English translation — ר"ה

Rosh Hashanah^*

<pg>180</pg>

A.

It is brought in Masechet Rosh Hashanah

(near its end¹)

"The Rabbis taught: The shofar blasts and the prayers of Rosh Hashanah..

are indispensable,

What is the reason? Rabbah said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Recite²

before Me on Rosh Hashanah [the verses of] Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofarot,

Kingship, so that you crown Me over you,

Remembrances, so that your remembrance comes before Me for good,

And with what? With the shofar."

And Rashi and Tosafos disagree in the explanation of the words of the baraisa "The shofar blasts and blessings...

hinder each other":

From Rashi³

who wrote "If he blessed and did not blow",

it implies,

that the shofar blasts hinder the blessings and likewise the blessings hinder the shofar blasts⁴

; but the Tosafos⁵

(and likewise in the Rosh⁶

and Ran⁷)

explained "The shofar blasts and blessings hinder each other,

meaning that the shofar blasts hinder each other and the blessings hinder each other,

when one recites the blessings of Kingships, Remembrances, and Shofar blasts, he recites all three or he should not recite at all,

and likewise shofar blasts, broken blasts, alarm blasts — if he is expert in all three he should blow, and if not he should not blow" — but the blessings do not hinder the shofar blasts,

and likewise the shofar blasts do not hinder the blessings.

[And regarding this the Rambam and the Ra'avad disagree,

that the Rambam&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

writes explicitly that "the shofar-blasts do not invalidate the blessings and the blessings do not invalidate the shofar-blasts",

and the Ra'avad objected that "those of Rosh Hashanah invalidate each other",

and his intention is according to the opinion of Rashi&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;,

that the blessings invalidate the shofar-blasts and the shofar-blasts [invalidate] the blessings&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;].

And simply it seems that this dispute depends on the interpretation of the continuation of the words of the Gemara

(the reason for this law)

"What is the reason... say before Me...

Kingships, Remembrances, and Shofarot,

Kingships... Remembrances... and with what? With the shofar."

Behold, in the explanation of the conclusion of the maamar "And with what&lt;pg&gt;181&lt;/pg&gt;

in the shofar" writes the Ritva&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;

that "it applies to all of them,

with what is fitting to crown Him and to mention your remembrance before [Him],

in the shofar..

And that is that we also do teruah in the Malchiyot etc.'"

And he asked,

that if so, it would be found that "he has not yet given a reason for the verses of Shofarot",

and he answers in two ways:

(a)

"that it is not necessary

(to give a reason for the verses of Shofarot)

for it is obvious,

that since there is a shofar, there are also verses of shofar."

(b)

that "And with what in the shofar" means verses of Shofarot&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;,

that "the blessing of the Shofarot is named after the shofar,

that even when he has no shofar, he should mention it and establish a blessing for it.

And so is the language of the Tosefta&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;

Shofarot so that your prayer may ascend with teruah,

that is, with the mention of teruah" — and that is,

that "And with what in the shofar" means that through the recitation of the verses of Shofarot, the prayers ascend

(of Malchiyot and Zichronot)

before the Holy One, blessed be He.

And it is found,

that there are two ways to interpret "And with what, with the shofar": according to the first interpretation, the intention is to explain the reason that we blow [the shofar] in Malchuyot and Zichronot¹⁴

— that the reason is because "And with what, with the shofar"

("And with what is it fitting to crown Him and to mention etc.,

with

(the blowing of)

the shofar")¹⁵

; and according to the second interpretation, this is a reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofarot

(that through the recitation of the verses of Shofarot

("the mention of Teruah")

"your prayer will ascend").

And upon this depends the aforementioned dispute regarding "Tekiot and Berachot..

prevent each other" — whether the Tekiot prevent the Berachot and the Berachot the Tekiot, or that the intention is only that the Tekiot themselves prevent one another, and likewise the Berachot themselves prevent one another:

The reason that Rashi

(and also the Ra'avad)

explains that the blessings delay the blasts

(and also the blasts [delay] the blessings),

is because he interprets "And with what? With the shofar" simply,

that it refers to the shofar blast¹⁶

(according to the first explanation above),

according to which explanation it is found that the intent of this baraita is to emphasize

(also)

the dependence of the blessings on the blasts,

that "with what" — the recitation of the verses of Kingships and Remembrances effects their action — "with the shofar"

(therefore they blow [the shofar] during the verses of Kingships and Remembrances).

And this is the reason that "blasts and blessings...

delay" — meaning that they delay each other,

since the effect of the blessings "and with what" is — "with the shofar".

