This past Shabbos, our family was blessed to celebrate the bar mitzvah of our dear son Shimshon Dovid. In honor of the bar mitzvah, I am sharing part of the drashah he shared:
The well-known Rambam in Hilchos T’shuvah (3:4), regarding the mitzvah of T’kias Shofar, states:
“Even though T’kias Shofar is a g’zeiras ha’kasuv – we do it because the Torah commands us to – there is a ‘hint’ of a practical reason why we blow shofar. The shofar serves as a wake-up call, as if to say, ‘Wake up, those who are sleeping, and search your ways and do t’shuvah and remember your Creator…’”
The Rambam is saying that, throughout the year, we get caught up in a lot of nonsense. The shofar is like a spiritual alarm clock to remind us to focus on what’s really valuable in life.
The Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is a sefer halachah and generally doesn’t give reasons why we perform mitzvos.
Why, regarding shofar, does he feel the need to tell us a reason? It’s especially hard to understand, because the Rambam began by saying that we do the mitzvah because the Torah commands us to.
The pasuk recited on Rosh HaShanah night from T’hilim states, “Tik’u ba’chodesh shofar – Blow the shofar when the moon is renewed… because it is a law for Yisrael; a judgment for the G-d of Yaakov” (T’hilim 81:4).
The Brisker Rav noted that the pasuk mentions two different aspects of the mitzvah of shofar. On the one hand, it is a law for Yisrael. But, on the other hand, it is also a judgment for the G-d of Yaakov.
We see that there are two parts to the mitzvah of shofar. It’s a law we perform without understanding the reason, like the Rambam wrote, that it’s a g’zeiras ha’kasuv. But it’s also a judgment in that we understand the reason, as the Rambam said that it serves as a spiritual alarm clock.
Rav Chatzkel Abramsky zt”l noted that the Torah in Parshas Pinchas refers to Rosh HaShanah as “Yom t’ruah yihyeh lachem – a day of t’ruah it will be for you” (BaMidbar 29:1). The Torah doesn’t merely say one should blow shofar on Rosh HaShanah. Rather, it says that it should be a day of shofar blowing. But that seems to be inaccurate. It’s not possible for one to blow shofar the entire day. The shofar is only blown during select parts of Musaf. So how can it be called a day of shofar blowing?
The Torah is teaching us that the whole day must be transformed and influenced by the shofar blowing. A core part of the mitzvah of shofar is to be inspired and emotionally moved throughout the holiday because of the shofar blowing. The whole day must be elevated because of the shofar blowing.
L’havdil, on Super Bowl Sunday, they don’t just start the game at 6:00 p.m., at the time of tipoff. They make it into a major ordeal by building up incredible hype. They talk about it for weeks. Then the actual day of the Super Bowl is called Game Day. The entire day is transformed because of the game. It’s all they talk about and focus on. There’s more focus on the hype than on the game itself…
Similarly, the entire yom tov of Rosh HaShanah is elevated and defined by the mitzvah of T’kias Shofar.
Based on this idea from Rav Chatzkel, we can understand why the Rambam here doesn’t only say we blow shofar because the Torah tells us to, but also adds a reason. Becoming excited and inspired by the shofar is a vital part of the mitzvah.
In Parshas Emor, the Torah says that Rosh HaShanah is “zichron teruah – a remembrance of the shofar blowing” (VaYikra 23:24).
The Netziv similarly explains that when the shofar is blowing, it must be apparent that it’s not being blown just because one likes the sound. It must be clear that the shofar serves as a reminder to us that we need not only to physically hear the shofar, but for it to penetrate our hearts as well.
How does this connect to a bar mitzvah?
Let me share a story that hopefully never happened:
A family was on their way to a vacation, and their car was completely packed with suitcases. After a few hours of driving, the atmosphere in the car was tense. The kids were rowdy and restless, and the parents were at their wits’ end. They had been traveling down the seemingly endless highway for hours, passing nothing but a continuous blur of bare trees.
But then, the father announced that their exit was not too far ahead and everyone should be on the lookout for Exit 13. The car quieted down as everyone searched for Exit 13. When the first Exit 13 sign came into view, everyone began pointing excitedly, “There it is!” “We’re finally almost there!”
New signs kept coming into view, and the excitement in the car was building – two miles, one mile, a half mile, and then….
Exit 13 in all its glory!
The father stopped the car, and everyone jumped out and stood in front of the sign. They stopped a passing car and asked the driver to take pictures of them huddled in front of the sign. They enjoyed a delicious barbecue supper in front of the sign. As they ate, they reminisced about the lengthy trip and how excited they were to be there.
When they finished the meal, they packed everything up and got back into the car. With a final look at the sign, they slammed the van doors shut. The father then pulled the van back onto the highway and drove farther down the highway past Exit 13.
What a ridiculous story! The family finally arrived at the exit but failed to realize what that meant. They celebrated finding the exit but didn’t comprehend its message.
What’s the use of finding the exit if you don’t follow it?
If someone celebrates a bar mitzvah with a beautiful reception but then returns to his daily life and the whole event becomes just an expensive memory, he’s like the family who arrived at the exit sign but didn’t get off the highway.
A bar mitzvah must be an exit, where a person gets off the road he was on until now to get onto a better road with a better, higher-level destination.
Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch notes that the sound of the shofar is produced by blowing air into it. Air is a natural resource, and we naturally exhale hundreds of times a day. However, exhaling air will not produce a sound from the shofar. To produce its piercing sound, the blower must conscientiously channel and focus his breath into the shofar.
This is part of the message of the shofar: It is possible to go through life “inhaling and exhaling,” by passively allowing things to follow their natural course or, at most, by being mildly reactive. But living that way will never produce a meaningful sound. It is only when one utilizes those natural resources by focusing and channeling them, investing time and effort to inhale with ambition and exhale with vigor, that he can produce productive sounds in the world.
This is a pertinent message for life generally. Like the blowing of the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, it’s not enough to go through the motions. A person has to hear the shofar’s message so that it inspires him. So too, a bar mitzvah celebration is about the growth that happens when the bar mitzvah boy becomes fully obligated in mitzvos.
Rabbi Dani Staum is a popular speaker, columnist, and author. He is a rebbi in Heichal HaTorah in Teaneck, New Jersey, principal of Mesivta Orchos Yosher in Spring Valley, New York, and a member of the administration of Camp Dora Golding. His writings can be found at strivinghigher.com. Looking for an inspirational speaker or scholar-in-residence? Contact Rabbi Staum at 845-641-5094 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
