Rosh Hashana- Teshuvah- Drawing Strength from the Loyalty of the Avot
Rabbi Saadia Gaon listed ten reasons for the Mitzva of sounding the Shofar, two of which involve earlier incidents recorded in the Torah. First, the Shofar commemorates the event of Akeidat Yitzchak, when Avraham prepared to slaughter his beloved son Yitzchak in fulfillment of God's command. Ultimately, of course, after Avraham placed Yitzchak on the altar, God ordered him to withdraw the knife, and Avraham offered a ram in Yitzchak's place. The Shofar, which is taken from a ram, thus brings to mind this event for the purpose of invoking the merit of Avraham and Yitzchak and drawing inspiration from their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for God. Secondly, the sounding of the Shofar reminds us of Matan Torah, when we stood at Sinai and heard the Shofar blast as God revealed Himself to give us the Torah.
Is there any connection between these two events – Akeidat Yitzchak and Matan Torah – which we commemorate and reflect upon during Rosh Hashanah?
On one level, these two events are linked by the Shofar. Not only did both events include a Shofar, but they included the same Shofar: the Sages teach us that the Shofar that was sounded at Mount Sinai was the left horn of the ram sacrificed by Avraham in Yitzchak's place. The right horn, we are told, will also be sounded one day, with the arrival of Mashiach.
But these two events are linked even more substantively, as well, in that Matan Torah, in many respects, was a direct result of Akeidat Yitzchak. Rabbi Chayim of Volozhin (Lithuania, 1749-1821) commented that while all parents transmit to their children certain physical qualities through genetics, the three Avot – Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov – also bequeathed to their descendants certain spiritual qualities. When Avraham heeded God's call to leave his homeland and relocate in Canaan at the age of seventy-five, he branded a new "gene" of love and devotion to the Land of Israel. This accounts for the otherwise inexplicable emotional bond felt by Jews of all generations, from all walks of life, with Israel. And when Avraham prepared to sacrifice his beloved son, he branded a spiritual "gene" of self-sacrifice that has led Jews throughout the generations to choose death over betrayal of their religion.
When Benei Yisrael stood at Mount Sinai, they famously proclaimed, "Na'aseh Ve'nishma" ("We will do and we will hear"), accepting upon themselves all the laws of the Torah before even hearing what this entailed. What enabled them to make such a commitment? From where did they derive the strength to unconditionally take upon themselves a code of law that they had yet to be shown?
This unconditional loyalty and commitment was derived from their patriarchs, Avraham and Yitzchak, who displayed this kind of devotion to God at the time of the Akeida. God commanded Avraham to commit an act that ran against everything he believed, represented, and spent his life teaching, and yet he faithfully obeyed. This remarkable strength was bequeathed to his descendants, who stood at the mountain and accepted God's commands without hesitation. And Yitzchak, who did not even hear God speak to Avraham, and trusted his father's word that God had issued such a command, established the "gene" of acceptance of the Oral Law, of submitting to the authority of the Rabbis and abiding by their interpretation of the written Torah. Herein lies the inherent connection between Akeidat Yitzchak and Matan Torah.
When we hear the sounding of the Shofar, we are to reflect on this theme – unwavering and unconditional loyalty to the Divine Word and to the authority of the Sages. The Shofar must remind us of the loyalty of Avraham and Yitzchak, and of our ancestors at Mount Sinai, from which we are to draw inspiration and guidance.
And when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, when we do not sound the Shofar, we express our unshakable loyalty to the Sages who ordained that we forego on the immense benefits of the Shofar in order to safeguard against possible violations of Shabbat. In this way, even the absence of Shofar blowing on Rosh Hashanah provides us with a profound lesson and insight, demonstrating the extent of the loyalty and commitment we are to show to God and the teachings of the Rabbis, and in this merit we should all be inscribed to a year of health and prosperity, for us, our families, and all Am Yisrael.
T'zku L'Shanim Rabot