But not so the Tosafot

(and other early authorities)

who hold that only the blessings themselves delay one another,

and likewise the blasts themselves

(but the blessings do not delay the blasts, and likewise the blasts do not delay the blessings),

they hold¹⁷

that also the conclusion of the baraita "And with what? With the shofar" is a reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofarot¹⁸,

and it is found that the intent of the baraita is only to explain the reason for reciting<pg>182</pg>

Verses of Kingship, Remembrances, and Shofarot

(And the connection between these three types of blessings)

— And this is the reason that the three blessings impede one another¹⁹.

2.

And one can say,

That the foundation of the dispute — whether "And with what on the shofar" refers to the sounding of the shofar,

or that this is a reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofarot — is in the category of the recitation of the verses in general,

which can be explained in two ways:

a)

The recitation of the verses itself causes that the Holy One, blessed be He, will reign over Israel and remember them for good,

And as the simple meaning of the language of our Sages: "Recite before Me [verses of] Kingship so that you make Me reign over you... [verses of] Remembrance so that your remembrance comes before Me, etc."

And it is in the manner of "Whoever²⁰

engages in the Torah of etc., it is as if he offered etc."; or it can be said,

that it is according to what is explained in our Sages²¹

on the verse²²

"He declares His words to Jacob, etc.,"

that the Holy One, blessed be He, fulfills

(as it were)

what is written in His Torah,

and the recitation of the verses of Kingship etc. constitutes a fulfillment of the "verdict" of the Torah²³

that the matter of Kingship and the matter of Remembrance must be [present].

b)

The essence of the matter of "Make Me reign over you" and "Let your remembrance come before Me etc." is effected through the request and prayer of the children of Israel — "Reign over the world etc.,"

"Remember us etc." — and the recitation of the verses of Kingship and Remembrance is only to bring a "proof"²⁴

from the Torah concerning these matters.

And one of the distinctions between these two manners is regarding the verses of Shofaros,

that in this it is simple,

that the main action of the matter of the shofar is not through the recitation of the verses of Shofaros,

but rather through the blowing of the shofar.

And consequently: according to the first manner,

that the recitation of the verses of Malchiyos and Zichronos itself effects the coronation of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the elevation of our remembrance before Him,

it must be said,

that the recitation of the verses of Shofaros is a different category

(from the recitation of the verses of Malchiyos and Zichronos),

that they are recited only in a manner of secondary to the blowing of the shofar

(in the language of the aforementioned Ritva, "since there is a shofar, there are also the verses of Shofaros")

;

Not so, if also the recitation of the verses of Kingships and Remembrances is only to bring a "proof" for the request and prayer of "Coronate Me..

May come before your remembrance" — then also the recitation of the verses of Shofarot is in that same category and definition,

that they bring a proof from the Torah for the action of "Shofarot".

And from this comes the distinction between the two interpretations in "And with what? With the shofar":

According to the first manner mentioned above that "they said before me [the verses of] Malchiyot so that you should make me king over you, etc., Zichronot so that your remembrance should come before me, etc." its explanation is,

that the saying of the verses itself effects these matters,

it is impossible to explain that "and with what, with the shofar" is a reason for the saying of the verses of Shofarot

(for the action of Shofarot is not through the saying of the verses of Shofarot but through the actual blowing)

— and according to this manner,

the conclusion "and with what, with the shofar" comes to explain the reason for the blowing during the saying of the verses of Malchiyot and Zichronot

(as above section 1)

;

But not so if the entire matter of the saying of the verses is only to bring a proof from the Torah regarding the matters that are done on Rosh Hashanah,

then also "and with what, with the shofar" is interpreted as a reason for the saying of the verses of Shofarot,

that they bring a proof from the Torah regarding the action of the matter of the shofar.

And based on this,

also according to the interpretation that "And with what in the shofar"<pg>183</pg>

it is a reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofaros,

there is no need to force that the interpretation of "And with what in the shofar" means the verses of Shofaros

(contrary to the simple interpretation that it refers to the blowing of the shofar)

— rather, this matter of "And with what in the shofar"

(that the matters of Malchiyos, Zichronos are effected through the blowing of the shofar)

is itself the reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofaros,

since all the matters of Rosh Hashanah are effected through the blowing of the shofar

[and as is also hinted in the language of Chazal²⁵

"The mitzvah of the day is with the shofar",

and this is that the blowing of the shofar is the primary mitzvah of the entire day,

including all the matters of this day²⁶]

— therefore we recite the verses of Shofaros,

to bring proof from the Torah about the content of the matter of the shofar.

