Why a Shofar?

Ever wonder why we sound the Shofar on Rosh HaShanah?
First a story and then an explanation…

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explains why in the following tale:

“A king once became hopelessly lost in the forest.  Eventually, he met a man who – recognizing the king – escorted him out of the forest. The king rewarded him grandly.

Fortunes, however, rise and fall. Sometime later, the same man infuriated the king through one of his actions and was sentenced to death. Before he was to be executed, the king granted him a final wish. 

The man said: “I ask that I be allowed to wear the same clothes I wore when I escorted the king out of the forest, and the king should also wear the clothes he wore that day. The king did so. 

When they were both dressed in the same clothes that they wore that day in the forest, the king’s heart softened as he remembered that day and he forgave the man.”

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Sometimes, after we’ve managed to seriously antagonize someone we love, we try to make amends by means of the delicate art of redirection.  We remind the aggrieved party of the good ol’ days before we did whatever dumb thing we did.

Hence the Shofar!  When God gave the Jewish People the Torah at Mt. Sinai, it was a good day for God and a good day for us!  Tradition states that the giving of the Torah was accompanied by the sound of a Shofar. 

Jump forward to today. As the High holy Days approach, the time has arrived to begin asking God for forgiveness. We’ve all made our share of mistakes. So what do we do?  We pull out the Shofar!  We ask God to remember that momentous morning in the desert long ago and to give us a second chance today.

And until we are all perfect, second chances are good.