Rosh Hashanah: Divine Revelation and Repentance

By Josh Appel

One of the prominent מצות of ראש השנה is the שופר. What exactly is the goal and theme of the שופר?

The רמב"ם in הל' תשובה notably says that the purpose of the שופר is to awake us from our slumber, עורים ישנים משנתכם. This is surely a fine idea, one which is especially consistent with תשובה and ראש השנה. However, there is another context in which we speak of the שופר. In מוסף on ראש השנה there is a section called שופרות. In this segment, the שופר is spoken of almost exclusively in its relevance to Godly revelation, גילוי שכינה. What does revelation have to do with עורים ישנים משנתכם? How do we account for this discrepancy?

Another question to ponder – there is a מנהג to blow 100 total שופר blasts on ראש השנה. This prominent tradition comes from the story of Sisra’s mother who cried 100 times when upon she realized her son would not return from battle as he had previously. What does Sisra’s mother have to do with שופר and ראש השנה? Why is she the precedence for 100 שופר blasts?

The Rav noted that there is a commonality between Sisra’s mother and the essence of שופר. When Sisra delayed returning from battle, his mother’s world crumbled. Her illusions were shattered as her life came tumbling down. This is what occurs when we hear the piercing sound of the שופר. Our notions of life and reality come crashing down as we are forced to contemplate life.

This idea can be taken a step further though. This notion of the שופר’s “reality check” effect does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, it is born from and is a product of גילוי שכינה. The pronouncement of the King – displayed by the sounding of the trumpeting שופר – automatically calls into question our life’s path. The שופר’s ability to wake us from our slumber is precisely because it is the very same instrument which announces the arrival of the מלך מלכי המלכים. When we comprehend and realize that Hashem is present in our midst there is an automatic reality check, a confrontation, an introspection. When a person hears the sound of the שופר they instantly wake up and things become clear.

Another example of this phenomenon can be found by ימות המשיח. We are told that when the גאולה a שופר will be sounded. Why would a שופר specifically precede the redemption? Perhaps it is melodically pleasing. But in light of this perspective there is something deeper. The גאולה is surely the prime example of a גולוי שכינה in which everything will be clear. This clarity is exactly what the Jews witnessed at הר סיני and is precisely what we are called upon to focus on during these days.

This is why even when the שופר is not blown wherein Shabbos and Yom Tov coincide, the שופר still defines the קדושת היום. For example, there is a practice we have to blow both תקיעות מיושב and מעומד. תוספות asks, how can we add on to the מצוה of שופר? Is that not a violation of בל תוסף? They answer that בל תוסף is only when adding to a מצוה (a fifth ציצית string) whereas repeating a מצוה is allowed. The רשב"א (ר"ה טז) however, argues that there is no violation of בל תוסף if there is a תקנת חכמים. Through the Torah’s permission of edicts on a Rabbincal level based on לא תסור, any Rabbinically enacted תקנה does not violate בל תוסף (like קריאת המגילה for example). The רשב"א continues and says this is the same reason why not blowing שופר on שבת ר"ה is not a violation of בל תגרע. Since חז"ל instituted the גזירה שמא הלך ד' אמות ברה"ר, not blowing שופר is not a violation of בל תגרע. The problem is that it sounds like if not for the גזירה, not blowing שופר would have been a violation of בל תגרע. How is that possible? If a person abstains from a מצות עשה they are מבטל an עשה not עובר on בל תגרע! Why does the רשב"א believe that if not for the Rabbinic permission then simply abstaining from שופר would be בל תגרע? Rav Rosensweig answered that since שופר is definitional on ראש השנה, not blowing שופר constitutes בל תגרע. Even without the שופר, the day is still characterized as a יום זכרון תרועה (as opposed to when Shabbos and Succos coincide and we similarly leave the לולב at home but do not make any mention of לולב in Davening). This is because the שופר not just a מצוה we do on ראש השנה but is characteristic of ראש השנה itself.

The reason why שופר has this defining ability is because it relates to how one properly does תשובה. As we mentioned, שופר embodies not just עורים ישנים but עורים ישנים as a product of Hashem’s presence. Similarly, תשובה contains a parallel dialectic. Were one to just strike the chest and proclaim sin, they would be missing the essence of תשובה. We have no interest in self-deprecation if it lacks any impact or context. The only reason we enunciate our sin is for the purpose of self-growth and improvement. Thus, just as the awakening from our slumber comes from a realization of Hashem’s presence, תשובה itself requires the context of גילוי שכינה. Whence we realize that there are Godly expectations of us we immediately look to make our lives consistent with that standard. Thus, the enunciation of sin is only in order that we may move past these transgressions and return to G-d. In other words, the שופר highlights that תשובה is underpinned by a realization of גילוי שכינה. We do תשובה because we realize that Hashem’s presence is part of our lives.

Another iteration of this dialectic can be found in an examination of the שעיר לעזאזל. Although an עבודה of יוה"כ, the רמב"ם places שעיר לעזאזל in the opening chapter of הל' תשובה. Additionally, the רמב"ם writes that the שעיר is מכפר על כל עונות. Clearly, the שעיר represents a method of תשובה in some capacity.

All year we create facades, illusions, pedestals and mountains in order to believe that everything is functioning the way that it should. However, on the fateful Day of Judgment, we are forced off the mountain; the illusions we once held steadfastly instantly and suddenly crumble in front of our very eyes. We are left bloodied, battered and beaten. However, this is only half the story. Simultaneously, there is the שעיר לה' which awaits us in the מקדש. The self-realization, this push off the cliff, is only in order that we may bring an offering and worship Hashem. When we see that goat fall from paradise, we see ourselves fall as well but we are comforted in knowing that the eradication of evil serves as the basis for worship to G-d.[1]

This is why ראש השנה precedes יוה"כ. Logically, we should address each sin individually, cleanse ourselves, and only then come to Hashem proclaiming his kingship and mastery over the world. However, the opposite is true, why? The idea is that יוה"כ, the confession of sin, must have a greater context. The enunciation of sin can only be a product of the realization of Godly presence since our וידוי is only so that we may grow closer to Hashem. We must abort the erroneous notion that confession is formulaic, magical, mythical or depressing. The על חטא of יוה"כ comes on the coattails of ראש השנה because we pronounce the sin on the basis of Hashem’s relevance to our life’s mission, essence and purpose.

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[1] In this view, why was there a lot for the שעירים? Perhaps the idea is as follows: the שעיר represents us – what we choose to thrust off the cliff and what we choose to leave behind. The only one who can decipher which part of us is לעזאזל and which is to ה' is Hashem. Through use of a lottery we show that it is Hashem who decides what stays in our lives and what goes. To mention, Rav Hirsch (Collected Writing and Chumash) understands the שעירים as the paradigm of free choice on יוה"כ. Both stand before us – the path to Hashem and the path to nether where. Both are equally accessible and identical and are both able to be picked (that’s why a lot is used). It is up to us whether we are לה' or לעזאזל.