The Origin & Lessons of the Shofar Blast | Rabbi Shmuel Goldin | September 16th 2025

Uh, according to my trustee. >> Nope. One more minute. One more minute. >> Sorry. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. I know. I understand. >> We're not as young and we don't like >> Yeah, we're not as young and we shouldn't be eating some of that stuff then, too, right? At least at least I'm speaking for myself. >> Okay. >> All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're beginning. >> Okay, everybody get settled. >> Okay, we're going to examine, it's a bit of a journey this morning. We're going to examine the origin and some of the messages of Teiat Chauffar. Some of the messages that emerge from the origin and some of the messages that observe. Can't hear me? >> Okay. Try it again. Is this better? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Uh some of the the origin and the messages or some of the messages of chauffar, the chauffeur salad. In order for us to go on this journey, however, you have to wipe the slate clean. You have to anything you know already about chauffar put it aside maybe it will apply maybe it won't but fascinating that we'll come to some very interesting ideas concerning the chauffear the Torah tells us that yom roashana the date of roshashana is a yom trua and a zikum trua those are two sukim we will encounter them again that the day is a day of trua and the day is a day of remembrance of trua. The rabbis ask why is it one time or day and one time remembrance and the answer is they say the second occasion it's talking about when Roshashana occurs on Shabbat when our trua is only a zikum trua. The Torah does not define what it means by a yomu and a zikom. There's no definition on the spot explaining what it means when it characterizes Roshashana as this day of trua. What is a day of trua? In order to understand, we actually have to go back to a very critical moment in Jewish history. And by the way, the Torah also doesn't define Rosha Sha. That's another it's another sh. But the fact is that we need to return to what I consider to be one of the most important moments in Jewish history. And that is the moment of our departure from Hari. I've often said maybe here as well I don't remember that the departure from Hareni is the single most important moment of revelation because it defines and determines the impact and the meaning of all that came before. If we leave Hari carrying with us the Torah and our loyalty to God's mitzvot then revelation will have been an important event. If we leave, as the rabbis say, if we leave like a child running away from school, which is what we did, if you look at the Torah, unfortunately, then it won't all that came before is a wonderful s sound and light show, but it didn't accomplish its purpose. We're going to that moment, and we're going to the moment right before we leave. Andu gives us a last commandment. This is the final commandment before we leave. What is that commandment? Look at the first page. OM make for yourself two trumpets of silver, beaten silver. That's what it should be. And the Torah goes on to say how we are meant to use these trumpets. The Torah says that when you want to call the nation, the people together, first the elders together, you blow once. When your tea, whatever a tea is, we don't know yet. when um when you want the the nation to come, then you'll blow twice or blow with two of them. And the Torah goes on to explain how these trumpets are to be used in in that fashion. Now, let me ask you a question. Why is the Torah telling us about these trumpets? They would seem to be based on what I've just told you utilitarian in nature. Right? In other words, what I'm going to use to gather the people to mark a a war to mark I'm I'm positive that there were other other mechanisms in the in the desert that Moshe was to use to to to make the people move to to to to have the camp do what it needed to do. Why would as the last commandment before leaving Hari talk to us about these trumpets? So the answer is you have to take a look carefully. You have to look carefully at the text before you and you have to split it up. Turn to the next page. I told you that that they're one of the things they are used for is gathering the people and making the camp go. But the way in which they are to be sounded is case specific. You will sound a tequil. All right. All right. Now, what's a tequila? It's the opposite of a trua. What's a trua? Unulus explains a trua as a yea, a broken, anguished sound, a cry. So therefore, trua is broken. Tea is solid. When I want to bring the ination together, the denium, I blow one trumpet. But what do I blow? What do I sound? a tequila. When I want the nation to begin to move, what do I sound? A tea. Right. When and and I do it twice. First, the eastern part of the camp goes in the western. I'm sorry. Sorry. Take go back. Go