B"H
The focal point of Rosh Hashana is the moment we sound the Shofar. It is the primary Mitzvah of the day, and the reason the Torah calls it Yom Teruah the Day of Sounding. King David tells us, "Fortunate is the nation that knows the sounding of the Shofar" (Tehillim 89:16).
Rabbi Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov asks why "fortunate" is the right word here. In the Torah and the Prophets that term generally marks an elevated status and defines a great accomplishment. It is the word Moshe uses for the Jewish People after he has elevated them with his final blessings: "Fortunate are you, Israel" (Devarim 33:29).
It is the word King David chooses to open Tehillim, describing the man fortunate enough not to walk among the wicked (Tehillim 1:1). This is a description reserved for real moments and real achievements. If so, how can a person who simply "knows" the sound of the Shofar be called fortunate?
Rabbi Shem Tov explains that knowing the sound of the Shofar is far from a simple matter. Throughout the Torah that sound takes many forms. Sometimes it expresses strength and perseverance. Sometimes it is something else altogether. When Moshe and Yehoshua hear the noise rising from the people at the golden calf, the Torah uses the language of Teruah to describe "the sound of the people in its boisterousness" (Shemot 32:17).
The energy carried in the sound of the Shofar can therefore be directed in many different ways. And so, says Rabbi Shem Tov, one who "knows the sounding of the Shofar"; who can take that impact and use it to influence others positively, is indeed fortunate. It is no simple matter, and never to be taken for granted, that a person will use his sound, his potential for influence, for the good. When he does, he is fortunate indeed, because choosing what is right and drawing others after it is a true accomplishment and a mark of distinction.
When we understand "knowing the sound of the Shofar"; this way, we merit the sounding of the great Shofar with the coming of Moshiach.
Rabbi Shem Tov ben Yosef ibn Shem Tov passed away in Portugal in 1493, as recorded by Avraham Ardutiel in his completion to Sefer HaKabbalah. He finished his volume of sermons in 1489, and it was first printed in Salonika in 1525. This idea is drawn from his sermon for Rosh Hashana.
Shana Tova and Shabbat Shalom
