The upcoming Holiday of Rosh Hashana is called in the Torah, Yom Teruah – the day of blasts.
Interestingly, when we say the Ya’aleh V’yavo prayer on Rosh Hashanna, we say, Yom HaZikoron - the day of Remembrance. Similarly, the middle blessing of the Amidah of Rosh Hashana ends, “Who sanctifies Israel and the Day of Remembrance.”
Although Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the new month of Tishrei and therefore it is Rosh Chodesh, we do not specifically mention Rosh Chodesh in our prayers, because the ‘day of remembrance’ encompasses Rosh Chodesh as well.
Besides the special Musaf/additional sacrifices that the Torah spells out that are offered on Rosh Hashana, the standard set of Musaf Rosh Chodesh sacrifices were offered in the Temple on Rosh Hashana as well.
It’s understandable that our day of judgement is referred to as the day of remembrance because the basic feature of the day is that G-d reviews our spiritual performance of the year that has passed and judges us accordingly. He also looks at our inner aspirations and goals for the coming year.
The Torah’s title, Yom Teruah – the day of blasts – is also understandable, because Teruah, the nine staccato sounds, is one of the sounds of the Shofar on Rosh Hashana.
The Teruah sound is always accompanied by a Tekia – a long single blast – one before the Teruah, and another after the Teruah. The Teruah resembles a weeping sound, and represents the sound of our innermost feelings of remorse.
I came across a wonderful illustration from the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav o.b.m.
A king sent his son to a far distant land to study the great secrets of the world under the foremost scholars. When the prince returned extremely educated, his father tested his resourcefulness by presenting him with the task of raising a massive boulder from the bottom of a mountain to its top.
The prince immediately got to work and studied the task at hand; the weight of the stone, the incline and the span of the mountain to its crest.
After much exertion, sweat, energy and time spent on the project, the exhausted prince came to his father and proudly informed him that his task was completed.
The king reviewed all the details that were documented as the task was being performed and congratulated his son for it.
The king then turned to his son and said, “I see you courageously, energetically and creatively lifted this huge boulder up the mountain. However, this task would have been much simpler and would have required a lot less effort, if you would have shattered the boulder into pieces and easily lifted them and brought them to the peak.”
G-d with His infinite compassion gave us the awesome day He calls Yom Teruah, a series of broken sounds. Its lesson is to stir us to shatter our pride which, for the most part, is what causes us to drift away from the Almighty. The Teruah we hear and internalize, accomplishes this and makes it easier for us to humbly connect to the Almighty and grasp our responsibilities to Him.
Additionally, similar to the task of lifting the huge stone up the mountain, one may look at our spiritual responsibilities as overwhelming, and perceive it as a daunting and almost impossible task to achieve. However, the broken sounds of the Teruah remind us of the healthy way to achieve success in one’s spiritual journey – to take one step at a time, and slowly, but steadily continue to rise!