back. Go back. Go back. You should have corrected me. When we begin to journey, what do I sound twice? One for part of the camp and one for the second half of the camp. And when you're bringing the nation together, what do you sound only a tequila? Why these differences? What's happening here? Well, obviously what's happening is that throats are mirroring the moment in which they're being blown and the necessary reaction or the understandable reaction to what's happening. If I'm in my camp and I'm settled and Moshe wants to talk to the elders, I'll blow a tea. If I am want uh to can bring the people together, I'll blow two trumpets. But what will I sound? I'll sound only a tea because everything's okay. We're set. There's no no there's no challenge at this point. The camp is sitting pretty. Along comes the time when we have to begin to challenge to move. And how do we know where we have to move? Remember by the cloud of glory and where it sets itself down. which means that I don't know where I'm going and I don't know how long I'll be there. I don't know any of that. So, what am I going to sound a true? I'm going to sound a broken sound. and when I come back and settle down again only a tequila. So therefore we're beginning to see that these are not only utilitarian but they are at least reflective of the emotions and the feelings of bay Israel at particular moments and the sounds will change based on those moments. Yes. >> Why why does it use the term Excellent question. >> Okay, very good. I'm I was going to mention it later, but let me just point it out. We'll look at it in a minute. It It's very interesting that the Torah when it discusses the truote in these sentences does not use the verb that stems from the word tru. It should have been var, right? it is. So what we're going to have to see why that is and if you take a look at the next page you'll see that that's where it uses vahu. Okay on page number three. So now we're moving now to another level until now. Okay. They're utilitarian and they are used to to reflect the emotions of Kong Israel at particular moments of the journey. Yes. >> The trua to tell them are going to move or is the move. >> The trua is telling them to move. >> That means they knew how to get there. You just can't. >> I'm sorry. >> They have to be prepared to move before the >> Oh, I see what you mean. life. In other words, the prepar do the preparations take place before the tra or I would assume I would assume that the way it's expressed is that the trua is the announcement that you're going to leave. you're about to leave and the western eastern camp get ready right away and don't take time and just go and the next I mean they don't have they don't have two suitcases or three suitcases depending on how ll wants to treat you um they they what >> they have whatever they have right they have the Troy is the announcement you guys go true is the announcement you guys go all right now now we're going to see an additional level to the rare. If you are involved and engaged in war, In the moment of war, what do I sound? True. Why? That's understandable. It's a time of tremendous challenge. It's a time of tremendous uncertainty. I don't know what's going to happen. My life is on the line. This is a a trua. And it uses the language of Hario Centua. there doesn't say >> what it said doesn't say >> because it doesn't have to because it doesn't hear right because once you say you are saying blow the broken sound so it doesn't have to say it has to say my >> all right so why why right so why does. Why does it say turn back the page? All right. Well, actually, yeah, turn back the page. It'll be easier for a moment. How often does it says it twice in the middle of the paragraph? What do the rabbis say? Because the Torah uses the verb for tea in conjunction with the trua. That means that every trua you sound except for the one that is vah has to be enveloped by teaote. You have a tea before and you have a tea after. And that's by the way the one of the first steps in understanding why we blow the chauffeur the way we do. It's merging partially from here. There are other commentaries who say other points of view who say it emerges elsewhere as well in Yov where it says where it says that you cause a truer to pass it does it twice. So that's the origin but this is a very clear this is a very clear indication according to kazal that every time you sound a trua except for at war what you sound is a tea before and a tea after. Next, >> she had a generic verb for sounding the regardless of what sound. >> Apparently not. >> Right. But is a verb. >> We use it, right? We use it. Tea is a noun. We use it. We use it as a verb sometimes and use it as a noun and we call it chauffear, but the text doesn't call it that. Right? Basically, in fact, what is the what is the most important sound on Roshana? The trul. We'll get to