The Prosecution Rests

Sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, Maimonides writes, is to awaken us from our involvement in worldly pursuits and to alert us to our responsibilities as Jews. The Shofar reminds us as to what is truly important in our lives and rouses us to sincerely turn to G-d.

Confounding the Satan

As we approach the end of the year, it is customary to increase our acts of goodness and kindness. We also have a custom to sound the Shofar every day of this month (with the exception of the Shabbos). Yet, on the day before Rosh Hashanah, Jewish Law tells us that this preparatory Shofar blowing should be skipped.

The only thing more peculiar than that ruling is the reason given for it: the Shofar is not blown in order to “confound the Satan.” Simply put, if we don’t blow the Shofar, the Satan will think that we have finished with the Shofar for the year, that somehow Rosh Hashanah has already passed, and he will therefore neglect to appear in the heavenly court on the New Year and act as an accusing angel – guaranteeing that the Jews will be inscribed for a sweet New Year.

What is the meaning of all this? Does the Jewish religion really believe in Satan? Isn’t this what the other religions believe in? And how can we confuse him?

The Jewish View of Satan: G-d’s Instrument

In truth, the word and concept of Satan is derived from the Torah. Satan, Judaism teaches us, is the Biblical term for one of G-d’s holy angels who has the sad job of creating obstacles (indeed, the Hebrew word Satan actually means “obstacle.”) for us in our pursuit of doing good to “balance the playing field.”

He is the accusing angel who tries to present arguments against G-d’s doing anything positive for humanity.

During the High Holiday season, it is this angel who is charged by G-d Himself, to argue against granting us a sweet and healthy year. Much like a court appointed lawyer who has to argue in defense of a reprehensible criminal, the Satan, must unwillingly argue against the best interests of the Jewish people.

Doesn’t He have a Calendar?

But can such a simple ploy (of not sounding the Shofar the day before Rosh Hashanah) trick an angel of G-d? Can’t Satan look at a calendar and see when Rosh Hashanah will be? Even if this ploy did work once, can’t we assume that after a few years Satan became wise to our tricks and won’t fall for the deception again?

The Purpose of Shofar on Rosh Hashanah

Chassidic thought puts this rather strange discussion in its proper light. The purpose of sounding the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, Maimonides writes is to awaken us from our involvement in worldly pursuits and to alert us to our responsibilities as Jews.

The Shofar reminds us as to what is truly important in our lives and rouses us to sincerely turn to G-d. This is the essence of the message of Rosh Hashanah, which, when taken seriously, will guarantee us to be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year.

Getting a Head Start

Now when Jewish tradition established the custom of starting to blow the Shofar a full 30 days in advance of Rosh Hashanah, from the beginning of the month of Elul, the idea was to get a “head start on the Holiday.” By hearing the holy and awesome blasts of the Shofar throughout Elul, the intent is that we should be inspired to turn to G-d and grow to a whole new level — even before the onset of Rosh Hashanah.

Thus, when we skip the blowing of the Shofar on the eve of the New Year, we are, in effect saying that we don’t need the inspiration of the Shofar to awaken us to Teshuvah and repentance. After a full month of hearing the Shofar we have sufficiently developed to the point that we have truly reached a high level of Teshuvah.

Omitting the Shofar on that day is not a ploy to trick the Satan but a sincere statement that reflects the great spiritual growth we have experienced during the month of Elul. This reality, which Satan is well aware of, is indeed confounding to him. How can he claim before G-d that we are not deserving of a sweet New Year when he knows that, by virtue of the fact that we didn’t blow the Shofar on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, we have grown in our service of G-d by leaps and bounds? Satan knows full well that Rosh Hashanah will soon be here, but he also knows that he has no argument to make in the heavenly court. He has indeed been confounded.

Satan’s Attempts to Obstruct Path to Redemption

The New Year can be likened to the New Era that is associated with the coming of Moshiach at which time the whole world will hear G-d sounding the Great Shofar to awaken us spiritually. The Satan has been trying for some time to obstruct our path towards that goal.

When we live in a manner that is characteristic of a Messianic Age, by doing good in a wholesome and uncompromising way, thereby awakening our inner reservoir of goodness and holiness, we confound the Satan because he realizes that he cannot stop us in our spiritual growth and the Era of total peace and holiness will be ushered in imminently!

From the book Light from the Future: Rosh Hashanah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.