Rosh HaShanah occurs on Shabbat this year, which means, among other things, that we will not blow shofar. We have the opportunity this High Holy Days to explore the power of the silence that emerges in the space when shofar is not blown.  

Shir Tikvah is a community that loves its familiar sounds, and certainly, our High Holy Days are full of melodies and sounds that help us orient to the season. Some of those melodies are generations’ old and some of those melodies are creations of this community, of this moment. When we gather for Rosh HaShanah on Shabbat this year, each of us will have the chance to notice something different, something gentler, something changed.

Our liturgy leads us directly into this contrast when we sing, in the midst of our Amidah: וּבְשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל יִתָּקַע. וְקוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה יִשָּׁמַע | uveshofar gadol yitaka’ vekol demamah dakah yishama’ | the great voice of the shofar is blasted and a silent, gentle voice is heard. As we imagine the great voice of the shofar, we can imagine a whole year’s worth of demand, of action, of questions and seeking and striving. How has the world asked us to show up? What are the calls that we’ve heeded? Have we been overwhelmed or energized? Have we paid attention or have we needed to block out the strident voice of this year just ending, to protect ourselves?

May we show up together this year, to pray, to connect, to reminisce, to offer each other our close attention. As we welcome each other with gentleness, may we help each other release from the noise of the last year. 

tachel shanah uvirkhoteihah | May the new year and her blessings begin | תחל שנה וברכותיה

Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg, Rabbi Joey Glick, and Rabbi Sharon Stiefel