DWIGHT A. PRYOR
Keren and I arrived in Jerusalem on the eve of Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year) 2004. The two-day celebration, commemorating the Creation of the world, transitioned right into Shabbat; so our first three days in this city, so beautifully situated, were wonderfully serene and peaceful-a rarity for Jerusalem! We were serenaded by the frequent sounds of the beloved Shofar.
The arrival of the biblical New Year is signaled by the sounding of the Shofar. In the Bible (Leviticus 23:24) it is called literally a memorial of "blowing" (t'ruah). Every morning during the month of Elul, leading up to Rosh HaShanah, the Shofar is sounded prior to the recitation of Psalm 27: "The LORD is my light and my salvation." (Adonai ohri v'yishi). And the Ten Days of Awe following Rosh HaShanah are punctuated with the recurring blasts of the Shofar.
Then comes Yom Kippur. Forty days of spiritual preparation culminate in 24 hours of fasting ("you shall afflict your souls" Leviticus 23:27), with focused repentance and fervent supplications to the King of the Universe to forgive, to pardon and to atone. The High Holy Days conclude with the confession of the Shema and the declaration that "The LORD, He is God!" (Adonai, Hu Ha-Elohim).
This declaration is followed by the climactic, soul-piercing crescendo of prolonged blasts upon the great Shofar. The blessing is pronounced, "G'mar Chatimah Tovah!" (May you be sealed [in the Book of Life] for a good year!") And the hope is expressed, "L'Shanah Ha-Ba'ah Bi'Yerushalayim Ha-B'nu-yah!" Next year (with Messiah) in rebuilt Jerusalem!
The Voice of the Shofar
These Biblically established holidays are poignant occasions for reflecting on God's grace and on our responsibilities in Messiah. The season is pregnant with spiritual significance, both as appointed times that our Lord honored and as Divine promises brought to intended fullness for Israel and the nations in him.
But why does the Shofar play such a prominent and diverse role in this great drama of repentance and redemption? What should we hear when the Shofar speaks?
First the Kol Shofar (or voice of the horn) is the call of the Beloved. Recall that the month preceding the High Holy Days, Elul, is read in Hebrew as an acronym for "Ani L'Dodi, V'Dodi Li" "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine" (Song of Solomon 6:3).
The Kol Shofar sounds during this time of spiritual reflection and anticipation as the call of the Beloved ... a personal invitation to draw near to the One who is for us. "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go ..." (SOS 7:10-11).
The Kol Shofar in other words is the "Kol Dodi Dofeik"-"the voice of my beloved knocking" at my heart:
"I was asleep but my heart was awakened. A voice! My beloved was knocking: `Open to me, my sister, my dear one, my dove my innocent one!'" (SOS 5:2)
Second, the Kol Shofar sounding is really the Kol Adonai calling. It is the heartfelt cry of God, "Adam, Where are you?" God knows where Adam (humankind) is-but do we know where we are? Do we understand, really, the condition we are in with respect to the One who made us? It's time to stop and think it over, to take an accounting.
Keren and I enjoy eating at different restaurants in Jerusalem, especially with friends. When the time comes to pay for the meal, I say to the server, "Cheshbon B'Vakashah" (Bill or check, please.) I review the list of items ordered, and make the necessary payment.
At Rosh HaShanah, God says to us, "Cheshbon Nephesh B'Vakashah!" Time to check your soul's tab! It is time to take stock of your life, to take responsibility for your actions this year. In other words, it is time for us to repent-to confess where we have fallen short of the mark, where we have trespassed and where we have rebelled against God and His will. He is faithful but just to forgive, pardon and atone-based on His abounding love for us.
Abraham Joshua Heschel understood t'shuvah, the Hebrew word for repentance, to mean "to answer." The God who loves us seeks us out and calls us out. During these awesome days, He asks us questions; we in turn must search our hearts and lives, and give an answer. We must give an accounting of our existence if we are to call upon Him in spirit and in truth for forgiveness. The Kol Shofar, therefore, should be heard as the Beloved's call to repentance.
Third, the Kol Shofar is the voice of God saying, "It is finished." It is the sound of the ram's horn caught in the thicket (Genesis 22:13), that promised sacrifice now provided. Adonai Yir'eh (the LORD provides). Adonai saw Abraham's faith/fullness, and He provided that which was sufficient.
It is on nothing less than God's righteousness manifest in the faithfulness of Yeshua unto death on our behalf that we can, in sincere repentance and with full confidence, call upon Him for forgiveness, pardon and atonement- confident that He will answer: "S'lach-ti!" (I have forgiven!).
The voice of the Shofar announces our freedom in the Messiah. Every time the ram's horn sounds we are reminded of the Lamb of God, provided once for all time as the atoning sacrifice to take away the sin of the world, and to draw us near to our God who is calling, "Come my Beloved!"
In Messiah, and his Spirit in us, we are freed to become that for which God created us. Hearing the Shofar awakens us from our slumber to discover our true, authentic selves, now being restored to the image of the Son, who is the very likeness of the Father of all.
The Kol Shofar is really the voice of the Spirit saying to the bride, "Come! Let us sing! Let us dance! The bridegroom has come!" In His presence is the fullness of life, the satisfaction of the soul and the full shalom of the spirit, both now and forever more. Dear friends, let us sound the great shofar of our freedom in Messiah!
In Second Temple times, Yom Kippur actually ended with great joy, celebration and anticipation. Then for four days (corresponding to the four letters in the Holy Name, YHWH) people could reflect upon the astounding significance of God's atonement as they