that. All right. Now, let's go back to that moment before we leave Hari. We still haven't answered the question, although we're a little bit closer. Why is this the last commandment that a kosher commands before we leave Hari? Couldn't couldn't there have been other commandments of lofty nature that would be more important for us to think about as we begin this? It's the beginning of our national journey. While as even though the beginning of our national journey was leaving leaving Egypt, this is the beginning of our national journey once we're whole. Bothas and matantora were going. I'd like to suggest the following aes who is turning to cloud Israel and saying to them everything is set. You're going to get the mun you're going to move according to my commandments. You're all ready to go. There's only one thing missing and that's your spirit. The one thing missing is you. And what will I give you to mirror that spirit and they will be used at all different kinds of times. The same katos will celebrate with you on holidays and c and and carry you through a war. This is the last commandment I want you to understand. Kuresh bar is saying that with only with your individual spirit and your unique spirit each one of you will our journey be whole. And what's critical here is a very interesting that I think proves my point. Turn to the bottom of page number three. on the middle of page number three all the way at the top right next to oh you all right an exception the rabbis say the following the Torah Hashem said to Moshe make for yourself he didn't just say should have been what's say the rabbis You fashion it for yourself and for your generation. And guess what? You can't hand it down. The rabbis say this is the only symbol and utensil in the Mishkan or surrounding the camp which is has to be generation specific. Moshe fashions he cannot give his katsos to Yoshua. Yeshua has to make his own. Why? I believe because it represents the spirit of of those of those people and that generation and every generation is going to meet different challenges and every time is going to be different and what Keshar is saying you will each have to fashion your own kato throat. What does it mean? You will each have to discover your spirit, your soul, your spark. And understand that at the top of page three, which we already looked at, not only is it reflecting my spirit, but it is also what a reach to God, it's also a reach to aeshbu and a fundamental prayer. Of course. What does it say about the war? It says, rightos and you will be remembered. When you sound theos and they reflect your soul and you really understand what's happening, that is an a wordless prayer to all right. So, what do we have so far? We have two sounds within the Torah associated not with a chauffeur but associated with the katsotros. We have trua and we have tea. It is associated with one thing in the Torah text and that is the blowing of the chauffeur at yo which answers our next question. I may know now at least partially the sounds that I'm supposed to make on Roshashana, but how do I know I'm supposed to use a chauffeur? Maybe I'm supposed to use a bugle, a clarinet. I Why is it that I am How do I know that I'm supposed to sound a chauffeur? So the rabbis will say it comes from Yovale. Turn to the next page. Oh, no. The bottom of page three, I'm sorry. Same page, it says chauffeur. When it comes to Yov, you're supposed to make a chauffeer trua pass through the land, right? And the rabbis say it says varto and then it says so that it means again this is one of the other sources for tea before and after. I'm not going to get into it fully, but there's something else that that's happening here. The chauffear is being identified and associated with the trua. So now I know that what I sound is a chauffeur and say the rabbis, how do I know? How do I know that I that not only do I sound the chauffeur on yo that which is clear in the text that I also sound it on Roshashana because it look at what it says says that you should sound the chauffeures and then it says on the 10th yipper. So what then does that mean? It doesn't have to say if it identifies the day on which it's going to be sounded as yum kipper. You don't need to say it's in the seventh month. Say the rabbis, what's that saying? That all the chauffeur sounds that are sounded in the seventh month have to be alike. And that's how you know that it's a chauffeur by Yoval and it's also a chauffeur by Roshana. Okay. Turn the page. Now at the top of page four, we have again those two sentences that define or that associate ro with trua, right? We started with them and trues mikraesh, right? So each of them associates shua with this first day of the seven month which is what we call roshashana. Torah doesn't call it roshashana. We call it roshashana. In fact and I said that's another sheer Torah doesn't I even identify this as Roshashana. It