What is the shofar on Rosh Hashanah really about?
By Rabbi Shalom Landau.
Rabbi Landau teaches that the shofar is a declaration, not a plea. All Hashem asks on Rosh Hashanah is one thing: “Show up. Don’t run, don’t hide. Stand in his presence and declare, you are the king. That’s what we blow shofar for.”
Many people come with “the begging, the pleading, the endless sorry.” But on the day the King of kings is crowned, he says, the only thing that matters is loyalty: the crown on His head, the throne, the coronation.
In his picture of an inauguration, even people who opposed the new leader show up, and a real leader rises above the past. The shofar is our way of showing up and proclaiming Him King.
Related concepts: A year that is for something
In A Soul at Peace: The Sound of a Coronation
Going deeper: Rabbi Landau's teaching, level by level
Surface claim
Rabbi Landau teaches that we blow shofar to declare Hashem King.
Fear, vulnerability, or tension
People are tempted to run and hide, or to spend the day begging and apologizing.
Deepest human truth
What matters on coronation day is loyalty and presence. In A Soul at Peace, Rabbi Landau suggests saying the word “King” in the prayers as a declaration, not a request.
More questions from this teaching
More answers: The Cycle of Renewal: Elul, Holidays, and Light · All questions · Questions about Rabbi Landau and Rivnitz