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.

Powerful Days of Elul By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

The days of Elul are extremely powerful. After Bnai Yisroel transgressed with the Chet Ha’Egel, the Sin of the Golden Calf, and the Luchos were broken, Moshe Rabbeinu had to ascend to Har Sinai and daven for Bnai Yisroel to be forgiven. He went on Rosh Chodesh Elul and remained there for forty days until the tenth day of Tishrei, Yom Kippur, which signified the completion of the kapparah. It was at the end of this period that Hashem told Moshe, “p’sul lecho shnei luchos avanim karishonim – care for yourself two tablets of stone, like the first ones.”

The Tanna D’Bei Eliyahu tells us that the Bnai Yisroel fasted all the days that Moshe Rabbeinu went up on Har Sinai. On the fortieth day, Yom Kippur, they fasted day and night. Therefore, Yom Kippur has remained a day of kapparah forever. This period of forty days are deemed yemei ratzon – days of favor – and possess a unique power to evoke the midas harachamim – the Divine attribute of mercy. On each day that Moshe Rabbeinu was away, the Bnai Yisroel sounded the shofar in the camp so that they would not repeat their mistake in counting the days.

In commemoration, we too have the custom of blowing the shofar during the month of Elul, excluding Erev Rosh Hashanah when we do not blow in order to mark the difference between the tekios of Elul and the obligatory tekios of Rosh Hashanah.

Heavenly Voices By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

For example in Pirkei Avos (6:2) R’ Yehoshua ben Levi says “b’chol yom vayom bas kol yotzeis mehar chorev umachrezes v’omeres: oy lohem labriyos mei’elbonah shel Torah – Every single day a heavenly voice emanates from Har Chorev, and calls out and says: Woe to creation because of the insult to the Torah.”

Similarly, the gemara in Taanis (24b) states, “omar rav yehuda omar rav b’chol yom vayom bas kol yotzeis v’omeres kol haolam nizun bishvil chanina bni; v’chanina bni dayo b’kav charuvim -- the whole world is sustained because of Chanina my son, and Chaninah my son subsists on a small measure of carob.”

When we begin to sound the shofar from Rosh Chodesh Elul, the intent is to arouse us to do teshuvah. That is the nature of the shofar, as the pasuk states (Amos 3:6) “Im yitoka shofar b’ir v’am lo yecheradu – is a shofar sounded in the city and the people don’t tremble?”

The Sound of the Shofar By Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

The Medrash Rabbah in Vayikra relates: R’ Abba Brei, the son of R’ Pappi, and R’ Yehoshua, said in the name of R’ Levi: “Kol yemos hashanah yisroel oskin b’melachtan ub’Rosh Hashanah notlin shofroseihen v’tokin lifnei hakodosh baruch hu. v’hu omed meikisei din l’kisei rachamim umismalei aleihem rachamim -- All the days of the year Bnai Yisroel are engaged in their work. On Rosh Hashanah they take their shofar and they sound it before Hashem.
Hashem gets up from the Chair of Judgment and moves to the Throne of rachamim and is filled with compassion for Bnai Yisroel.”

HaGaon HoRav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv cites the Eglei Tal who writes that every person is able to hear the sound of the shofar throughout the year inside of his heart, as many different Heavenly Voices have been allotted to the world.