doesn't. All the all the things that we think about and and do and have in mind when it comes to Roshashana do not clearly emerge from the text. You have to look hard and you have to find the hints. But what's happening here now that I understand what a trua is, I can also understand why the Torah is identifying Roshashana as a yam trua and a zikum trua as opposed to why doesn't it tell me a holiday? Because trua represents the broken sound, the anguish, the the need to to pray, the need to reach out, the uncertainty as we face another year. And therefore, when it says, it's not just saying it's a day when you should sound the trua. What's it say? It's a day which is exemplified by the trua. It is a y trua. And now that I know that the trua uh focuses on that bent, anguished, uncertain sound, I can understand yomu and zone trua. That that's what the Torah is saying. The Torah is saying it's not just you're going to sound the trua on that day. That day is a yom trua. It's a day of trua literally. Okay. So we got so far, what do we have so far? We have tequila tru, right? How do I end up with? Where does that come from? Turn the p at the bottom of the page. Okay. So the TRA says and translates the word trua I think I told you as yava as an anguished sound. It's a broken sound. It's an anguished sound. But there was a difference of opinion among a as to what that meant. Hey don't be surprised. Right. All right. We we can't agree on anything. >> What is it that we are not agreeing about here? Is a yabove is a tu the sound of someone crying or the sound of someone sighing? Which is it? And different customs developed within the people. Look, it says at the bottom of the page, page number four, One position took that that the tru which is spoken about in the Torah is meant to be the sound of someone sighing and the others said the tru is supposed to be the sound of someone crying. All right. So which is which thinkaring? What's that? That's the sound of someone sighing. Um um right the trua what we call the trua is what the sound of someone sobbing right and what therefore what we are saying is that we are call what we call a trua is not the total trua in other words the trua is a broken soundarim and trua are both different iterations of the biblical trua. Right? In other words, the the biblical trua just says broken sound and there are two iterations. One is it sighing and one is crying. Turn the next page. Okay. Now, how do I get to what we do? If there were two opinions, why don't we just take one of them and and and follow that? So the Talmud says at the top of page number five, He said, "You have to sound both of them. We're going to what we're going to do is I don't I'm not happy." He says that you know someone's going to say my sh we do this and your sh Yeah. You just do that. You just do aarim. We do it. We do a truer. Right. I don't want that. I don't want that kind of division, says Rabi. So we are going to universalize how we sound. And Rebe says the following. We will sound awarim surrounded by teao. We will sound tru surrounded by kio. And where does truer come from? We will sound sighing leading to crying surrounded by shifi but surrounded by why don't I sound the the opposite why don't order to do crying leading to sobbing so the garra says that's not what happens I'm sorry >> we'll get to we'll get to amra we're not we're not up to her yet okay thanks all right but why is it why is it that I have to sound awarim tru but I don't have to sound a truerim palmet says because crying lead sighing leads to crying crying doesn't lead to sighing first you sigh and then you cry and therefore what we have is now think of think of the the the the picture that's being painted for us here where What we're doing is we're understanding that when the Torah says to us this is a day of the broken sound we and it's saying that's the elemental sound right the sound around it are ancillary this day is defined by trua and trua means uncertainty it's a prayer to to have certainty it's a recognition of the things that you're worried about etc etc okay Now there's a very difficult question. There's a very difficult question that was raised apparently to Ravhai ga one of the primary gonim the period of the gonim period is after the right after the close of the tal pretty much right after the close of the talmud. So what happened? I'm looking at page number five. Hold on a minute. Are you telling me that from the time the commandment was given at Sai until now until your time, one of the one of the groups didn't do it right? Right. One of the groups didn't know that. In other words, it's either a sigh or a cry. And how is it possible that that that the definition of tra it means that for for centuries we we did it perhaps wrong depending on which position you took. So along comes Rahigon and he says something powerful. It it's somewhat hard to