English translation — מאמר והיה ביום ההוא תשכ"ח

With the help of Heaven.

The second day of Rosh HaShanah,

the year 5728.

"And it shall be on that day, a great shofar will be blown, and those lost in the land of Ashur and those cast away in the land of Mitzrayim will come and bow down to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim."

And the Alter Rebbe precisely analyzes

(in the maamar beginning with this phrase in Likkutei Torah)

what is said: "with a great shofar,"

[asking] what is the quality of a great shofar.

Also, one must understand

(as he precisely analyzes later in the maamar)

what is said: "will blow" [yitka] without specifying who is the blower.

And the Mitteler Rebbe

adds another precise point in this: that it says "yitka,"

for the term "yitka"

(with a kamatz under the tav)

indicates that it will blow of itself.

And the point of the explanation

(in the discourses)

is,

that the arousal through a plain shofar is only for those who are somewhat close,

and in order to arouse those lost in the land of Ashur and those cast away in the land of Mitzrayim, that they too will be aroused to come to Yerushalayim and bow down to Hashem,

it is through a great shofar.

And in order to explain the superiority of the great shofar that will be in the future,

the maamar prefaces

an explanation of the concept of the shofar of Rosh HaShanah

(now),

that through Israel blowing the shofar,

which is the cry of the innermost heart beyond intellect,

through this is drawn down the innermost heart above, so to speak,

the supernal will that is above wisdom.

And about this it is said,

"And my Lord Hashem will blow the shofar,"

for just as the blowing of the shofar by a person is the cry of the innermost heart,

so too is it above,

for the concept of blowing the shofar is the drawing down and revelation of the innermost aspect.

And the difference between a plain shofar and a great shofar is,

that a plain shofar is the drawing down and revelation of the innermost aspect of Elokus that is above worlds but is related to worlds,

Sovev Kol Almin,

and a great shofar is the drawing down and revelation of the innermost aspect of Elokus that is above any relation to worlds,

above even Sovev.

And this is that regarding a plain shofar it is written "And my Lord Hashem will blow the shofar,"

for "my Lord Hashem" are Names,

except that these Names

("my Lord Hashem" vocalized with the vowels of Elokim)

are most sublime,

and regarding the great shofar it is written "will blow" [yitka] without specifying who is the blower,

for this blowing is a drawing down and revelation from the aspect of the Hidden of All Hidden,

which is above Names.

2)

And in order to explain the superiority of the great shofar even more,

the Tzemach Tzedek brings

(in his explanation

to the maamar beginning "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown" in Likkutei Torah)

what is stated in Likkutei Torah in the maamar beginning "To understand the Mishnah"

"The festival of Rosh HaShanah that falls on Shabbat, in the Temple they would blow [the shofar], but not in the provinces,"

that this [matter] that on Rosh HaShanah one must blow the shofar is in order to thereby arouse above the pleasure in the creation of the worlds,

and since on Shabbat, from its own essence, there is [already] the pleasure,

therefore on Rosh HaShanah that falls on Shabbat there is no need

[so much]

for the blowing of the shofar.

And that in the Temple they would blow [the shofar] even on Rosh HaShanah that falls on Shabbat is [because]

there are several levels in pleasure,

and the level of pleasure that is drawn down through the blowing of the shofar in the Temple is more elevated than the level of pleasure of Shabbat.

For the pleasure of Shabbat is from the aspect of the externality of Keter,

the root of the emanated beings,

and the pleasure that they drew down through the blowing of the shofar in the Temple is from the aspect of the internality of Keter,

the lower level within the Emanator.

And the Tzemach Tzedek adds,

that also within the pleasure of the lower level within the Emanator,

there are several levels.

And the pleasure that was drawn in the First Temple through the blowing of the shofar is more elevated than the pleasure that was drawn in the Second Temple.

And within the First Temple itself,

the shofar of Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year

[for the commandment of Jubilee was only in the First Temple]

is more elevated than the shofar of Rosh HaShanah.

And nevertheless, even regarding the shofar of Jubilee it is stated,

"And you shall sound the shofar of teruah,"

a plain shofar.

From this it is understood,

that the great shofar is above even the revelation that is drawn through the shofar of Jubilee.

3)

And to add,

that the great shofar that will be in the future is more elevated even than the shofar of the Giving of the Torah,

for even regarding the shofar of the Giving of the Torah it is stated,

"And the sound of the shofar was,"

a plain shofar.

