The sounding of the shofar, which is the central ritual of Rosh HaShana, reminds us of a variety of matters related to the festival, to the Jewish people, and to their relationship with the Creator.

Ten reasons for the sounding of the shofar:

Rav Se’adya [Gaon] wrote that the Creator’s commandment for us to sound the shofar on Rosh HaShana has ten reasons:

Crowning the Creator:

The first reason: Because this day was the beginning of Creation, when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world and became its king. So it is with kings at the beginning of their reigns; trumpets and horns are sounded before them to announce in every place the beginning of their reign. Likewise, we crown the Creator as king over us on this day. This is what David said: “With trumpets and the sound of the shofar make loud sound before the King, the Lord” (Psalms 98:6).

A warning and a reminder to repent:

The second reason: Rosh HaShana is the first day of the ten days of repentance [between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur], and the shofar is sounded on it to proclaim this to us, like one giving warning, saying: Anyone who wants to return should return. If he does not, he should not complain of injustice toward himself [by claiming that he did not know that repentance was required]. This is what kings do; they initially warn the world of their decrees, and anyone who transgresses after the warning, his claim is not accepted.

Mount Sinai and receiving the Torah:

The third reason: To remind us of Mount Sinai, about which it was stated: “The blast of a shofar, extremely powerful” (Exodus 19:16). We accept upon ourselves that which our forefathers accepted upon themselves: “We will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7).

The exhortations of the prophets:

The fourth reason: To remind us of the exhortations of the prophets [to return to God], which were compared to the sounding of the shofar (Ezekiel 33:4).

The destruction of the Temple and beseeching God to rebuild it:

The fifth reason: To remind us of the destruction of the Temple and the sounds of war made by the enemies, as it is stated: “As the sound of a shofar, you heard, my soul, the sound of an alarm of war” (Jeremiah 4:19). When we hear the sound of the shofar, we appeal to God to rebuild the Temple.

The binding of Isaac and self-sacrifice:

The sixth reason: To remind us of the binding of Isaac, who was willing to give his life for Heaven. Likewise, we [are willing to] give our lives to sanctify God’s name, and may our remembrance ascend before Him for good [on Rosh HaShana].

Fear and trembling:

The seventh reason: At hearing the sound of the shofar, we will be afraid, tremble, and break down before the Creator. For this is the nature of the shofar; it causes trembling and shaking, as it is stated: “Will the shofar be sounded in a city, and the people not tremble?” (Amos 3:6).

The great Day of Judgment in the future:

The eighth reason: To recall the great Day of Judgment [at the End of Days] and to fear it. As it is stated: “The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens greatly…A day of trumpeting [shofar] and alarm” (Zephaniah 1:14–16).

Ingathering of the exiles – the return to Zion:

The ninth reason: To remind us of the ingathering of the exiles of Israel and yearn for it. As it is said: “It will be on that day that a great shofar will be sounded, and the lost in the land of Assyria [and the outcasts in the land of Egypt] will come...” (Isaiah 27:13).

Resurrection of the dead:

The tenth reason: To remind us of the resurrection of the dead and to evoke belief in it. As it is stated with regard to it: “All inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth: When a banner is raised on the mountains you will see, and with the sounding of the shofar you will hear” (Isaiah 18:3). (Rav David Abudarham, Seder Tefillot Rosh HaShana)

Further reading: Some of the allusions described here with regard to the shofar derive from statements of the Sages; see A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 284.

The sound of the shofar is like a cry without words. It is the cry of the soul which has been distanced from the Creator. This can be compared to the son of a king who was sent far away from his father for so long that he forgot the language spoken in the palace. In order to make himself known to the king he simply cries out, and this is how the king recognizes him.

The sound of the shofar is a pure cry:

The sound of the shofar is a simple sound, a simple cry from within the depths of one’s heart at his separation from the one God. It is [sounded] with the horn of an animal, in accordance with: “Lord, You save man and beast” (Psalms 36:7).

The analogy of a king whose only son went far away from him:

A parable for this was related in the name of the Ba’al Shem Tov, of a king who had an only son who was especially learned, and who was the veritable apple of his eye. The father and his son concluded that he should travel to other lands to learn wisdom and to know the practices of [other] people. His father the king then gave him officials and servants and great wealth so that he could tour countries and the islands of the sea, so that the son would reach a higher level than where he was while with his father in his house…

In any case, he went to a land so distant that even his father was not known there at all, and when he said that he was the son of King So-and-So, aside from the fact that they did not believe him, his father’s name was not known at all. When he saw that all his attempts to recover and make his living had failed, he decided, in his distress, to return to his father’s land. However, since such a long time had passed, he had even forgotten the language of his country. When he came to his country, what could he do since he had forgotten the language? He began to signal them [by means of gestures] that he was the son of their king, and he became a laughingstock; could it be that the son of such a mighty king would walk around so ragged and worn out? They struck him on his head and he became full of sores and wounds.

Ultimately, he arrived at the king’s court and began to signal to them that he was the son of the king, and they paid him no attention whatsoever, until he began to cry out in a loud voice so that the king would recognize his voice. When the king heard the sound, he said: “Is this not the voice of my son crying out in his distress?” Love was awakened within him and he hugged him and kissed him…

Likewise, Jewish souls are God’s children who have become distanced from Him:

The above parable should be understood this way: Jewish souls are called the children of the Omnipresent…and He sent the soul down into the body. This is like the parable of the son of the king who went far away in order to become learned. Through the mitzvot and good deeds, souls ascend to a higher level than that which they had been on previously. Indeed, due to the passion of the body and the desire for money, and the other desires of human beings, and through being entrenched [in these desires], one moves very far away, to a place where no one knows the name of his Father, [no one recognizes God]…until he begins to return, and cries out with a simple cry so that his Father will know it is him by recognizing the voice.

The sound of the shofar is a spiritual cry, and forgiveness and absolution are God’s loving response to us:

This is the sound of the blowing of the shofar, which is, in a sense, a spiritual cry from the depths of the heart concerning one’s regret with regard to the past and his acceptance upon himself to listen to the voice of his Father in the future. As a result of this cry, the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, awakens and shows His love for His only son, and forgives him for what happened in the past. (Ba’al Shem Tov, Keter Shem Tov, Hosafot 194)

Further reading: For the story of a simple cry that came from the depths of the heart and split open the gates of Heaven, see p. 70.