fit it into the language of the Gabbor but he says the following. No, you got it wrong. The truth is that either one is acceptable. Why? Because the Torah just says a broken sound. Either avarim or au is acceptable. What was the of do them all everywhere? In other words, it was totally motivated not by a an attempt to arrive at the definition of trua. It was totally motivated to create unity within the community. And that was Rafaon's answer to that question. All right. So again, we now we've come back. We have truarim and truer. Why do we then sound sets of three, right? So the rabbis explain that three emerges from the three mentions of trua in the Torah twice by Roshashana one by Yov. So that's why we do sets of three right first. So that's what we're doing the first first time we sound. What are we doing? We're doing tea tru or and then three times teaarim tru three times and then trua three times to satisfy everybody. All right. Now the fact is however that we blow a lot more than that don't we? We're supposed to sound how many sounds? A hundred sounds. Where does that come from? What? >> Cisra's mother. >> I'm sorry. Comes from Cisra's mother, which is who is Cisra? Cisra was an enemy, a general that led a a huge attack on Clown Israel the period of the shaft in D'vorah's time. And what happens is they bene Israel win and Cisro is running away and he comes to the tent of Yael and he goes in because he figures that that she'll take care of him and basically she kills him. Right? That's to to make a long story short. And what the Torah says is that and and in the Na'vi in Shiras D'vorah, she describes Am Cisra looking out the window and crying or sighing depending on what you say, emitting a yeava. All right. And according to Toe's vote, she admitted 100 yavo. And that's why we're to sound. Now, this is very this is very strange, is it not? I mean, that I'm I'm defining what I'm going to do on Roshashana by the mother of Cisro, right? That I would I don't think that that's someone I should hold up for for uh compat, you know, to to imitate to. But nonetheless, what the Torah seems to be saying is even when your enemies are in anguish, you should recognize that anguish. Right? That's a hard thing for us to think about now today with everything that's going on. And I'm not taking a political position, but basically what we need to understand is you're not supposed to rejoice over the death of your enemy. You're supposed to accept it as a necessary event and you're supposed to recognize that anguish is universal and even amisra has something to teach me in that regard. Okay, you had your hand up first. went from 90 to 100 because the sister's because the sister is mother. >> That's what I'm saying is we went from 90 to 100 for sister. How did we get from 30 to 90? >> All right. Now, the question he raises is we get from 90 to 100 for Sister Mother. How do we get to the original 90? Well, well, we sound the chauffeur twice in in a third time to get up to 100. The two times we sound it are what we call the tea mush the sitting tea and the ones that are associated with the amid of musaf the malosronos and chaos. All right. So I'm not good uh math was my worst subject. So I'm not going to tell you that that brings us up to 90 but it brings us close. What? Sorry. >> Yeah. Each time each one three times. Correct. Correct. >> 10 * 6. >> I'm sorry. What? >> Thank you very much. Okay. 10 * 6 is 30. I >> All right. We're We're good. We're good. All right. All right. It's 90. I mean, it's 90. Yes. >> Is there considered one sound or two sounds? >> There is a mlo as to how theim truer should be sounded. Should it be sounded as one sound or two? And that's why the prevalent custom is that the first keyote the first feature awarim trua in one breath. In other words, it's one sound and the second heote you're this vow is supposed to take a very short breath between the shvarim and the trua. >> Doesn't that affect the counting? >> What? >> Doesn't that affect the counting? >> Doesn't affect the counting. All right. Yes. >> Um, in terms of why affecting why we are connecting the stroke to a cis, I heard another interpretation helper. Uhhuh. >> Because a cis uh didn't mean a word she said >> and the crime did. She was saying, "Oh, why is my son coming back? Oh, he's getting so many prisoners. He's getting so many women that he's raping. He's made all this great stuff and that's why he's not coming back. And she didn't believe it, right? >> Because she was crying. She believe the reason he was coming back is because he was so victorious. Why would she cry? >> Okay. Good. >> Fact she crying means she doesn't believe what she said. And the question is do we believe anything that we're saying? >> Very nice. >> All right. All right. It's a challenge. Do we believe any of it? TS is saying go behind. >> Interesting. >> Okay. Excellent. Excellent thought. Excellent