For that which the verse continues, "the sound of the shofar grew exceedingly strong" is that the sound of the shofar was very strong,

a great sound,

but regarding the shofar itself from which the sound emanated,

it is not stated that it was a great shofar,

and from this it is understood that the great shofar that will be in the future is above even the shofar of the Giving of the Torah.

And as it is brought in Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer

regarding the two horns of the ram of Yitzchak,

that the left horn, its sound was heard at Mount Sinai, as it is stated, "And the sound of the shofar was,"

and the right horn, which is greater than the left, is destined to be blown with it in the future,

as it is stated, "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown."

And the reason for this, that the shofar of the Giving of the Torah was a plain shofar and the shofar of the future will be a great shofar,

the Mitteler Rebbe explains,

for at the Giving of the Torah they were all in closeness to G-dliness

(even before the sound of the shofar),

and therefore even through a plain shofar it was possible to awaken them.

But in order to awaken the lost and the scattered, it is specifically through a great shofar.

And based on this, he explains what is written, "a great shofar shall be blown,"

that the word "yitaka" (shall be blown)

(with a kamatz under the tav)

indicates that it will blow of itself,

for the revelation of the aspect of the great shofar to awaken the lost and the scattered will be of itself,

without any arousal from below at all.

4)

And behold, it is explained at the beginning of the maamar

(after the precise analysis of the verse "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown")

that which we say,

"On Rosh HaShanah, 'This day is the beginning of Your works,'" for on every Rosh HaShanah there is a renewal of all the worlds, just as it was the first time.

And what is stated, "A remembrance of the first day"

(that Rosh HaShanah is only a remembrance of the first day)

is [explained as follows]:

for at the beginning of creation,

the drawing down of the will and pleasure in the creation of the worlds was from His own essence,

for "He desires kindness,"

and now, the matter depends on an arousal from below.

And he explains

that the service

(the arousal from below)

through which the will and pleasure in the creation of the worlds are drawn down is as per the statement of our Rabbis, of blessed memory,

"Recite before Me [verses of] Kingship... Remembrances... and with what? With the shofar."

And the reason for this, that the drawing down now is through the service of man, is

because through the fact that the drawing down

(now)

is through the service of Israel,

for the root of Israel is in the Awtsmoos,

the will and pleasure that are drawn down now are more elevated than the will and pleasure that were drawn from His own essence

(at the beginning of creation).

And based on this, it must be understood,

that the shofar from above

(the innerness of the supernal will)

that is drawn down now,

which is a plain shofar,

its drawing down is through the service of man,

and the shofar of the future, which is a great shofar,

will be drawn of itself, without any arousal from below at all.

Now, it is explained in the maamar

that this [verse] "on that day a great shofar will be blown" is in the manner of the shofar of Rosh Hashanah now,

for the mitzvos are not nullified in the future,

[except that then the shofar will be on a more elevated level,

a great shofar].

And it can be said,

that the source for this

(that "a great shofar will be blown" is related to the shofar blast of Rosh Hashanah)

is what is stated in the Gemara,

that the reason of the one who says that in Tishrei they are destined to be redeemed is a gezeirah shavah of "shofar" from "shofar,"

it is written

here: "Blow the shofar at the new moon," and there it is written: "On that day a great shofar will be blown."

And based on this, one must understand even more what was brought above from the discourses,

that the explanation of "yitaka"

(with a kamatz under the tav)

"in a great shofar" is that He Himself will blow, without any arousal from below at all,

[yet] behold, one of the essential matters of Rosh Hashanah is the service of man,

[and as explained in many places

that the reason that Rosh Hashanah is on the first of Tishrei,

even though on the twenty-fifth of Elul the world was created,

and the first of Tishrei is the sixth day of the act of creation,

is

because on this day man was created],

and since the matter of "a great shofar will be blown" is in the manner of "Blow the shofar at the new moon" of Rosh Hashanah

(Tishrei),

it would seemingly be fitting that the drawing down of this matter should be through the service of man,

and nevertheless it is explained in the discourses,

that the explanation of "yitaka" is that He will blow of Himself, without any arousal from below at all.

Also, one must understand,

that all the matters in the Torah

(from the word "hora'ah" - instruction),

are instruction in the service of man,

and since that "a great shofar will be blown" will be from Above without arousal from below,

what is the instruction from this in the service of man?

5)

And this will be understood based on what is explained in the discourses of the Admo"r Maharash,

that the fact that the shofar is narrow on one side and wide on the other is an allusion to "From the straits I called upon Kah, He answered me with expansiveness, Kah."

