Rosh Hashana

We have the custom to blow the shofar throughout the month of Elul as a preparation for Rosh HaShanah. The shofar comes to wake us up but also to gather us together in order that we can return to God together.

We are in an hour of war. An hour in which the Almighty is very close to us. Those who reside in the Land of Israel, and who find themselves on the front line of the battle, are all messengers of God, faithfully carrying out His wishes.

Why is it that only the angels respond to the sound of the shofar?; Are we tuned in?

The Days of Repentance confront us with the challenge to "renew your actions in the first month." Renewal, self-examination, and reestablishment of values. Sowing the seeds and sorting the grain anew.

The process of drawing near to the Almighty cannot come about in skips and bounds; rather, it must play itself out step by step: First comes service based upon fear; and then, only afterwards, service deriving from love

The process of drawing near to the Almighty cannot come about in skips and bounds; rather, it must play itself out step by step: First comes service based upon fear; and then, only afterwards, service deriving from love

Blowing of the Shofar, Lulav, and Megillah on Shabbat. Halachic Reasoning. Conceptual Reasoning. The Sacrifice: The Difficult Test. Why spread out the many reasons. The force of repentance with the Torah.