Rosh Hashanah: A Day of Delight
Every Rosh Hashanah, our sages tell us, the process of creation comes to an end. G-d’s delight in being the King of the world is no longer a foregone conclusion. It takes our efforts on Rosh Hashanah, of proclaiming G-d as our King, and especially the blowing of the Shofar, to get G-d to once more desire us and the entire universe.
No Shofar this Year!
In a game of word association, the word Shofar would certainly elicit the word Rosh Hashanah as its partner. Shofar and Rosh Hashanah are inextricably bound together. Or at least, that is the way it seems.
What casts some doubt on this assertion is the Talmudic law that says that when Rosh Hashanah occurs on a Shabbos — as it does this year — we do not sound the Shofar until the next day. The reason the Talmud gives is rather difficult to understand. If Shofar sounding would have been permitted on Rosh Hashanah that occurs on a Shabbos it might lead to the transgression of the strict laws governing the Shabbos.
This explanation leaves us with an even greater question. If Shofar is so central to Rosh Hashanah and Shofar is so powerful a Mitzvah that inspires us to Teshuvah (sincere repentance and return to G-d), why then did the sages decide to ban this Mitzvah because of a remote possibility that some uneducated or careless person might inadvertently violate the Shabbos?
Shabbos takes the Place of Shofar
Chassidic thought answers this question by referring to the deeper appreciation for the Mitzvah of blowing the Shofar and the deeper significance of the Shabbos. Upon examining these two observances from their inner dimension, we will see that when Rosh Hashanah occurs on a Shabbos there is no need for the Shofar because the Shabbos spirit itself takes the place of Shofar blowing. In other words, blowing the Shofar on Shabbos of Rosh Hashanah would be entirely redundant.
Translation of Shofar
To understand why Shofar and Shabbos are spiritually compatible we should reflect on the very meaning of the word Shofar. One of the meanings of the word Shofar is beauty or delight. The Shofar — with its capacity for arousing our souls to accept G-d as our king with absolute devotion and commitment — has the effect of “giving” G-d a sense of appreciation for the beauty of our lives. This, in turn, enables Him to derive “delight” from our devotion to Him.
G-d finding Delight in His Creation
To better understand the concept of G-d deriving delight from our actions, we must discern between two forms of will. People can work for a living, so we must say that they want to work. Yet, it does not necessarily mean that they derive pleasure and enjoyment from their work.
Similarly, we know that G-d wants to do the “work” that is necessary in order to create the world. The proof of that is that He did create the world. But the fact that G-d wanted to create the world does not mean that He derives pleasure and satisfaction from it.
Every Rosh Hashanah, our sages tell us, the process of creation comes to an end. This means that G-d’s delight in being the King of the world is no longer a foregone conclusion. It takes our efforts on Rosh Hashanah, of proclaiming G-d as our King, and especially the blowing of the Shofar, to get G-d to once more desire us and the entire universe.
To be sure, even if we were all to go to sleep on Rosh Hashanah, literally or figuratively, the world will still continue to exist; because G-d made a commitment that He will never allow the world to be destroyed. However, then the relationship G-d has with His world will be a “sleepy” one, one that is devoid of enthusiasm and delight.
The Shofar, whose primal sound. is an expression of the most profound feelings of devotion to G-d, is the primary instrument that brings G-d infinite pleasure in His relationship with us and the world. Only our actions and commitment to making this world a “dwelling place” for G- d has the capacity to make G-d “feel comfortable,” and derive pleasure, so to speak, from His world. This entire process is encapsulated within the Shofar.
Shabbos the Essence of Delight
This is true most of the time. When Rosh Hashanah occurs on a Shabbos, there is no need for the Shofar to accomplish this result of getting G-d to find delight in His world, because the very essence of Shabbos is pleasure and delight. We delight in Shabbos because it is the day when G-d completed His work and was able to feel the pleasure and delight in His creation.
Every Shabbos, then, the world experiences a powerful surge of Divine energy that permeates every aspect of our lives. On Shabbos, the natural state of existence is a mutual sense of infinite delight; it is the time for spiritual intimacy, where G-d and His people derive pleasure from each other.
This state of mutual pleasure and delight that Shabbos and Shofar effect, are also samples of what the world will experience with the coming of Moshiach. Then there will be a perpetual Shabbos relationship between G-d and His world.
A Kasiva Vachasima Tovah, May we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year, a Shabbos year, a year of delight; a year of Redemption!
From the book Light from the Future: Rosh Hashanah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
