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Friday, Sept. 6, INI
Fa*e Twenty-8U
TIE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
The Message of the Shofar
by RABBI RUDOLPH J. ADLER
SPIRITUAL, LEADER
CONGREGATION OHEV SHALOM
- ORLANDO, FLORIDA
The moit natural explanation
for the use of the Shofar is the
one Maimonidei gave, a clarion
call to repentance, where the
shofar calls to us, "Awake jre
sleepers and repent!” Others
mentioned that the shofar comes
to proclaim God's kingship over
all the earth, which Rosh Hasho-
nah teaches.
I also came upon another
thought which impressed me,
aattiely, that the heavenly shep
herd is calling those who went
astray from Israel’s fold. Per
haps it is also 9 warning that we
Jiould not desert Israel. In addi
tion, the shofar has always been
a reminder of the “Akedah"—
when Abraham was ready to
offer Isaac as a supreme sacri
fice—which was to teach us the
solemn duty of martyrdom, if
required.
' If one would ask me, however,
which are the most fundamental
and most urgent messages of the
Shofar for us today, I would not
quote any of those previously
mentioned. Instead I would say,
that the Shofar proclaims for
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us first, the importance and su
premacy of Torah, and secondly,
the centrality of Zion and Israel
in our life.
As for Torah, the shofar ac
companied the giving of the
Torah on Mt. Sinai, as it is
written, “And when the voice
of the shofar gre wlouder, Moses
began to speak and God replied
to him with a voice.” (Exodus)
The shofar has also symbolized
and ushered in our return to
Zion, as it is written, “And a
great trumpet, a shofar, will
sound and herald our freedom
and return us to Zion, our city,
and Jerusalem, our holy Tem
ple.” (Prayer Book).
Further proof that our rabbis
wanted to emphasize “Zion” and
“Sinai” in connection with the
mesage of the shofar on Rosh
Hashonah, is indicated by the
fact that a major portion of the
liturgy is devoted to this theme.
As an example of Sinai—
“When thous, O Lord, revealed
thyself on Mt. Sinai to teach thy
people Torah and Mitzvot, you
appeared to them with the
sounds of the shofar . . .” And
for Zion—“Let the shofar re
mind us of the covenant which
thou sworest to Abraham on Mt.
Moriah,” which was later called
Mt. Zion.
We must ask ourselves now,
what message have Mt. Sinai
and Mt. Zion for us today, on
this Rosh Hashonah day? It
It seems to me that the shofar
of Sinai comes to remind us of
our duties to Sinai, to Jewish
learning. We must ask ourselves;
Are we loyal to our Torah? Do
we uphold the ideals of Torah
study?—Jewish education in this
country has been improved, but
the latest study indicates that
most children remain only three
years in the religious school.
85% of teenagers receive no
formal education, and parents
take little interest.
I am not trying to alarm, I am
not pesimistic, but one must
point out the need for improve
ment. How much can a child
Learn in three years? How much
encouragement can parents pro
vide, when they do not know
the subject matter themselves?
On Rosh Hashonah, let us make
Gracious Holiday Greetings
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a resolution to improve all this,
for the shofar reminds us to do
our duty to Mt. Sinai, to Torah.
We Jews have always been
recognized as a people of learn
ing and intelligence. Leon Tol
stoy wrote, "The Jew is that
sacred being who brought down
from heaven the everlasting fire
and has illumined with it the en
tire world.” It was Bernard
Shaw who said, “The Jew is
bom cultured.” These are fine
comments about Jewish life and
Jewish values, and we like-Jo
hear them and are proud of
them. But we must be worthy of
these words; we must make sure
that they will apply to us to
day.
The shofar also accompanied
the ideal of Mt. Zion, formerly
called Moriah. It was a symbol
of Jewish nationhood, of a holy
nation, which was destined to
influence all mankind. Our love
for Zion was greater than nor
mal nationalism, for even in Ex
ile all Jews prayed and longed
for Zion. Throughout our history
we made pilgrimages there. We
observed its festivals, and if we
could not live there, we kissed
its holy soil and died there. Our
love for Israel was real, it was
part and parcel of our Jewish
life.
Herzl’s political Zionism would
have been impossible without
the enthusiasm created by the
ideal of Zion. Philanthropy alone
did not create the new State
of, Israel, charity alone will not
preserve it for us. Although
American Jewry contributed
vast sums of money to Israel,
our feeling for Zionism and Is
rael has not become warmer,
but is now less intensive. We
have divorced political and eco
nomic Zionism from its main
source of inspiration, our tradi
tional, religious love for Israel.
Just as Judaism has become
with many of us a one or two
days’ affair, so has Zionism been
reduced to a once-a-year cam
paign. This is meaningless and
cannot endure, this must be
changed. The shofar calls to us,
“Remember- Zion every day, all
year rountf**
Torah and Zionism, Mt. Sinai
and Mt. Zion are our greatest
Jewish ideals at the present time.
Judaism and Zionism are com
plementary to one another, they
always were, there is no com
petition between them. Herzl,
himself stated, "Before return
ing to Palestine, let us return to
J u d a i s m.” I wholeheartedly
agree. In my opinion, Judaism
can only flourish if it is based
on traditional Judaism and un
diluted Zionism. May this Rosh
Hashonah see such a union. May
we interpret the shofar call to
join such an alliance, so that we
can truly say together with the
prophet, ‘That from Zion shall
go forth the law and the word
of God from Jerusalem.”
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