The Unshofar
The Shofar works primarily because it jolts us out of our reverie. There are certain times, however, when we need to be awakened not by the jolting sound of a Shofar, but by the loving caress of a day that is permeated with delight, joy, peace, rest and tranquility, the qualities of Shabbos.
No Shofar
Some years, the first day of Rosh Hashanah coincides with Shabbos. One of the consequences of this combination is that we do not sound the Shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. The reason given by the Talmud is puzzling. The Talmud explains that there is a concern that one might inadvertently violate the Shabbos restrictions in the interest of learning how to blow the Shofar.
Commentators find this explanation difficult to comprehend. Why would the rabbis deprive all of the Jewish people of the opportunity to fulfill this profoundly inspirational and cosmically influential mitzvah of sounding the shofar because of a remote possibility that someone might inadvertently violate the Shabbos rules?
No Need for Shofar
In Chassidic literature, the answer provided is that in reality, when Rosh Hashanah coincides with Shabbos, there is no need to sound the Shofar because the spiritual effect of Shofar sounding is replicated by the Shabbos. In the layman’s language, the Shofar is intended to get G-d to express His pleasure with our world, and similarly, Shabbos is the day of delight, when G-d expresses His satisfaction with the world.
Every Detail Counts
Another solution to this problem could be offered that is based on the singular significance of Rosh Hashanah.
On Rosh Hashanah, every detail counts more than any other time of the year. Rosh Hashanah, is not just the beginning of the year, it is the “head” of the year; its brain and nerve center. A scratch on the hand may be irritating; a scratch on the brain can affect the entire body’s wellbeing; it can even be fatal.
Similarly, the Talmudic Sages’ concern that Shofar sounding might lead to an infraction of the Shabbos laws, was taken more seriously on Rosh Hashanah than any other time, because of the far-reaching effects of any imbalance in our lives at that auspicious time.
[The problem with this solution, however, is the Talmud applies this reasoning to explain why the rabbis banned shaking the Lulav when Sukkos coincides with Shabbos, as well as the reading of the Megillah on Purim when it coincides with Shabbos. One must seek a separate explanation for these other occasions when the remote concern of a Shabbos infraction overrides the Mitzvah of the day.] Learning Sensitivity Another simple moralistic approach can also be advanced to answer the question as to why a remote fear that the Shabbos will be violated is able to cancel the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah.
There are Biblical commandments that tell us how to act in relation to animals, plants and even inanimate objects. For example, we are not to walk with wide strides up to the altar in the Holy Temple because it is immodest and disrespectful to the stones! Rashi explains that this is to teach us sensitivity to other people. If we condition ourselves to be modest in relation to an inanimate object, we will certainly become sensitive in the presence of other people.
Similarly, the ban against Shofar sounding when it coincides with Shabbos can be understood as a way to sensitize us to the concerns of others when they conflict with our own. When we try to do a Mitzvah, which is our way of growing spiritually, we must always be mindful of how it may impact other Mitzvot. An illustration of this conflict is the scenario of one who pushes through a crowd of people to get closer to a Torah scroll so it can be kissed. This individual, in the pursuit of a Mitzvah, shows total disregard for the people he is pushing and perhaps harming. It is an example of how the urge to do one Mitzvah that expresses love and affection was at the expense of another Mitzvah to show love and affection to other people.
Similarly here the message of not sounding the shofar is: While we are trying to inspire ourselves to Teshuvah (repentance and returning to G-d), and while we are asking G-d to be our King, we should not forget to respect the demands of the weekly Shabbos. Don’t let (what appears to be) the small details of Judaism get swept under the rug because we are doing something that we think is far more important and majestic.
The simple message in this is when you do one good thing don’t let it be at the expense of another good thing.
Rosh Hashanah is a time for resolutions. However, before we make a resolution, let’s say, to stay up another hour to study Torah, make sure that it doesn’t translate into waking up an hour or more later. We should add to our commitments not subtract from them in the guise of adding, any time of the year, particularly on Rosh Hashanah.
Awakened by a Caress
Another approach to this issue as to why we do not blow shofar when Rosh Hashanah occurs on a Shabbos is based on the different approaches of Shofar and Shabbos. The Shofar works primarily, Maimonides explains in his code of law, because it jolts us out of our reverie. The Shofar, in most years, and on the second day of Rosh Hashanah this year, is a necessary instrument to shake us up.
There are certain times, however, when we need to be awakened not by the jolting sound of a Shofar, but by the loving caress of a day that is permeated with delight, joy, peace, rest and tranquility, the qualities of Shabbos.
Two Scenarios
There are two scenarios for the coming of Moshiach as well. Moshiach’s arrival is to be heralded by the sound of a Great Shofar. However, this can occur in two opposite ways, as well as in scenarios that combine the two. Moshiach’s arrival can be preceded by cataclysmic events that jolt us into realizing that a New Age is upon us, and that we should shape up and get ready for a world that will be permeated with G-dly light.
A completely opposite scenario can be for the Moshiach to come in an atmosphere of peace, serenity and love. The more we prepare ourselves now, refining our character and revealing the G-dly energy within us, the less we need to be jolted.
Let us hope and pray that the imminent coming of Moshiach and the ushering in of the Messianic Age should follow the peaceful-Shabbos scenario, particularly this year when Rosh Hashanah coincides with the Shabbos.
May we all be inscribed and sealed for a good and sweet year, a Shabbos year of peace and complete Redemption.
From the book Light from the Future: Rosh Hashanah by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
