As cognitively active beings, Man must make sense of his environment and if concepts cannot be grasped or things don\u2019t add up, tension and frustration ensues.\u00a0 For some, the challenge of confusion leads to a more concerted effort to arrive at a sensible conclusion. The mathematician\u2019s difficulty with an equation results in rigorous mental gymnastics and a solution. For the student of Gemarah, a complex piece of Talmudic discourse brings him to a more penetrating grasp of the concepts. Gaining clarity eliminates the nagging frustration and is a tremendously satisfying experience resulting in an overwhelming sense of relief.<\/p>\n
Complete clarity of every facet of our existence is by definition elusive to Man due to our finite intellectual capacity. However, the month of \u00a0Elul \u2013 as a preparatory stage for Rosh HaShana- is a time in which we strive toward achieving as much clarity as is humanly possible by recalibrating our priorities and attending toward improved spiritual awareness. The daily blast of the shofar in Elul is part of this phase; it is the preamble to the shofar on Rosh HaShana.<\/p>\n
The sounds of the shofar on Rosh HaShana call us back to Matan Torah <\/em>when the blasts of the shofar could be heard. Aside from those echoes, roars of thunder pervaded.\u00a0Vchol ha\u2019am ro\u2019im et ha\u2019kolot.\u00a0<\/em>(The nation saw the sounds \u2013 Shmot-2:15). The Ramchal explains that Jewish people were able to perceive the thunder so clearly that they received the auditory stimulus through their visual receptors. During \u00a0Ma\u2019amad Har Sinai<\/em>, the people were so in tune with the spirituality that existed that they were able to see that which had no physical manifestation since the experience became so real to them. Rabbi Chaim Friedlander ZT\u201dL draws a parallel \u00a0between the Torah\u2019s use of \u201cro\u2019im<\/em>\u201d and the reference to Shmuel HaNavi as \u201croeh<\/em>\u201d \u2013 a prophet or \u201cseer,\u201d implying a deep and penetrating understanding of the world. The term \u201cro\u2019eh<\/em>\u201d includes physical as well as cognitive perception. The nation enjoyed an experience when everything made sense; questions were answered; ikar<\/em> and tafel <\/em>did not exist as an amorphous mixture. \u00a0Matan Torah<\/em> was the biggest \u2018Aha\u2019 moment in our national history when priorities were calibrated and Man was not fruitlessly attempting to fill a void with trivialities, as the ikar<\/em> and the tafel<\/em> were identified for what they were.<\/p>\n While it is difficult to grasp that Sinaitic experience and the accompanying clarity that our forefathers did, we have all gone through phases in our lives when we have become inspired – even if temporarily – to shift our focus away from the trivial. If, G-d forbid,<\/em> tragedy strikes, for a brief period of time, things that previously disturbed us, such as the the rude driver or the comment that usually offends, are brushed off with a shrug since our focus has shifted from the tafel<\/em> to the ikar<\/em> \u2013 from the inconsequential to the consequential. Similarly, during momentous occasions in our lives such as bringing a child into this world or standing under our child\u2019s chupah<\/em>, our attention is directed toward more meaningful and purposeful endeavors and interactions. The brain power that was previously directed toward feeling slighted easily or toward engaging in trivial pursuits \u00a0has now been allocated for \u00a0important aspect of our lives \u2013 to those things that bring us closer to G-d.<\/p>\n Imagine these bursts of inspiration on \u201coverdrive\u201d \u2013 where the existential \u00a0question of life\u2019s purpose and direction is developed to perfection.\u00a0 Such was the experience of the nation at Sinai, of which we are reminded when hearing the shofar on Rosh HaShana.<\/p>\n The shofar brings us inspiration, when for those \u00a0moments, we focus our energies on significant issues.\u00a0 Rabbi Shimshon Pincus ZT\u201dL highlights the physical shape of the shofar. Narrow at the mouth and wide at its end, the shofar \u00a0signifies that those situations \u00a0that appear confusing and constricting will ultimately be opened wide with a breadth of understanding. In short, the shofar represents the elimination of confusion. This is the longing of every Jew – \u00a0to enjoy clarity and to arrive at answers to those questions that eluded him. Before Tekiat Shofar<\/em>, we utter the words, \u201cMin hameitzar karati K-ah<\/em>\u201d -from the constraints I call out to G-d; from the constraints of conflict, confusion and contradiction that afflict us, I call to Hashem.<\/p>\n Sadly, many of us are burdened with unhappiness and frustration because voids are \u00a0filled with inconsequential goals. The shofar is part of the remedy; it is the beacon that aids in our navigation toward a more meaningful existence, when the narrow hole will be opened wide with comprehension. Thus we begin our New Year with a journey of exchanging the transient for the transcendent and the profane for the sublime.<\/p>\n Aside from representing Matan Tora, <\/em>the shofar reminds us that those blasts will herald our future and ultimate redemption. There will come a day when all the fleeting moments of inspiration from our past will become a permanent state of existence.\u00a0Mashiach<\/em> will be that final and lasting \u2018Aha\u2019 moment. Our focus will shift such that our upside down world of important and unimportant\/moral and immoral will be reoriented and our spiritual vertigo will be alleviated. Frustration from misplaced efforts will be replaced with relief and satisfaction as we focus our energies on bringing us closer to our Creator. The time of Mashiach<\/em> is when Man will not just hear the word of G-d, but he will see<\/em> or grasp His voice just as we did during the Sinai experience. \u201cVera\u2019u<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 kol basar yachdav ki pi Hashem diber<\/em>\u201d (And all flesh together\u00a0 will see<\/em> that the voice of G-d has spoken \u2013 Yeshaya \u2013 40:5).<\/p>\n May the blowing of the shofar this coming New Year bring us sharper vision and purpose as well the call of the ultimate Shofar Gadol<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As cognitively active beings, Man must make sense of his environment and if concepts cannot be grasped or things don\u2019t add up, tension and frustration ensues.\u00a0 For some, the challenge of confusion leads to a more concerted effort to arrive at a sensible conclusion. The mathematician\u2019s difficulty with an equation results in rigorous mental gymnastics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133680,"featured_media":41987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cloudinary_featured_overwrite":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elul"],"yoast_head":"\n