The shofar, blown on Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew for the beginning of the year), is perhaps the oldest wind instrument known to man. It is made from the hollowed horn of an animal, usually a ram’s horn. Those of you who have experienced the sound of the shofar during the high holidays know when the shofar is blown, there is something very powerful happening. The rituals of the high holidays are filled with deep meaning. In recent years, with the Kabbalah and the teachings of Chabad Chassidis, the meaning has been made available more than ever before.
A story is told that the great Chasidic master, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, asked one of his students to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, further instructing him to study all the Kabbalistic Meditations that pertain to the shofar, so that he could meditate upon them while sounding the shofar.
The student applied himself to the task with joy and trepidation, joy over the great privilege that had been bestowed upon him and trepidation over the immensity of the responsibility. He studied the Kabbalistic Meditations that discuss the multifaceted significance of the shofar and what its sounds achieve on the various levels of reality in the various chambers of the soul. He prepared a special sheet of paper on which he noted the main points of each so that he could refer to them when he blew the shofar.
Finally, the moment arrived. It was Rosh Hashanah and the student stood on the podium in the center of the Baal Shem Tov’s synagogue. An awed silence filled the room in anticipation of the climax of the day, the sound of the shofar. The student reached into his pocket for the paper, but it had disappeared! His heart froze. Furiously, he searched his memory for that which he studied so diligently, but in his distress his mind was a total blank. Tears of frustration filled his eyes. He had disappointed the great Rebbe, who had entrusted him with this sacred task. Now he must blow the shofar as a simple horn, without any of the Kabbalistic Meditations to support him. With despair in his heart, the student blew each of the prescribed sounds, avoided the Rebbe’s eye, and resumed his place.
At the conclusion of the day’s prayers, the Baal Shem Tov made his way to the corner where his student sat sobbing under his tallit. “Reb Ze’ev!” he called, “That was the most extraordinary shofar blowing we have ever experienced to date!” The student in his great humility and humiliation tried to resist the compliment.
The Baal Shem Tov went on to explain, “In the supernal realms there are many gates and doors, leading to many halls and chambers of a higher consciousness. The palace-keepers have great rings holding many keys, each of which opens a different door. But there is one key that fits all the locks, a master key that opens all the doors.
“The Kabbalistic Meditations are keys, each unlocking another door in our souls, each accessing another chamber in the supernal worlds. But there is one key that unlocks all doors that opens up for us the innermost chambers of the divine palace. That master key is a humble heart.”
On Rosh Hashana, beginning September 16, if we can listen with a humble heart to the simple yet powerful sound of the shofar, this undiluted sound will penetrate our souls. And if in these moments we let go, we will go higher and also deeper. Let this be the year the sound of the shofar reminds us of the purity and deep yearning in our own hearts, as we ask our Creator to bestow upon us and our loved ones a new energy, one that will fill the coming year with peace and light.
You are welcome to join us at Chabad’s ‘no cost’ services, to learn more about the esoteric meanings of the shofar and hear it blown with your own ears. For more information regarding the High Holidays or to make reservations, please visit us at jewishmalibu.com. May you and yours be blessed for a year of health, wealth and true contentment.