For just as the sound of the shofar,

by going out from the narrowness of its short side, specifically through this it is in expansiveness and diffusion on its wide side,

so too is it in spirituality,

that through the cry from the straits and the pressure,

"From the straits I called upon Kah,"

specifically through this, "He answered me with expansiveness, Kah."

And it is explained there,

that this is what our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said,

"Any year that begins poor ends up rich,"

"poor at its beginning"

[that Israel make themselves poor on Rosh Hashanah for matters of supplication and prayer, as it is stated,

"A poor man speaks supplications"]

is the call from the straits,

and through this it becomes rich – "He answered me with expansiveness."

And as explained in the aforementioned maamar of the Admo"r Maharash,

the superiority of the prayer of a poor person over the prayer of a rich person.

And it can be said,

that the superiority in the prayer of a poor person is in two matters.

In the prayer itself,

according to the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov

on the verse,

"A prayer of a poor person when he wraps himself [in anguish] and pours out his speech before Hashem,"

that the prayer of the poor person is that he pours out his speech before Hashem,

and also that the prayer of the poor person is more accepted.

And another matter,

that also the delight of the person from the influence drawn to him through his prayer,

the delight of the poor person is a greater delight,

according to the teaching of the Hama"k brought in the aforementioned maamar.

And based on this, one can explain the connection of "a great shofar will be blown" to Rosh Hashanah,

for that in the future a great shofar will be blown in order to awaken the lost and the dispersed,

is,

because the lost and the dispersed are in the ultimate constriction,

and this awakens and draws down the blast of the great shofar

(the drawing down from the aspect of the Hidden of All Hidden),

the ultimate expansiveness.

And this is the connection of "a great shofar will be blown" to Rosh Hashanah

("Blow the shofar at the new moon"),

for the matter of Rosh Hashanah is that through it being "poor at its beginning"

(from "reishit hashanah" - beginning of the year,

"reishit" spelled deficiently),

it becomes rich.

6)

And it can be said,

that through the blast of the great shofar in order to awaken the lost ones in the land of Assyria and the dispersed ones in the land of Egypt, an elevation is also brought about in the land of Assyria and the land of Egypt.

For the intention in this—that Israel were exiled to the land of Assyria and the land of Egypt,

to the extent that through this they became lost and dispersed—

is,

in order that through the straits of exile,

and particularly the straits of exile of those who, through the exile, became in a state of being lost and dispersed,

the great shofar will be aroused and drawn down,

so that through it Israel will be elevated to a level higher than the level they were on before they went into exile.

Therefore,

when the great shofar is sounded and the intention for which the land of Assyria and the land of Egypt were created is completed,

there will also be an elevation in them.

And based on this, we can add another matter regarding the connection of "the great shofar shall be sounded" to Rosh Hashanah,

for Rosh Hashanah has two aspects.

It is the day of the creation of man,

and through this an elevation is also brought about in all of creation

(as will be explained below).

And the matter is as explained by the Rebbe

(the Rebbe Rashab)

of blessed memory, in the maamar beginning "Zeh Hayom Techas Ma'asecha, Zikaron Leyom Rishon"47,

that it is necessary to understand,

behold Rosh Hashanah

("this day")

is on the first of Tishrei, which is the sixth day of the act of creation,

and how is it a remembrance of the first day?

And he explains48,

that the desire for the creation of the world is the externality of the will,

and the innerness of the will is Israel.

And these two matters in the times of the year are on the 25th of Elul and on Rosh Hashanah.

For on the 25th of Elul, when the world was created, it is the externality of the will,

and on Rosh Hashanah

(the first of Tishrei)

when man was created,

"you are called man"49,

it is the innerness of the will.

And this is "This day is the beginning of Your works, a remembrance of the first day,"

for on Rosh Hashanah there are two aspects50.

The primary aspect of Rosh Hashanah is that it is the beginning of Your works,

the drawing down of the Essence of Ein Sof

(which is above the desire for worlds)

through the service of man,

and there is another aspect on Rosh Hashanah, that it is a remembrance of the first day,

that the drawing down of the Essence of Ein Sof is also drawn into the desire for the creation of the worlds,

and through this into the worlds51.

And based on this,

the connection of "the great shofar shall be sounded" to Rosh Hashanah is in its two aspects,

the drawing down of the revelation of the great shofar to Israel is related to "the beginning of Your works,"

and the elevation that will come about through it in the land of Assyria and the land of Egypt is related to "a remembrance of the first day."

