The power of speech is what differentiates between man and animal. It is how the Torah defines man at Creation. It is generally the primary vehicle used to express our relationship with Hashem. But, yet, on Rosh Hashanah, the day on which we renew that relationship, the primary Mitzvah is performed with our mouths, but without the power of speech.
On the contrary, the blowing of the Shofar does not require the formation of words. Words, which are the means by which we take the lofty concepts of our minds and bring them forth into the physical world, are conspicuously absent. All that is present is sound. Sound coming not from the lips or vocal cords, but from the air in our chests. It is our life breaths that are utilized and not our minds.
We have discussed elsewhere the pitfall of allowing a relationship to be defined by the intellect and the superficial rather than by the essence of the parties to the relationship. In our relationship with Hashem the same pitfall exists. People can mistake a great intellectual study of Torah and philosophy for a true relationship with Hashem.
This is what is being avoided and symbolized with the blowing of the Shofar. Shut down your minds and the intellectual expression of verbiage. Hashem wants to connect to our essence and not allow words to confuse. Let the very breath of your lungs be the expression of your desire to have a relationship with Hashem.
Let the Shofar sound.
On the contrary, the blowing of the Shofar does not require the formation of words. Words, which are the means by which we take the lofty concepts of our minds and bring them forth into the physical world, are conspicuously absent. All that is present is sound. Sound coming not from the lips or vocal cords, but from the air in our chests. It is our life breaths that are utilized and not our minds.
We have discussed elsewhere the pitfall of allowing a relationship to be defined by the intellect and the superficial rather than by the essence of the parties to the relationship. In our relationship with Hashem the same pitfall exists. People can mistake a great intellectual study of Torah and philosophy for a true relationship with Hashem.
This is what is being avoided and symbolized with the blowing of the Shofar. Shut down your minds and the intellectual expression of verbiage. Hashem wants to connect to our essence and not allow words to confuse. Let the very breath of your lungs be the expression of your desire to have a relationship with Hashem.
Let the Shofar sound.
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