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Page 22 THE JEWISH GEORGIAN September-October 2012
The wonderful symbols of the High Holidays
By David Geffen
An item in The Jewish Chronicle, of
London, dated September 26, 1902, focused
on the consecration of a “Sepher Torah and
Shofar,” in addition to several large barrels
of apples and small containers of honey, all
to be used by Jewish immigrants sailing
shortly for South Africa. The short piece in
the paper stressed that these items were
needed, since “the immigrants will be on the
High Seas during the ensuing festivals.”
The shofar, apples, and honey are
among the most familiar symbols of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. An insightful
assessment is made by Amichai Lau-Lavie,
an innovative Jewish educator, about the
importance of the objects we use during the
coming festive season: “During the High
Holidays, we are involved in the verbal
process of acknowledging who we are and
how we wish to change ourselves for the
better. But beyond the words we use, we ‘do
many things and experience the season
through our bodies and not just our minds.’”
Lau-Lavie continues in this fashion.
“We eat certain foods, like apples and honey
and remember the taste and mood of the holiday.
We hear certain sounds, like the shofar,
and we experience something inside that
goes beyond words. The sights, smells, and
feelings all amount to one thing...an integrated
awareness in our bodies and our
minds of the New Year.”
He concludes, “Very often, the things
we do, rather than the things we say, are
what we remember.”
———————-
Initially, let us seek to understand the
meaning of the shofar and its symbolic
value. The shofar is one of the oldest instruments
known to humankind. Mentioned 69
times in the Tanach, it first appears in
Exodus 19:16.
The shofar was used to announce the
Jubilee-Yovel year and the proclamation of
freedom throughout the land. “Thou shalt
cause the shofar to sound...and you shall
hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty
throughout the land to all its inhabitants, and
you shall return every man to his family.”
This verse, from the Book of Leviticus, was
selected, even before the American
Declaration of Independence in 1776, to be
engraved on the Liberty Bell, in
Philadelphia. In Jerusalem’s Liberty Bell
Park, it is possible to examine the replica of
that famous American icon—biblical verse
and all.
Better known to most Jewish people is
the relationship of the shofar to the Yamim
Noraim, the Days of Awe.
In the Book of Numbers 29:1, the shofar
is mentioned in the ritual for Rosh
Hashanah. “You shall observe it as a day
when the horn (shofar) is sounded.”
The shofar was commanded to be part
of the New Year observance by this prescription.
It was defined as a ram’s horn by
the sages who included in the Rosh
Hashanah service the story of Isaac on the
altar and his replacement by a ram caught in
the thicket by its horn.
The horn also became a symbol of
God’s mercy. Hence, the sounding of the
ram’s horn reminded God that He should
forgive the Jewish people their transgressions.
Maimonides taught: “Although the
blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is
a mitzvah for which no reason is stated, it is
as if the shofar were suggesting, ‘Arise from
your sleep, you who slumber. Repent with
contrition. Remember your Creator. Peer
into your soul and improve your ways and
your deeds.’” Then God will forgive you.
The shofar became “the ritual horn” of
the Jewish people as well. When the Torah
was given on Mt. Sinai, the shofar was
sounded. When the walls of Jericho fell, the
shofar was utilized. The victory of the Judge
Ehud ben Gera over the Moabites was
marked by the sound of the shofar. At Ein
Dor, Gideon and his hundred men blew the
shofar as an accompaniment to their surprise
attack.
—-
To be ready, every baal tokea (shofar
blower) must practice so that the tekiah (a
single, unbroken note that in ancient times
was the call to assembly), shevarim (three
short notes that sound like sigh or cry), teruah
(nine notes that are a call to action), and
tekia gedolah (the longest sounding note)
are as perfect as possible.
—-
In June of 1967, when the Israeli army
captured the Western Wall, Chief Chaplain
Shlomo Goren sounded the shofar. When
that victory occurred, I was serving as a
chaplain in the United States Army, stationed
at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. To be honest,
we did not know too much about the war,
because American TV provided limited coverage.
However, about noon on the third or
fourth day of the war, Oklahoma time, I
drove to the post office to pick up our mail.
As I was about to turn off the car’s engine,
there was a newsflash on the radio. The
announcer said that the wall had fallen to the
Israelis, and then I heard, loud and clear, the
tekiah gedolah from the shofar of Chief
Chaplain Goren. What a thrill—one not to
be forgotten.
—-
The first sounding of the shofar each
year takes place during the weekday mornings
of Elul, the month before Rosh
Hashanah. After the recitation of the
Penitential Psalm 27, the tekiah, the shevarim,
and the teruah can be heard. This is a
daily act, except for the Sabbath and the day
before Rosh Hashanah. Most important, it is
a reminder that each individual must prepare
for the days of judgment ahead.
