Sunday, September 29, 2019

Rosh Hashanah Renovations


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!