10 Reasons You Should Listen to the Shofar this New Year

Wednesday, September 04, 2013 | David Lazarus Israel Today

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Israel Today wishes all of our readers and supporters and the people of Israel a blessed Rosh Hashanah. We'd like to share with you the following thoughts and prayers as we celebrate this special season of renewal.

1) Trumpets are sounded at a coronation and God is hailed as King on this day. On Rosh Hashanah we give a special blast of the shofar (ram's horn) in recognition that the Almighty, the Sovereign One is Lord of Heaven and Earth.

May we acknowledge him in all our ways so that he will make our paths straight.

Let us remember that He is Lord over all the nations of the earth. He will have his way in Jerusalem, in Israel and among all the nations of the Middle East.

2) The shofar heralds the beginning of the season of renewal.

May this be a time for reflection and re-commitment to God.

Let us recommit ourselves and our families to all that is right and good in his sight.

3) The Torah was given on Sinai accompanied by blasts of the shofar.

Let us be bold to follow God's commandments even when it is not popular or comfortable.

Let us proclaim his truth courageously to the nations.

4) The Prophets compare their message to the sound of the shofar.

Let us not lose hope, but reopen our hearts to the possibilities of a better world for ourselves and for others.

5) Conquering armies gathered under the sound of the shofar blast.

May we be willing to take a bold stand against injustice, lies and corruption in society.

Let us remember the rights of the poor and oppressed in our midst.

6) The ram from whose horn the shofar is fashioned, was substituted for Isaac.

Let us offer up ourselves to love when it is costly or unpopular even as He who sacrificed himself for us an offering to cleanse and renew our spirits.

7) The prophet asks, "Shall the shofar be blown in a city and the people not tremble?" (Amos 3:6)

The Lord is shaking the nations. Only that which cannot be shaken will remain.

Let us serve God with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”

8) The prophet Zephanaiah speaks of "the great day of the Lord" as a "day of the shofar and alarm." (Zeph. 1:14,16)

As we contemplate the judgments of God coming even now on the earth, let us lift up our voices so that truth and mercy may be heard once again in the gates.

May the staff of Israel Today and all those who follow you continue to walk in humility before God our king and before man as we “speak the truth in love” to Israel and the nations.

9) The prophet Isaiah speaks of the great shofar which will herald the Messianic age. (Isa. 27:13)

Let us be patient and not grow weary in well doing for it is written that “at the proper time we shall reap if we do not give up.”

Be anxious for nothing, our times are in God's hands.

10) The shofar will be sounded at the resurrection.

Maimonides writes: "It is a divine decree that we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. A hint of the following idea is contained in the command. It is as if to say: 'Awake from your slumber, you who have fallen asleep in life, and reflect on your deeds. Remember your creator. Be not of those who miss reality in the pursuit of shadows, and waste their lives in seeking after vain things which neither profit nor save. Look well to your souls and improve your character. Forsake each of you his evil ways and thoughts.'"

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013