7)

And now, based on what was brought above

(section 5)

from the discourse of the Rebbe Maharash, that the "strait" of the shofar is the matter of "year whose beginning is straitened,"

that the matter of "its beginning is straitened" is that Israel make themselves poor on Rosh Hashanah,

it is understood,

that the matter of the strait through which the expanse is drawn is also when the strait is from the aspect of self-nullification,

that his service is complete, but because of his self-nullification he feels that he is in a strait,

even through this strait the expanse is drawn.

And likewise regarding the revelation of the great shofar that is aroused and drawn through the strait of the lost and dispersed,

that even when his service is complete, but he contemplates that relative to the loftiness of Ein Sof even true service is considered a sin52,

and therefore he feels himself to be lost and dispersed,

through this the revelation of the great shofar is aroused and drawn.

And it can be said that even then

(when the drawing down of the revelation of the great shofar is through his self-nullification)

the expression "yitaka" applies

(with a kamatz under the tav),

"it will be sounded" of itself,

for when he makes himself a poor and needy person,

the matter of the poor person is that he has nothing of his own and only receives what is given to him in the manner of charity,

he recognizes and feels that this revelation drawn through his service is not because of his own elevation

(that he has the power to draw it down),

but rather from the kindness of the Holy One, blessed be He53,

"it will be sounded" of itself,

as if the drawing down is without any arousal from below at all.

And to add,

that according to what was said by my father-in-law, the Rebbe,

(in the maamar beginning "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown"54)

that the great shofar will awaken the point of Judaism within each and every Jew,

it is understood

that this—that all of Israel

(also including the lost and the banished)

will want to go out from exile and go to Jerusalem and bow down to Hashem—is that through the revelation of the great shofar, the true will55

of Israel will be awakened.

For this is the difference between the redemption from Egypt and the future redemption,

that in the Exodus from Egypt,

the desire of Israel to go out from the impurity of Egypt and to cleave to Him, blessed be He,56

was from the side of the revelation from Above,57

"He drew me,"58

but in the future redemption,

the will to go out from exile and come to Jerusalem will be the will of Israel itself,

and the revelation from Above

(the great shofar)

is only a cause through which the will of Israel is revealed.

And their service will be from their own selves—the virtue of Rosh HaShanah,

the service of man.59

However, regarding the lost and the banished in their simple sense,

the virtue of the service of man is after the revelation of the great shofar, through which his true will is awakened,

but the drawing down of the revelation of the great shofar is from the side of Above.

And there is another manner in "a great shofar shall be blown,"

that even the drawing down of the revelation of the great shofar is through service,

as above.

8)

And this is "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown,"

that the instruction from this—that on that day a great shofar shall be blown,

it shall blow of itself—

is,

that at the end of the time of exile, when only a few moments remain before that day when the great shofar shall be blown

[and moreover, regarding several matters, the concept of "a great shofar shall be blown" has already begun,

as understood from the aforementioned maamar of my father-in-law, the Rebbe,60

and especially since from the time of the writing of the maamar until now many years have already passed,

and all the more so in recent times, when it has been seen tangibly that many who were initially in a state of lost and banished, heaven forfend, were awakened in teshuvah through the blowing of the great shofar61]

the service must be with self-nullification,

the recognition and feeling that all matters that were effected through one's service,

both regarding oneself and regarding others,

are not from the side of one's own virtues but from the side of the empowerment from Above.

And to note,

that this feeling does not cause weakness in one's service,

and on the contrary,

through this feeling,

one's service is with greater strength.

For when one's service is connected with his own existence,

the service is within measure and limitation.

And even when one's service is in the manner of "with all your might,"

it is still from "your might,"

from your own might,62

and through the feeling that the matters done through one's service are not from the powers he possesses but from the G-dliness,

through this he goes out from his own existence and limitations,

and his service is beyond measure and limitation.63

9)

And behold, it is explained in the maamar beginning "And it shall be on that day, a great shofar shall be blown"64

regarding the matter of the shofar of Rosh HaShanah,

that although the main drawing down is through the cry of the innermost heart, nevertheless the blowing must specifically be with a physical shofar,

because Asiyah is supernal,

and also in order that the revelation of the innermost supernal will

[the aspect of the supernal shofar65]

be drawn down below into physicality.

And from this it is understood,

that likewise regarding the blowing of the great shofar on that day,

the matters that were until now are not sufficient,

and the blowing of the great shofar must be in a manner that all of Israel,

also including the lost and the banished,

will come and bow down to Hashem on the holy mount in Jerusalem,

in physical Jerusalem,

through Moshiach our righteousness who will lead us upright to our land,

speedily in our days, very soon.