Cries of Fear

The gemara^[5] explains that the short bursts of the teru’ot are meant to remind us of one crying. The gemara then references Sefer Shoftim’s^[6] depiction of Sisra’s mother crying at the window of her home as an example of such cries.^[7] Why does the gemara choose her cries as the model of the sounds of the shofar?

Sometimes, we cry because of sad experiences or news. Other times, we cry out of fear. We do not know that something bad has occurred, but we sense danger; we feel vulnerable and scared.

Sisra’s mother’s cries were the latter type. She sat by the window, awaiting her son’s return from war. Initially, she assumed he was delayed because he was busy dividing the spoils of war, but she also realized that his lateness might be for a very different reason. As time passed, her fears grew, and her tears flowed.

Sisra’s mother’s cries reflect the vulnerability and unpredictability inherent in war. No one knows which side will win and who may be killed, wounded, or captured.^[8] Our future and that of our loved ones is out of our hands.

The shofar’s teru’ot are meant to instill this type of fear. Like today’s sirens, the shofar was blown as part of both the attack of an enemy and to warn of an enemy’s attack.^[9] It struck fear in the hearts of man.^[10]

The Rosh Hashanah Shofar

The mitzvah to blow shofar on Rosh Hashanah has a similar goal.^[11] On Rosh Hashanah, like during wartime, we are in danger. Our fate hangs in the balance because we and the world are being judged. Like the sirens of war, the teru’ot of Rosh Hashanah evoke fear^[12] and inspire us to save ourselves through teshuvah^[13] and tefillah.^[14]

The relationship between the teru’ot of Rosh Hashanah and those of wartime explains why the mishnah in Masechet Rosh Hashanah’s third perek, the one that deals with the laws of the shofar, discusses Moshe’s outstretched arms during the war against Amalek. The mishnah explains that Moshe raised his hands heavenwards to direct the hearts of the Jewish people towards Hashem. Their military victory hinged on their turning to Hashem, so they were only victorious while Moshe’s hands were raised. Moshe’s hands were not magical; they were significant because they reminded the people of their dependency on Hashem.

Rebbe Yehudah HaNasi included this mishnah in the perek that teaches the laws of shofar because the shofar has a similar context and message.^[15] Like Moshe's hands, the shofar addresses us at a time of danger and encourages us to turn to Hashem.

Zikaron — Memory

According to this perspective, the shofar is aimed at us.^[16] It is our zikaron (memory) that needs to be awakened.^[17] It reminuds us that we are being judged, that we need to do teshuvah, and that we must (re)turn to Hashem. The Rambam^[18] explains that the shofar wakes us from the stupor of our normal routines. Though we know that Hashem created us and our life’s mission should therefore be to serve Him, we are often too busy to reflect and focus our lives on this mission. On Rosh Hashanah, the day that Hashem first created and now recreates man, we blow the shofar to remind ourselves that we are His creations who ought to strive to realize the goals He created us to accomplish.

Interestingly, Rashi^[19] and the Rashbam^[20] explain the zikaron generated by the shofar differently. In their opinion, the shofar blasts are directed at Hashem,^[21] who we aim to remind of our existence (Rashbam) and of akeidat Yitzchak (Rashi). This is why we use specifically a ram’s horn — to remind Hashem of the ram Avraham sacrificed at the akeidah (in place of Yitzchak).^[22]

These two understandings of who the shofar addresses are not necessarily contradictory. They may even be complementary.

To appreciate this, let’s take a closer look at the explanation given by Rashi and the Rashbam. The obvious question is, Why does Hashem need reminding? Has He forgotten us and akeidat Yitzchak?

The Sefer Hachinuch^[23] explains that the question is not what Hashem remembers, but what He associates with us.^[24] Obviously, Hashem remembers us and Avraham’s commitment to Him. The question is how He sees us on Rosh Hashanah and whether the akeidah is relevant to our lives. This, of course, depends on how we see our relationship with Him, and whether we identify with Avraham's level of commitment and would be willing to act in the same way to serve Him.^[25]

When we identify with akeidat Yitzchak as a model for our religious commitment, Hashem sees us in this same light. Our willingness to sacrifice ourselves for and commit ourselves to avodat Hashem merits us Hashem’s rachamim (mercy) and His blessings for a good year we can use to serve Him. When we remember Hashem and our commitment to Him, He “remembers” us favorably.^[26]

Rosh Hashanah 5785 — Channeling Our Fear

So many of us have felt like Sisra’s mother over the past year. We have sat by the window for much more than one day. We have sat there for twelve whole months — waiting, crying, praying, and hoping that our children, spouses, parents, and loved ones are well and will return home safely.

We approach Rosh Hashanah 5785 with this continued fear and trepidation. The October 7 attacks, subsequent war in Israel, and antisemitism worldwide have reminded us of the fragility of our lives and the weight of the Rosh Hashanah judgment.

