The Shofar’s Message By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

The question is presented though: If the bas kol rings out throughout the world and we can all hear the sound of the shofar, how is it possible that one doesn’t tremble?

The great gaon and tzaddik Harav Sholom Schwadron used to compare this to a man who came from a little village that was very primitive. The village had no running water and the villagers were totally unaware of any technological advances in the world around them.

One day, the villager had to leave for the big city, for the first time in his life. As he walked on the road, he noted that someone had been very thoughtful and considerate of the travelers. Wooden planks had been laid across the road, enabling the traveler to avoid the stones, dirt and mud along the road. In addition, two iron rails had been placed along either side to guide the traveler along the path.

Little did this villager realize that these were train tracks for a locomotive. A while later the wayfarer heard the consistent sounding of a whistle. A locomotive was quickly approaching on the tracks, but the villager thought that someone was playing music for his entertainment. He began to dance on the tracks, and the more the train blew its whistle, the more exuberant was his dance, until the inevitable finally happened.

Said Rav Schwadron: We all hear the sound of the shofar. Some dance. But others take heed and get off the path they are following in order to find the derech hayashar – the right road -- to life.