Dvar Torah - Rosh Hashanah 5787 - Remembering the Shofar

The Torah actually says remarkably little about Rosh Hashanah:

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work; it shall be a day of shofar-sounding (יום תרועה) for you.” (Bamidbar 29:1)

The Torah therefore tells us that Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Teruah, a day of shofar sounding.

But in Vayikra, the Torah uses a somewhat different expression:

“Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a rest day for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts (זכרון תרועה), a holy convocation.” (Vayikra 23:23–24)

What does the Torah mean by זכרון תרועה, “a remembrance with shofar blasts”?

Rashi explains:

“The term ‘remembrance’ refers to the Biblical verses of ‘Zichronos’ (remembrances) and to the verses of ‘Shofros,’ which are to remind you of the binding of Yitzchak, where a ram was offered in his stead.”

Rashi's comment connects זכרון תרועה  with the special sections of the Rosh Hashanah Musaf service known as Zichronos and Shofros. These are two of the three special sections that we recite in Musaf on Rosh Hashanah: Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros.

The source for Malchuyos, which proclaims Hashem's kingship, is derived separately, from Bamidbar 10:10, as discussed by the Ramban.

These three sections are particularly significant because Rosh Hashanah is the only day of the year on which the Musaf Amidah contains nine blessings. On Shabbos and other holidays, the Amidah consists of seven blessings: the three opening blessings, the three closing blessings, and one middle blessing that describes the sanctity of the day. On Rosh Hashanah, that single middle blessing is replaced by three special blessings: Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros.

This creates an interesting difficulty.

Rashi seems to connect these special sections of the Musaf service to verses in the Torah. Yet the Gemara explicitly tells us that the three special blessings of Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros are Rabbinic in origin and are not themselves a Torah obligation (Rosh Hashanah 34b).

How, then, are we to understand Rashi?

The Sifsei Chachamim explains that Rashi was not saying that the Rabbis' enactment itself was a Torah obligation. Rather, Rashi was explaining the Torah's underlying concept that provided the basis for the Rabbinic institution.

This underlying concept of זכרון תרועה, “a remembrance with shofar blasts,” teaches us that the shofar is associated with remembrance before Hashem. The Rabbis therefore established the three special sections of Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros to give expression to these fundamental ideas on Rosh Hashanah.

Indeed, at the conclusion of each of these sections, we recite a special blessing and, in the repetition of the Musaf Amidah, the shofar is sounded. Sephardim and some Ashkenazim also sound the shofar at these points even during the silent recitation of Musaf.

But why does the shofar serve as such a powerful reminder?

Rashi points us toward the Akeidah. When Hashem hears the sound of the shofar, Hashem is reminded of the ram that Avraham offered in place of Yitzchak. He is reminded of the extraordinary faith of Avraham and Yitzchak and their willingness to fulfill the will of Hashem. It also reminds Him of the faith, devotion and self-sacrifice that have been part of our relationship with Hashem from the very beginning.

This gives additional meaning to the three sections of the Rosh Hashanah Musaf.

When we daven Musaf, read these three sections and hear the shofar this Rosh Hashanah, we should therefore listen not merely to a sound, but to a message. May its sound remind Hashem and us of the merit of Avraham and Yitzchak and of all the mitzvos performed by our ancestors and by the Jewish people throughout the generations. And may it also awaken within us the determination to live with the same faith and commitment.

May we all merit that the sound of the shofar rise before Hashem, that He remember us favorably, and that He bless us and the entire Jewish people throughout the world with a kesivah v'chasimah tovah, a year of health, peace, prosperity and great blessing.