[In a slightly different style: the intention in reciting the verses of Shofros,

is not merely to bring a proof that one is obligated to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah,

but rather about the content of the matter of Shofros,

and therefore the Gemara says

(as a reason for the recitation of the verses of Shofros)

"And with what? With a shofar,"

which emphasizes what is effected through the shofar blast,

for which they bring a proof from the Torah in the verses of Shofros].

3.

And there is to add explanation in the view of Rashi

(and the Ra'avad)

who explained that the blessings impede the blasts

(and likewise the reverse)

— with the introduction of the explanation of the Ritva mentioned above regarding "And with what? With a shofar,"

"With what is it fitting to coronate Him and to mention your remembrance before [Him] — with a shofar,

for so it is written&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;

And the people blew with shofars and they coronated Shaul over them as king,

and the kingdom&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

of earth is like the kingdom of heaven"&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;.

And simply, the intention is not in what is said "with what is fitting to coronate Him",

that the shofar itself effects the coronation of the King,

but rather at the time of coronation it is fitting to blow the shofar.

And according to this, explanation is seemingly needed in the phrase "and with what? With a shofar",

which implies,

that the shofar effects these matters.

And it is understood based on the two analogies that were brought³⁰

about the blowing of the shofar:

A parable from the Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be for a blessing&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;

— from "a king who had an only son, well-educated, who was as dear to him as the apple of his eye, literally,

And it arose in the mind of the father and his son to travel to other countries to learn wisdoms and to know the conduct of people,

Then his father the king gave him ministers and servants and great wealth so that he would go and travel in countries and islands of the sea in order that the son might attain a higher level than when he was with his father in his house.

And it came to pass in the course of time that all that his father had given him went for travel expenses for the needs of his luxuries to which he was accustomed,

And mainly in that he added desire upon his desire..

Until he sold all that he had,

And meanwhile he went to a distant country until even his father was not known there at all..

In his distress,

It arose in his heart to return to his father's country,

But because of the length of time he also forgot the language of his country,

And when he came to his country what could he do since he had also forgotten the language.

And he began to hint to them that he was their king's son..

Until he reached the king's palace and began to hint to them that he was the king's son and they paid no attention to him at all.

Until he began to cry out in a loud voice so that the king would recognize his voice,

And when the king recognized his voice he said, "Is this not the voice of my son crying out of his distress?" and his love for his son was aroused in him and he embraced him and kissed him etc.

And so it will be understood&lt;pg&gt;184&lt;/pg&gt;

The allegory for above,

That Israel are called sons to the Omnipresent..

And He brings down the soul into the body,

That this is like the parable of the king's son who went on a distant path in order to learn,

Meaning that through mitzvos and good deeds, through this the souls are elevated to a higher elevation than they were before,

However,

Through love of the body and desires..

He became very distant to a place where he does not know at all of his father there..

That he also forgot the language..

Until he began to return and cry out in a simple voice..

And this is the sounding of the shofar's voice,

Which is the aspect of an inner cry from the depth of the heart, how he regrets the past and accepts upon himself for the future to listen to his father's voice,

And through this cry the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, is aroused and shows His affection for His only son and forgives and pardons him for the past etc.'"

And a parable in the holy book Kedushas Levi&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;

from the great rabbi, the chassid, the Maharalitz, of blessed memory, from Berditchev — a mashal of a king&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;

who traveled to a great forest...

until he came to the depth of the forest and did not find the correct and straight path to return to his home,

and he saw in the forest peasant people and asked them about the path,

and they did not recognize the king,

and they did not know what to answer him because they had never known the path of the great, correct, and straight king.

until he found a wise and understanding man,

and asked him about the path,

then the wise man understood that he was the king,

and he recoiled backwards,

and immediately listened to his will,

and showed him the path,

for from his great wisdom he knew the correct and straight path of the king,

and he led the king to the royal palace and seated him upon his royal throne which was in the palace, and that man found favor...

And it was after many days that that man sinned against the king,

and the king became angry at him,

and he commanded the ministers who sat first in the kingdom to judge that man according to the law of one who transgresses the king's command.

And the man was very distressed,

for he knew his judgment would be decreed evil for him because of how he had sinned against the king,

and he fell before the king and begged for his life,

that before his judgment goes forth,

he should fulfill his request in one matter,

and it is,

to dress him in his former garments at the time he led the king from the forest,

and also&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

the king should wear the garments he wore then.

And the king granted him this matter.

And it was when the king wore his garments&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;

the aforementioned and the man his aforementioned garments,

the king remembered the greatness of the kindness he had done with him, that he had returned him to the royal palace and seated him upon his royal throne,

and his mercies were stirred for him,

and he found favor and grace before him,

and he removed his transgression from before him,

and restored him to his place.

