Parshat Nitzavim _ Erev Rosh Hashanah 5779
Rabbi Jablinowitz
The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 16A teaches, Amar Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Imru Lefanai Malchiyos Kedai She'Tamlichuni Aleichem, Zichronos Kedai She'Ta'ale Zichroneichem Lefanai, U'Bameh? B'Shofar. The Gemara states that Hashem, so to speak, declares to Bnei Yisrael say before me pasukim of Malchiyos in order to make me King over you, pasukim of Zichronos in order that your memory should go before me, and how?; with the shofar. This is how the Gemara explains the need to say the pasukim of Malchiyos, Zichronos, and Shofros.
The Sfas Emes asks, why does the Gemara ask and how do I do it?; with the shofar. The earlier statement explains that we fulfill Shofros by stating pasukim pertaining to Gd as the King. And by Zichronos as well we say pasukim invoking Hashem's memory to remember the special deeds and accomplishments of our forefathers. If so, why does the Gemara ask, and how do I do this, with the shofar. The Gemara already said I do it with pasukim!
He answers that when the Gemara asks U'Bameh, and how, it isn't asking on the actual Malchiyos and Zichronos. Rather it is referring to the word Lefanai. The Gemara had said Imru Lefanai, say before me Malchiyos and Zichronos. And to this the Gemara asks, but how do I ensure that my statements go before Hashem; how do I fulfill the Lefanai. And to that the Gemara responds, with the Shofar.
How is the Shofar able to accomplish this?
The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 26A teaches that according to the Chachamim one may not use the horn of a cow on Rosh Hashanah. The Gemara explains that their reasoning is that just as the Kohen Gadol doesn't wear his gold garments in the Kodesh Hakadashim on Yom Kippur since it references the sin of the golden calf, so too a Shofar from a cow would recall the golden calf. But, the Gemara asks, only in the Holy of Holies does the Kohen Gadol not wear gold; he wears the golden garments on Yom Kippur outside and since the Shofar is blown outside why can't he use the horn of a cow? To this the Gemara answers, Keyvan Lezikaron Hu, Kebifnim Dami; since the whole point of the Shofar is to arouse our memory before Hashem, it is considered like being inside the Kodesh Hakadashim.
The Sfas Emes connects this Gemara to our Gemara of U'Bameh? B'Shofar. We see from this Gemara that the Shofar has a special ability to bring us before Hashem. Though we say pasukim of Malchiyos and Zichronos on Rosh Hashanah, that which brings us close on Rosh Hashanah is not our ability to speak. Speech involves the intellectual process of formulating ideas and articulating them as words. But on Rosh Hashanah, it's the simple sound, the Kol Pashut, of the Shofar which brings us close. It is our acknowledgment that Hashem is the King and that we are powerless and ultimately ineffectual despite our talents which brings us close to Hashem.
This Kol Shofar is a gift from Hashem. It expresses the notion that everything we have comes from Hashem. When a child first starts to speak he begins by making sounds. Similarly on Rosh Hashanah, which commemorates the creation of man, we begin by making sounds, the sound of the Shofar. Just as the Gemara in Succah teaches that when a child begins to speak his father starts teaching him Torah, Torah Tzivah Lanu Moshe, similarly on Rosh Hashanah, which commemorates the birth of mankind, we begin by making the sound of the Shofar. We go back to the beginning and start the process of learning to speak again on Rosh Hashanah. And this process begins with the sound of the Shofar. It's our first sounds which ultimately evolve into the sounds of Torah and Tefillah. But because we have a unique relationship with Hashem, the sound of the Shofar alone, without any stirring speeches, arouses compassion and mercy before Hashem on Rosh Hashanah.
Yehi Ratzon that Hashem listen to the sound of our cries and our Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and may we all be inscribed for a Kesiva V'Chasima Tova B'Sifran shel Tzadikim Gamurim.
Good Shabbos and Kesiva V'Chasima Tova
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