Potential for a Stupendous year in 5787!
This year the first day of Rosh Hashona is on Shabbos, and we don’t blow the shofar. The Rabbonim forbade it, because one Jew might carry a shofar in a place without an eiruv, in order to learn how to blow. (Blowing for the mitzvah would be permitted). This just goes to show us the importance of everyone keeping Shabbos, that not even one Jew should be mechallal Shabbos.
The gemara in Rosh Hashana (16b) brings Rav Yitzchak, who said: Any year which doesn’t have the tekios- shofar blowing at the beginning, will have meririm-wailing at the end of it (because of the suffering we will have that year). Why is that? Because we didn’t have the shofar blowing to confuse and prevent the Soton from prosecuting against us. (Another topic which needs its own article).
Tosfot brings the sefer Halachos Gedolos, who explains: This doesn’t apply to Shabbos, but rather when there is an oness- something which prevented the shofar blowing.
The Tur brings this gemara in hilchos Rosh Hashona (Orach Chaim 585). In the Shulchan Aruch, the Taz explains, that it’s like when one has a really bad dream, and they worry, fast and cry over it. That teshuva changes it from a bad interpretation to good one. So too, if there’s an oness and no shofar blowing, it’s a sign that tzaros are coming that year. But teshuva can change the outcome. That’s why the Halachos Gedolos says that Shabbos Rosh Hashona without the shofar is not included, as it’s not considered an oness. If anything, the zechus of Shabbos protects us.
So far so good. Shabbos without the shofar is like any other Rosh Hashona with the shofar.
However, now we’ll bring the explanation of R’ Yaakov Ettlinger (lived in 19th century), known by the title of his sefer, the Aruch l’Ner. He writes, that they made a calculation, and found that years when the first day of Rosh Hashona fell on Shabbos were either extremely challenging or extremely amazing years for Klal Yisrael. The years of Churban Bayis Rishon and Sheini fell out in years when Rosh Hashona was on Shabbos. (The year 9/11, and the year of the Meron and Surfside tragedies was also like that, as was the year of October 7th/ Simchas Torah).
On the other hand, the year that Klal Yisrael built the Mishkan, which included forgiveness for the cheit ha’eigel, was when Rosh Hashona was on Shabbos. So was the year that Klal Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael. Amazing successes!
So, we see that it could go either way. It could be much worse or much better than a regular year.
However, what’s the reason why Shabbos without the shofar isn’t considered to be an oness? And why didn’t the zechus of Shabbos protect us in those years? It’s impossible for us to know exactly, but the Aruch l’Ner explained why with the following story.
A king’s high-ranking officer transgressed his royal decree. The king was furious, and the officer would be tried for treason, with a potential death sentence! The officer desperately looked for a defender, but no one was willing to help him. It was too risky. His wife suggested, that she was good friends with the queen, and she would come with him during the hearing, to try to speak with the queen. Maybe that’ll help. They went to the hearing, and she spoke with the queen. The queen then spoke to the king, and he had mercy on the officer, pardoning him completely!
The same event happened with another officer. Together with his wife, they planned the same strategy. When they arrived in the court, the king saw that the wife’s face was all bandaged and she looked bruised. The king asked why, and someone said that the husband was very difficult and would beat his wife. The King roared, he abuses and beats his wife?! That’s the worst disloyalty! Off with his head!
Shabbos is our wife, our partner, who defends us. If we’re careful with our shemiras Shabbos, then we are assured of its protection, as mentioned by the Halachos Gedolos. If not, and Shabbos is all beaten and bruised, then we lose our defender. And without the shofar, the Soton’s prosecution is very powerful.
The year of the October 7th/ Simchas Torah attack began with the first day of Rosh Hashona 5784/2023 on Shabbos. A very difficult beginning, with the major Yom Kippur protest/desecration in Tel Aviv, mass chillul Shabbos and Yom-Tov, which came after an entire year of the leftist anti-government and anti-religious protests.
But then, as the year progressed, there was a major turnaround, with most of the hostages returned, and great victories against our enemies! Hezbollah- beepers…
I would like to suggest, that a year which began without the shofar, indeed ended with sirens. The second Iranian attack was on Oct 1, erev Rosh Hashona of 5785/2024. In the day’s preceding, the Home Front banned all large gatherings. Major soccer games were canceled. Everyone was wondering why, and what would all the yeshivos and Chassidim do on Rosh Hashona. Then, the night before Rosh Hashona, the sirens began wailing at 7:15 PM, and then went of another half an hour. Iran fired 180 ballistic missiles at us! Baruch Hashem, there was minimal damage, with only one victim in Yericho. Amazing miracles!
I believe that we indeed had wailing at the end of a year which began without the shofar. But what brought about that change from, destruction to salvation?
The year 5784, which began with terrible fighting between Jews, preceded the horrible attack on Simchas Torah. But, afterwards, there was a surge of achdus, as all of Klal Yisrael unified. All disputes were shelved, not resolved, but put aside and ignored as everyone worked together, each in their own way, towards the survival of Klal Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael. As well, there was a tremendous surge of strengthening in avodas Hashem, a major teshuva movement. I’ve heard from Rabbonim and kiruv workers that “business” is still booming, especially among younger Israeli’s. And that’s the Taz’s explanation in action! Even without the protection of Shabbos in the beginning, teshuva changed the end result to be incredible!
Since then, unfortunately, the achdus aspect has become extremely weakened. As people got used to the new reality, they began to return to the old path of machlokes and sinas chinam. Consisting of a small but powerful and vocal minority, the anti- government protesters launched onto the desperate hostage families, which spread to include the troubles of the reservists, which turned to all-out attacks on the Chareidim, enacting decrees the Supreme Court ruled you couldn’t do against terrorists and their families. Terrible machlokes and hate.
But even if that’s challenged, the teshuva movement hasn’t stopped. The overflow crowds for selichot by the Kotel every night, show it. The shemiras Shabbos among Jews has increased, together with limud Torah and mitzvos! We are far from being perfect, but the zechus of Shabbos is definitely there, perhaps stronger than it’s been!
This should be great encouragement for us! And perhaps our achdus isn’t really as bad as we think, but we need to work on it, and we can succeed, even with our differences!
May we be zoche to greet Mashiach in 5786. But if he doesn’t come before the years end, may the zechus of shemiras Shabbos, together with teshuva, tefillah and tzedakah enable us to be nichtav v’nechtam for a truly incredible year in 5787, with the coming of Moshiach b’karov mamash!
Written by: Dovi Chaitovsky
Adapted from shiurim given by R’ Yisrael Altusky shlita, Yeshivas Torah Ore, Yerushalayim.
Shiurim can be heard at the Kol Halashon website