The evening of September 6, 2021, will launch the 5782nd Jewish New Year.
The New Jewish (lunar) Year is the only Jewish holiday, which is celebrated upon the (monthly) appearance of a new moon, proceeding from relative darkness to a fully illuminated moon in the middle of the month.
The Shofar represents “peace-through-strength,” as demonstrated by the peaceful ram, which is equipped with powerful and deterring horns.
In ancient times, the blowing of the Shofar was employed to announce the (50th) year of the Jubilee – the Biblical role model of liberty.
The Jubilee inspired the US Founding Fathers’ concept of liberty as inscribed on the Liberty Bell: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land and unto all the inhabitants thereof” (Leviticus 25:10).
The English word Jubilee is derived from the Hebrew word Yovel, a synonym for Shofar.
The shofar is made from the horn of a ram, which is a peaceful animal equipped with strong horns to fend off predators, just like mothers shielding children. Thus, Rosh Hashanah's prayers highlight the strength of the Biblical Matriarchs: Sarah, Rachel, and Hanna, who gave birth to Isaac, Joseph, Benjamin, and Samuel respectively.
Rosh Hashanah is referred to as “The Pregnancy of the World” (Harat Olam in Hebrew), highlighting motherhood, the pregnancies of the Biblical Matriarchs, and reality-based optimism.
The 100 blows of the Shofar are divided into three series, commemorating the three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), the three parts of the Old Testament (the Torah, Prophets, Writings), and the three types of human beings (pious, mediocre, evil).
According to King Solomon, “a triple-braided cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes, 4:12).”
Photo: Walla News