We are now in the the final
unit of Musaf, called Shofarot, and we are up to the last section of pesukim, that come
from the Neviim and refer to the shofar of Mashiach.
As we have said, the blowing of the shofar is not a commemoration. It is so real, that the Satan gets scared from it. People are bothered by this, and
wonder how the Satan can keep getting scared every year.
The mashal is that if somebody once suffered a traumatic experience, when something similar happens later
on, he remembers
the trauma and gets scared again.
Similarly, the sound of the
shofar scares the Satan, because he feels like it’s the time he got his first blow at Har Sinai, that Mashiach is coming and that it will be
his final blow.
We quote pesukim that talk
about the shofar,
the full and final revelation, that will happen when Mashiach
comes, speedily in our times. We have to believe it will happen.
The
seventh pasuk:
וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל,
הָ ובאו האֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ, מִצְרָיִם, וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ ה׳
בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם
It will happen on that day, there will be a blowing of a great shofar,
and those that are lost in the lands of Assyria, and those that are pushed away
in Egypt, (these are two exiles that we have
gone through- when we were either lost or assimilated) will be able to bow to God
on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim.
It will be a shofar that will eradicate all the evil, and even the
most distant ones will come back to his
roots, and bow to God on the holy mountain of Yerushalayim.
Shofar Gadol, this large shofar, was from the ram of Akedat Yitzhak. The left horn was used at Har Sinai. The right shofar, which is considered the bigger and more powerful shofar, will be the shofar
of Mashiach.
Every day in our prayers we
say תקע בשופר גדול
Teka bshofar Gadol-
we pray for that big
Shofar, which is based on the pasuk above.
We should
have this in mind every day in our prayers, regardless of Rosh
Hashanah, that the great shofar
will eradicate evil, when Mashiach will come, and all the distant people will be
gathered. As we pray,
תקע בשופר גדול לחרותנו ושא נס לקבץ גלויתינו וקבצנו יחד מארבע כנפות הארץ לארצנו
It will bring us freedom, lift up the
pole and gather everybody, and bring us in from all four corners to our land.
And we end the blessing with,
מקבץ נדחי עמו ישראל
God will gather those that are pushed away….
This, the seventh pasuk of Shofarot is something that we say three times every day of our lives,
and we can use it to enhance those tefilot, as well as our Musaf prayer.
The eighth pasuk:
כל ישבי תבל ושכני ארץ כנשא נס הרים תראו וכתקע שופר תשמעו
People that dwell in the land shall see as if a pole were raised,
that when Mashiach comes the whole world will recognize Hashem, and hear about His greatness immediately.
It will be blasted around all the media, and become common knowledge for the
whole world. The whole world recognize that great shofar.
The ninth pasuk:
, וַה׳ עֲלֵיהֶם יֵרָאֶה,
וְיָצָא כַבָּרָק חִצּוֹ, וַאדֹנָי ה׳ בַּשּׁוֹפָר יִתְקָע, וְהָלַךְ בְּסַעֲרוֹת תֵּימָן
ה׳ צְבָאוֹת יָגֵן עֲלֵיהֶם, כֵּן תָּגֵן עַל עַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּשְׁלוֹמֶךָ
God will appear like a bolt of lightning, Hashem will, so to say, blow the
shofar,
a storm coming from the south south.
Hashem, Master of the legions will protect the Jewish people from the stormy
times of Mashiach.
We then add a blessing that God should watch over you and us.
The tenth and final
pasuk refers to the source for the whole
concept of mentioning the pesukim, and is found toward the end of the blessing of,
שומע קול תרועת עמו ישראל
God
hears the sound of the blowing of the Jewish people
Right before that blessing we say,
וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶם וּבְמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם וּבְרָאשֵׁי חָדְשֵׁיכֶם, וּתְקַעְתֶּם בַּחֲצוֹצְרוֹת עַל עוֹלוֹתֵיכֶם וְעַל זִבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיכֶם, וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן לִפְנֵי אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲנִי ה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם:
On the day of your happiness and holiday… blow on the shofar..(referring to Shofarot)on
your offerings… and it will be a remembrance
(referring to Zichronot)… in front of your God (referring to Malchuyot)
That completes the 30 pesukim that we have spent the month of Elul studying.
Take some time to review all of this, to prepare for this great and holy Musaf prayer. It’s very powerful.
B’ezrat Hashem, we
should all be zoche to a wonderful year, with a wonderful Rosh Hashanah.
Tizku Leshanim Rabot and have a wonderful day.
