Part 1
The primary commandment of Rosh HaShanah is the blowing of the Shofar. While Rambam writes that this Mitzvah, at its core, is a “חוק"---divine decree which we cannot fully understand-a simple allusion to take from the Mitzvah is the idea of “waking up"; the Mitzvah is a call to action, and arouse ourselves from slumber.
Additionally, the Shofar is specifically taken from the horn of a ram [ideally] in order to recall the moving sacrifice of Avraham, who was willing to offer his most precious son Yitzchak as a Korban [offering] to Hashem. Ultimately, Hashem informed Avraham that it was never Hashem’s actual intention to sacrifice Yitzchak; in reality, the offering would land up being a ram caught in a thicket nearby. To commemorate the desire of Avraham and Yitzchak, we blow a ram’s horn. The Talmud assures us [Shabbat 89] that their sacrifice serves as an eternal merit for the Jewish people, and this is one of the reasons we are joyous on Rosh HaShanah-for we are guaranteed a verdict that will be to our great benefit.
Of the two horns of the ram offered in place of Yitzchak, one horn was blown by the giving of the Torah, and the other horn will be blown for the coming of Moshiach. It is possible that the Possuk that states [Devarim 5’ 19’}:
אֶֽת־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֡לֶּה דִּבֶּר֩ יְ-הֹוָ֨ה אֶל־כׇּל־קְהַלְכֶ֜ם בָּהָ֗ר מִתּ֤וֹךְ הָאֵשׁ֙ הֶֽעָנָ֣ן וְהָֽעֲרָפֶ֔ל ק֥וֹל גָּד֖וֹל וְלֹ֣א יָסָ֑ף וַֽיִּכְתְּבֵ֗ם עַל־שְׁנֵי֙ לֻחֹ֣ת אֲבָנִ֔ים וַֽיִּתְּנֵ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃
These words did Hashem address to your entire assemblage at the mountain from within the fire, the cloud, and the thick cloud-a voice great and without cessation. He wrote them on two tablets of stone, and He gave them to me.
can actually be alluding to the Mitzvah of blowing Shofar, which serves as an echo of the original shofar soundings at Matan Torah [the giving of the Torah].
On a deeper level, many have questioned the great merit earned by Avraham and Yitzchak for their willingness to follow Hashem’s orders; do we not find throughout the course of human history those who have been willing to sacrifice their children-the idolatry of Molech [where parents offered their children as sacrifices to be burnt alive] was a prime example of this idea, and seems to have been extremely prevalent throughout the period of Tanach!
Perhaps, the answer lies in the original command given to Avraham “קח נא את בנך את יחדך אשר אהבת"--take please, your son, your only son, that you love. Avraham, who had served his entire life as the paragon of virtue and kindness, was now told to engage in a service that was totally anathema to his very being-while feeling emotions of love and tenderness for his child. He was deliberately told to perform the sacrifice while immersed in feelings of paternal devotion.
Conversely, the Navi tells us that the sacrifice of Molech was undergone in entirely different conditions. The priests would create a rhythm on drums, in order to drown out the cries of the burning child, lest the parents of the child stop the service upon hearing the anguish of their progeny. The difference is stark; it is possible that one can numb their emotions and engage in horrific actions, all for the sake of some conjured up thoughts of a greater good. The parents of this burning child would hide away from their child’s pleas, and use the cacophony of the drums to suffocate any chances of their hearing the child’s suffering. But to hear the cries of a child, and still be willing to engage in Hashem’s commandment, as Avraham did at the Akeidah-that is a true sacrifice, and earned Hashem’s eternal reward.
This appears to be the deeper lesson of the Shofar as well. While we are in exile, and still facing hatred and bigotry, we turn to Hashem and blow the Shofar-and Hashem, our loving Father, does not turn away from the echoing plea from His children. Our G-d, in His infinite goodness, does not hide away from our cries, unlike the barbaric followers of the service of Molech, who drown out the angst of their progeny. And once Hashem hears our Shofar blowing, there is no force that will hold back His mercy. May we merit a sweet and beautiful new year!
PART 2
While this year, because Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbat, we do not read the current Parshah [Parshat Ha’Azinu] until the following week, it is still appropriate to offer inspiration from the current Torah portion, Bez"H.
This week’s Parshah is the song of Parshat Ha’Azinu. Tradition has it that this Parshah contains the code of all that ever was and ever will be; it is likely for this reason that, while there is a Mitzvah for every Jew to write a Sefer Torah, that Mitzvah is expressed through the command to write the song of Ha’Azinu [see Devarim 31’ 19’; Rambam Mishneh Torah Hilchot Tefillin Chap. 7’ Para. 1], which is then expanded to include the obligation of writing the entire Torah.
Ramban explains that this Parshah would become the mantra of Am Yisrael, no matter the suffering facing Hashem’s people, and therefore it is written and sung as a poem and ode to Hashem and Am Yisrael’s future. This song also represented the passing of the leadership torch to Yehoshua, who was now set to take over for Moshe; Moshe was commanded to write these words, while Yehoshua would initiate his leadership by assisting in the teaching and reading of these most esoteric of Pesukim.
The great commentary Pa’aneach Raza [written circa 1250] wonders why in this particular song, we do not find the name of the singer! For example, after the Jews crossed the Yam Suf, the Torah states “אז ישיר משה"--then Moshe sang-labeling the name of the initiating singer! Pa’aneach Raza offers, that while Moshe’s name is not directly mentioned as the vocalist, the first letters of the first 6 Pesukim [after which the first portion of the Parshah ends], when adding added together, equals 345, which equals to the Hebrew word “משה-Moshe".
However, the commentary on the Pa’aneach Raza, written by the son in law of the great Maharal, offers differently-at this point, Moshe was about to pass away; this song, while initiated by Moshe, and communicated via his prophetic abilities to become part of the Torah, in reality was the song of Am Yisrael’s existence, beyond their story under the leadership of Moshe. This all-encompassing song, which, as mentioned before, represented the commandment for each member of Am Yisrael to write a Torah, was something that was manifest through the entirety of Am Yisrael, rather than the singular individual of Moshe, who was about to pass on.
Thus, this Parshah is read during one of the holiest times of the year, in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we acknowledge that while in the immediate physical world, we may have to deal with the exile and what comes with it, the legacy and future of Am Yisrael is beyond this existence.
Part 3
One of the more interesting customs of Rosh HaShanah, as codified by the Rama in the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 583), is the eating of pomegranates during the Chag. The prayer we associate with the consumption of the pomegranate is the Tefillah that we should be filled with merits like the seeds of a pomegranate. Commentaries have taken this to mean that pomegranates are filled with 613 seeds, just like the amount of Mitzvot [see, for example, Malbim on Shir HaShirim, 4’ 3’]. However, that does not seem to be the current case!
In order to explain this idea, Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky quotes a Columbia University study of 206 pomegranates-when averaged out, the seed-per-pomegranate ratio, in fact, came out to 613 seeds! While with more data it is possible that those numbers could have fluctuated, ultimately, at least for the moment, we have a glimmer of Divine Providence visible in our Rosh HaShanah customs.
Chag Sameach!