YomTov, Vol. I, # 37 The Shofar: A Wake-Up Call By: Rabbi
Yehudah Prero We find that when the Torah speaks of Rosh
HaShana, it tells us "Yom Teru'ah yih'yeh lachem", "a day of
teru'ah (sounding the horn) should be to you". Although the
verses do not elaborate on what type of horn or instrument is
being sounded, our sages have taught us that it refers to the
Shofar, which is usually a ram's horn. Why do we sound the
Shofar? What is it supposed to accomplish? The Sefer HaChinuch
tells us that we must understand the nature of "man", human
beings. As 'man' is a creature from the physical realm, he is
only aroused and inspired to action by something stirring,
something that will cause him to snap out of the ordinary
routine. We see this concept in practice at a time of war: In
order to stir up the troops, trumpets are sounded, in hope that
this arouses and motivates the soldiers to action. On Rosh
HaShana, we do the same. We "awaken", by means of the Shofar,
all who are to be judged on this day. We try to incite a