which the Jews hear God, and then God hears the Jews. Like Malkhuyot and Zikhronot (the other central sections of the Musaf prayer on Rosh HaShana), Shofarot consists of an introductory section, followed by three pesukim from Torah, three pesukim from Ketuvim, three pesukim from Nevi’im, and a concluding verse from Torah. Initial Torah Verses The pesukim chazal chose for Shofarot follow a very specific pattern. The initial three pesukim from Torah, chosen from Shemot chapters 19-20, describe the revelation at Sinai. Furthermore, each passuk describes not only the voice of the shofar which sounded at the revelation at Sinai, but a reaction of Moshe or of the Israelites. 1 The pesukim chosen are: 1. Shemot 19:16, which mentions the loud sound of the Shofar at Sinai as the cloud (representing God’s Presence) descends, states “the whole people who were in the camp trembled;” 1 Shemot 19:13, which mentions God’s command about the “blowing of the horn,” but which does not mention the Israelites’ reaction, is absent.
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Page 3: Table of Contents Rosh Hashana 2010
Page 7 and 8: Then, we find the Ketuvim verses, i
Page 9 and 10: The Zebra Effect Perhaps we can enl
Page 11 and 12: to state that Hashem sees no errors
Page 13 and 14: Megadim 6 explains that the control
Page 15 and 16: to beg forgiveness; it is this act
Page 17 and 18: in the Pirkei D’Rav Eliezer (ch.
Page 19 and 20: does tend to arouse suspicion, and
Page 21 and 22: Repentance for Violation of Interpe
Page 23 and 24: to them: 'Fear not; for am I in the
Page 25 and 26: out), one should not approach the v
Page 27 and 28: According to R. Yehuda HaChasid, wh
Page 29 and 30: the second day. The harsh judgment
Page 31 and 32: The Cognitive, Emotional, and Senso
Page 33 and 34: individual recognizes that his very
Page 35 and 36: eing was created, a purpose which w
Page 37 and 38: fulfillment of the command. His phy
Page 39 and 40: Rendering the meaning of the Hebrew
Page 41 and 42: egarding certain aspects of this ha
Page 43 and 44: Tei’mah before Tekias Shofar Shou
Page 45 and 46: Kiddush and Kiddush B’Makom Seuda
Page 47 and 48: this, eating a piece of cake, a bow
Page 49 and 50: On Teshuvah and Complete Teshuvah R
Page 51 and 52: 31:18): For after my returning, I r
Page 53 and 54: How can such a sharp distinction, s
Page 55 and 56:
The Sin and the Sinner Put in diffe
Page 57 and 58:
Redirecting One’s Traits Finally,
Page 59 and 60:
The Teshuvah of Yishmael And Avraha
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evicted some thirty-five years prio
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woman. 154 How, then, did Yishmael,
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