It is so obvious, yet I never really noticed!
A few weeks ago, Tal Ohana, mayor of Yerucham in the south of Israel,
spoke at Seudah Shlishit. She shared
some of the transformative initiatives taking place in her community and, since
it was Shabbat, she also shared a Dvar Torah.
She quoted Rabbnit Yemima Mizrachi, a very popular Israeli
educator, who said that, on Rosh Hashanah, we should choose a new mitzvah to
take on, and we should also identify something to improve. This is because we sound the shofar, which is related to the word shippur, which
means improvement.
Shofar (שופר) – shippur (שיפור). Elevate and renovate.
This connection is noted in the Midrash
(Tehillim 81):
תקעו בחדש שופר. רבנן אמרי חדשו מעשיכם ושפרו
מעשיכם ואני מכסה על עונותיכם...
Blow the shofar at the time of the new month (Rosh
Hashanah). The Rabbis said that, on Rosh Hashanah, God says to the Jewish
people: Renew one’s actions and improve one’s actions, and I will overlook your
sins.
The blowing of the shofar serves as a
wake-up call to introspection and improvement of one’s relationship with God
and man. The shofar is a call to shippur
– to self-improvement, to renovation, and to innovation.
Which new mitzvah can we take on? Which mitzvah can we improve?
Which connection can we strengthen? What
can we innovate?
I have always loved the explanation of why the altar in the
Temple was reached by way of a ramp and not steps. When climbing a ramp, one must constantly
exert effort to stand in the same place let alone ascend. A Jew is someone who is always growing,
striving, and improving.
As we hear the shofar this Rosh Hashanah, let’s all imagine how
we can all celebrate, innovate, and renovate in our lives during the coming
year.
Shanah tovah!