—-
In The Washington Post, on September
15, 2004, just before the High Holidays, a
story titled “A Rabbi’s Unorthodox Revival”
began: “The 30-second television ad begins
with a blast of the shofar, the Jewish ceremonial
ram’s horn. A young bespectacled
rabbi then extends an invitation. ‘Please join
me for an incredible Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur at Washington’s National
Synagogue.’ For a free brochure on the congregation,
he adds, ‘Please call 1-888-8-
Prayer.”’
Many Washington Jews were critical of
this PR blitz by an Orthodox rabbi, but the
shofar caught people’s attention. The phone
rang nonstop, and the shul was packed for
the High Holidays.
—-
When pointing to the specifics of shofar
blowing, the baal tokea must make sure that
the ram’s horn emits 100 notes on each day
of Rosh Hashanah. If the first day of Rosh
Hashanah falls on the Sabbath, the shofar is
not blown on that day, but only on the second
day. This year, however, the first day of
Rosh Hashanah is on Monday, September
17. So the shofar will sound the majestic
tekia gedolah on both days, as well as a
week later, at the end of Yom Kippur,
September 26.
—-
This year and every year, it is important
to recall the words of the Prophet Isaiah
when we hear the sound of our ancient musical
instrument. “A great shofar shall be
blown and they shall come that have been
lost in the land of Assyria and dispersed in
the land of Egypt and they shall worship the
Lord in the holy mountain of Jerusalem.”
———————-
Now, let us turn to the apple-and-honey
treat that is so enjoyed on Rosh Hashanah. A
major source cited for this custom is to be
found in the Biblical book Nehemiah 8:10.
Hana Goodman, in her article on the
“Culinary Art of Rosh Hashanah,” in The
Rosh Hashanah Anthology, pointed out that
after Ezra the scribe had read the “Law” to
the people on the first day of Tishri, they
began to weep. Then Nehemiah said, “Go
your way, eat the fat and drink the
sweet...for this day is holy to the Lord.”
Using this verse as a prooftext, Rabbi Jacob
Molin (1360-1427), better know as
“Maharil,” emphasized that the custom of
eating an apple dipped in honey is rooted in
the Nehemiah source. Molin created the following
formula, which we continue to use,
to be recited after the apple is dipped in
honey: “May it be Thy will to renew unto us
a good and sweet year.”
In recent years, one New Yorker took
this custom to an extreme. In 2007, a man
was arrested atop the Empire State Building,
as he poured honey down the side of the
New York landmark. Supposedly, he told the
police, “There is the Jewish custom of celebrating
the New Year by dipping apples in
honey. What better way to bring in Rosh
Hashanah than by covering the Big Apple in
honey?”
—-
A college student at Cornell University,
Rachel Mattes, put her thoughts about this
holiday treat in the student newspaper. “The
apple, a fruit of the fall and consequently
readily available during the holiday, acts as
a symbol of the season.” Honey, for the
writer, gives us a boost, in the hope of a
sweet year to come. Rachel noted that, “An
apple dipped in honey is a delicious,
crunchy sweet to begin the holiday meal.”
This follows in the wake of what Abaye
taught in the Talmud: “Since an omen is significant—at
the beginning of the New Year,
each person should accustom himself to eat
that which symbolizes sweetness.”
—-
In 2005, Captain Howard Perl was serving
with the United States Third Infantry
Division in Iraq. He recalled his Rosh
Hashanah experience that year.
“On Monday afternoon, I took a helicopter
flight with a Jewish sergeant from
Camp Taji to Baghdad, a 10-minute ride. We
were met by Chaplain Schranz of the U.S.
Navy.” Then Perl described what had been
prepared for Rosh Hashanah: “At the site
used for the services, one congregant had
made an ark for the Torah. We had candles,
kiddush cups, wines, mahzors, challah,
apples, and honey. What more could we
American Jewish soldiers ask for?” The
evening services went well.
“In the morning, the chaplain gave out
aliyot,” he continued. “I had one. I was very
proud that my father’s name was mentioned
in an aliyah in Baghdad, Iraq, for Rosh
Hashanah. After a wonderful meal with
round challahs dipped in honey and especially
made by Filipino bakers, since the
chapel was right on the river, we went
straight out for tashlich.”
Pictures from Baghdad of the ark and
the chapel, along with one of the river used
for tashlich, brought Perl’s description to
life.
See SYMBOLS, page 23