thought. All right. Now I I've left out now I think we've we've accomplished basically what we need to accomplish which is we've attached the chauffeur to the sounding. We've attached the sounding to Roshashana. We've defined truharim etc. Now I left one one thing out, didn't I? Where else does a chauffeur appear in Jewish tradition? >> At the Aedo and also at Revelation also at Hari. But at the a what what what happens at the Aedo? Aram offers the ram and the ram therefore the ram's form then becomes our chauffeur. So what we're saying is that it traces back to the aedo, right? No, we are saying that it traces back to the moment following the ao. If you look at the text carefully, Hashem appears or amalik appears to Ara and says don't sacrifice or don't offer stop stay your hand. Hashem then makes a promise to him. What does Abraham then do? He sees this ram stuck in a thicket. He therefore goes and offers it to Aeshb. Now let's wait a minute. If if you were Ava and you were standing at the har at at the summit of Har Moral and you were just stopped from doing the ao I think I would turn to aeshbu and say hey I've done enough right look at what I've accomplished look at me look at what I was willing to do what does Aram do he takes the next step that's what will remember we're remembering that the next step has to be taken and that therefore and here okay we're moving into drush until now we were dealing with halaka now this is these are some thoughts that I'm sharing with you about the chauffeur that perhaps you can think about yes >> two on ram so the smaller one is used at hearti and the other one is put away the larger one of the ram was put away for the most So when you talk about it says if you change around the words you get which is so basically you're reminding us that Hashem is reminding us there will come a time when will come the time and you'll have the larger choker. >> I can always count on you to to give us one one little piece. All right. which which is very nice. Very nice. Okay. Beautiful. Beautiful. What might be symbolized by the way we sound the chauffeur though? Why why must the trua be surrounded by teaote? What what does that symbolize? What does that come from? So what would you say? Anything you say won't be wrong because what what >> is falling apart, >> right? Good. Well, it's it's an op. So the on the surface one one explanation is that that it is an optimistic right. What I'm saying is I if I blow only the true then all I'm saying is things are going to be bad or things are bad. If I'm blowing the teaote before and after then I'm basically saying will take care of me. It'll be okay. And therefore that's the surface level of understanding. Yes. Isn't it also supposed to remind us of the day when man was created? What did Hashem do? He grew into it. >> And that is >> okay. You're doubling. You're doubling the contribution. >> Very nice. Very nice. Again, these are beautiful interpretations. Okay. I I'd like to suggest another reason or another um image perhaps we should think about when we talk about why we sound tequote around the tu >> I I what >> possibly surrounding the denim >> yes right same thing right same idea surrounding the den with rahim right what we're that's our prayer and and by the way I should say and then underline it just like the katsos were not just an indication of where I am but a prayer to aeshu the katsos were a mechanism of prayer tea is the chauffeur is a mechanism of prayer it's a mechanism of wordless prayer but I'd like to suggest that the set of three tea truatia actually speaks to the way in which we view history and the passage of time and how different it is from the world around us. The to the world around us, the one thing that is certain is the present. That's really all that matters, right? The one thing that is certain is the present. The past, it's a dim memory. The future, who knows what to the Jew, the opposite is true. The opposite is true. The past is as clear as a chauffeur sounding the tea at Hari. The future is as clear as a chauffeur sounding the tequosa mashiach. What is uncertain? >> Me. What's uncertain is now, right? And therefore, I this is something I thought of years ago and then I saw it written somewhere as well, but I don't remember where. That's another possibility or another thing to think about when you hear the chauffeur, which is that what what is it? What am I saying? I'm saying everything's in your hands except what? my shay every right in other past is clear future is clear we're going somewhere but nonetheless what's uncertain my time and my contribution and therefore what is our challenge to turn our personal truote into teaote uniting the tea of past and future and if we are successful in doing that if we're successful in doing that who promises us we'll have a good year, better year, a year of peace be rasm and no more anguish.