When we hear the teru’ot this year, we will deeply appreciate their message; we will realize how fateful last year’s Rosh Hashanah was. It was the day when Hashem decreed the infiltration of thousands of barbaric terrorists and the brutal murders of 1200 people on Simchat Torah, and hundreds more in the months since. He decided then that there would be attacks from five directions, over ten thousand wounded, hundreds held hostage, over 100,000 displaced, hundreds of thousands mobilized, and millions fearing for their lives.

Our mission this Rosh Hashanah is to channel our emotions in the right direction. Our past experiences and fears about the future should inspire us to return to the One who decreed these challenges and is now deciding our future. Like the hands of Moshe, the shofar and the fear it evokes should inspire us to submit ourselves to the One above and to identify with the commitment and willingness to sacrifice symbolized by the akeidah and exemplified over the past year by our chayalim.

May doing so merit us Hashem’s blessings for an upcoming year full of berachot for victory, enduring peace, good health, hatzlachah, and the completion of the ge’ulah speedily in our days.   

^[1] See Rabbeinu Bechayei (Vayikra 23:24) who makes this point and explains that the brevity is reflective of the depth of the concepts behind Rosh Hashanah.

^[2] Vayikra 23:24. See also Bamidbar 29:1.

^[3] For this reason, Rosh Hashanah is referred to as Yom Hazikaron, “the Day of Memory.”

^[4] See Ramban (Vayikra 23:24) who asks these questions.

^[5] Rosh Hashanah 33b.

^[6] Shoftim 5:28–30.

^[7] The connection is based on the similarity between the ways Onkelos translates the word teru’ah and the language of Sefer Shoftim.

^[8] See Sefer Kohelet (8:8), which points to war as reflective of man’s lack of control over his own life.

^[9] Yehoshua (6:4–5), Shoftim (3:27, 7:16) and Shmuel I (13:3).

See also Masechet Sotah (43a) which interprets (even) a pasuk that mentions chatzotzrot at a time of war as actually referring to a shofar.

See also Masechet Ta’anit (16b) which describes the recitation of shofarot pesukim at a time of war.

^[10] Amos 3:6.

^[11] See He’arot L’Masechet Rosh Hashanah (of Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv) to Rosh Hashanah 33b, which explains the connection between the Rosh Hashanah shofar and the cries of Sisra’s mother this way.

The Yerushalmi (Rosh Hashanah 20b) records that the Jews were once attacked when they blew the shofar Rosh Hashanah morning because our enemies thought that the sound meant that the Jews were about to attack them.

^[12] Medrash Tanchuma (Vayishlach 2) and Pesikta Rabati 40. See also Ran (Rosh Hashanah [3a in Rif]) who links the Rosh Hashanah shofar to the pasuk in Amos that describes the blowing of the shofar at wartime. See also Kuntras Divreri Chalomot (Rav Tzadok) 14.

^[13] This explains why Yechezkel HaNavi (Sefer Yechezkel 33:1–9) compares his call to teshuvah to a shofar blown to warn a city of an approaching army. Like the watchman who warns the people by blowing the shofar, so Yechezkel warns the people of their need to do teshuvah.

^[14] See Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4. The Rambam sees the goal of the shofar as similar to that of the mandate to blow chatzotzrot at a time of war (Bamidbar 10:9 and Rambam, Hilchot Ta’aniyot 1:1–2).

^[15] See the Rambam’s commentary to the mishnah where he explains that the reference to Moshe’s hands is relevant to the topic discussed in the perek.

^[16] See also Yerushalmi (R”H 58:4) and the which understands the shofar this way.

^[17] See Rosh Hashanah 28a which applies the term “zichron teru’ah” to our consciousness.

^[18] Mishneh Torah, Teshuvah 3:4.

^[19] Vayikra 23:24.

^[20] Ibid.

^[21] See Rosh Hashanah 26a, Shabbat 131b, Vayikra Rabbah 29:3, 4, and Tosafot (Sukkah 43a), and Turei Even (R”H 19b) who also see the shofar blasts as directed at Hashem.

See also the Milchemet Hashem (R”H 11a in Rif pages), Beit HaLevy (Derush 15), and Biur Halachah (588 D’H Shema) who see the shofar as a form of tefilah.

^[22] Rosh Hashanah 16a. See also Bereishit Rabbah 56:10.

^[23] Sefer Hachinuch, Mitzvah 331.

^[24] See the language of the gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16a) — “lizkor la’chem.”

^[25] See the Avudraham, Tefilat Rosh Hashanah, D”H V’Ha’inyan.

^[26] Rosh Hashanah 16a. This explains how the Rambam in his Sefer HaMitzvot (137) describes the zikaron of Rosh Hashanah as referring to Hashem even though he explains it as referring to our memory in Hilchot Teshuvah. Our memory determines Hashem’s.

See also Ibn Ezra (Bamidbar 10:9), who mentions the two forms of memory (our’s and Hashem’s).

See also the Ba’al Ha’Maor (Pesachim 28a in Rif pages) who describes the shofar as generating memory “between the Jewish people and their father in heaven.”