Like this entire parable, so are we, the Children of Israel,

at the time of the Giving of the Torah, the Holy One, blessed be He, offered the Torah to every nation and tongue and they did not accept it&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;,

and we, the Children of Israel, accepted the Torah with joy and delight, until we preceded "we will do" to "we will hear"&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;,

and we accepted the yoke of the kingdom of heaven and crowned Him as King over us,

to fulfill His commandments and statutes and His holy Torah,

and now we have transgressed and rebelled against Him...

Therefore we blow the shofar, that is, in the same garment that was at the Giving of the Torah,

in order that He remember that we accepted the Torah and crowned Him with the shofar,

as it is said&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;

And the sound of the shofar was...

And through this remembrance of merit, He forgives us all our iniquities,

and He will inscribe us for a good life immediately, etc.'

And it may be said,

that the content of the two aforementioned parables corresponds to the two matters of "Kingships" and "Remembrances":

In the first parable, the action of the king's son is emphasized,

who returns and cries out in a simple voice and accepts upon himself the yoke of His kingship — this is the matter of "Make me king over you"; while in the parable<pg>185</pg>

the second emphasizes the remembrance of the merit of Israel

(which came to be revealed)

at the giving of the Torah — this is the matter of "Let your remembrance come before Me for good".

And based on this, the explanation of "And with what? With the shofar" is understood,

that the two matters of "Make Me king over you" and "Let My remembrance come before you for good",

are actualized³⁸

through the shofar — for the shofar is analogous to the cry in a simple voice

("Make Me king over you"),

and also analogous to the garment that existed at the time of the Giving of the Torah

("Let My remembrance come before you for good"),

as understood from these two parables.

And this is the simple reason of Rashi

(and the Ra'avad)

that the blessings and the blasts are interdependent — since the content of these blessings is actualized through the shofar.

4.

And behold, the words of the Tosefta were brought above, where the version there³⁹

in this baraita: "They said before [Him] etc. shofarot so that your prayer may ascend with a teruah before [Him]",

that according to this version, the reason for the recitation of the verses of shofarot is explicit in the baraita⁴⁰.

Moreover: even according to what we have learned above, that there is room to explain that the intent of the Gemara in "And with what? With the shofar" is,

that this is the reason for the recitation of the verses of shofarot — nevertheless it is emphasized that the action itself is through the shofar

[to the extent that the Talmud states simply "And with what? With the shofar",

and did not even mention "shofarot"⁴¹

(like "and shofarot,

for with what? With the shofar" and the like)]

— but not so in the Tosefta, where it is explicit: "shofarot so that your prayer may ascend etc.",

from which it is proven,

that the recitation of the verses of shofarot is what causes "that your prayer may ascend etc.".

And based on this, it can be said,

that according to the Tosefta,

the recitation of the Shofar verses has in it an additional aspect beyond the sounding of the shofar itself

(And not that the recitation is merely secondary to the sounding,

as above section 2),

and it has a separate effect from the actual sounding of the shofar — that the recitation of the Shofar verses is what causes "that your prayer may ascend with a teruah

[—"by mentioning teruah"&lt;sup&gt;42&lt;/sup&gt;]

before [Him]."

And we find these two modes — whether the recitation of the Shofar verses is merely secondary to the action of the shofar,

or that it is an action in itself — also in the inner dimension of the Torah,

that there are two explanations for the reason for the recitation of the Shofar verses&lt;sup&gt;43&lt;/sup&gt;

:&lt;pg&gt;186&lt;/pg&gt;

a)

Torah is called "Torah of light"⁴⁴,

light and revelation.

And this is the matter of reciting the verses of Shofaros — verses of Torah — so that the action of the shofar will be drawn and revealed below⁴⁵,

we recite Torah verses concerning the shofar.

b)

The action through reciting the verses of Shofaros is higher than the action of the shofar blowing itself⁴⁶,

for although the shofar blowing is a biblical commandment,

and the recitation of the verses is only rabbinic⁴⁷

— nevertheless,

from the aspect of the superiority of words of Torah over the fulfillment of a commandment,

there is an elevation in the action through reciting the verses of Shofaros relative to the shofar blowing itself,

and as explained in this⁴⁸,

that "the essence of the revelation that will be in the future in the highest level..

is drawn now on Rosh Hashanah through the recitation of

(the verses of)

Shofaros".

And this matter applies especially in a year when Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat

[as in this year

(event,

'_dyn_edn_5')

"&gt;*]

— that although we do not blow [the shofar],

nevertheless even then we recite the verses of Shofarot,

the drawing down of a most supernal revelation,

in the manner of "the true⁴⁸

the revelation that will be in the future,

speedily in our days, Amen".

(From the sicha of Yud Shevat 5746)