Kolel: Jewish Holidays > Rosh Hashanah

YAMIM NORA'IM: Days of Awe

Additional Resources

Elul: Period of Preparation
Rosh Hashanah: Introduction
Shofar Symbolism
The Custom of Tashlich
Yom Kippur: Introduction
High Holiday Sermons

GETTING READY

Teshuva: Approach others whom you may have hurt during the past year and seek their forgiveness. Our tradition teaches us that for sins between the individual and God, forgiveness is guaranteed, but for forgiveness between one individual and anther, we must actively seek their forgiveness.
Tefilah: Attend services at a Synagogue near you.
Give Tzedakah.
Send Shanah Tovah greetings to family and friends.
Hear the sounding of the Shofar.
Study the story of the Akedah - the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) and/or Bereshit - the story of Creation (Genesis 1).
Visit the burial place of loved ones.
Share a festive meal with family and friends featuring sweet foods for a sweet new year (such as apples & honey).

Rosh Hashanah

Shofar

R. Saadia Gaon's Top Ten List of Shofar Symbolism (adapted from Isaac Klein's Jewish Religious Practices):

1. The Shofar is like the trumpet which announces the coronation of a king. On Rosh Hashanah, the birthday of the universe, we accept God's Rulership- our prayers and shofar blasts are like the coronation ceremony in which Israel crowns God as Sovereign.
2. Rosh Hashana is the first of the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentence), and the Shofar calls us to examine our deeds and return to God, who will always accept us if we are sincere.
3. The Shofar reminds us of the Shofar which blew when the Torah was given at Sinai; thus we are reminded to study and cherish the Torah.
4. The Shofar reminds us of the voice of the prophets, whose voices rang out like a Shofar blast in calling the people to do justice and mercy and follow Holy ways.
5. The Shofar sounds like crying, which reminds us of the destruction of the ancient Temple, and thus calls upon us to work for and pray for redemption.
6. The Shofar, since it is a ram's horn, reminds us of the Akedah, the story of the binding of Isaac, when God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead. Thus we are called upon to be as faithful to God as Abraham, and be inspired by his example of sacrifice and love of God.
7. The Shofar calls us to be humble- its mighty blast reminds us of the mightiness of God and the fact that God is everywhere at all times.
8. On the Day of Judgment, a Shofar will be blown to announce God's Rulership- our Shofar blasts remind us to prepare for God's examination of our deeds.
9. The Shofar foreshadows the jubilant Jewish return to freedom and peace when we all end up in Jerusalem in the time of Messiah- it reminds us to have hope and faith in God's saving power.
10. The Shofar will be blown in Messianic times to announce the redemption of the whole world, when all nations will recognize that God is One. (cf. the Alenu prayer.)

Moral Alarm Clock

The Rambam (Maimonides) describes the Shofar as a Moral Alarm Clock: (freely translated) "Wake up, wake up, you sleepers, wake up from your sleep! Sleepers, wake up from your napping and examine your deeds, return in teshuvah, and remember your Creator! Those of you who forget the truth in your playing around with the latest frivolousness, spending all year in vanity and meaningless things, which neither profits nor saves you, you, look to your souls, improve your ways and works. Abandon the path which is bad and get rid of all your vain goals."

Other Associations:

1. A kosher Shofar must be bent, to symbolize the humble spirit of someone doing Teshuvah.
2. The notes themselves symbolize doing Teshuvah: the Tekiah, the long note, symbolizes someone who thinks they are whole and good. The Shevarim, the three notes, is the person who realizes their own brokeness (Shevarim means "broken") and who then cries out to God, which sounds like the Teruah, the little sobbing notes. Finally, after we cry out to God, we become truly whole, we have grown, symbolized by the Tekiah Gedolah, the extra long single note, at the end.
3. Shofar is associated with the New Moon, symbolizing the possibility of renewal and perpetual growth in life.
4. A Shofar is NOT made from a cow's horn, because it would remind us and God of the Golden Calf, Israel's hour of idolatry. Who wants to be reminded of that?