The Sound of the New Year

As I’ve had the honor and privilege of blowing Shofar on Rosh Hashanah at my Synagogue Shomrei Torah the last few years (thanks to the tutelage of Bruce Leff), I thought you might be interested in knowing what I think about when I’m blowing;

1-Don’t mess up

2-Realize that when Peter Sklar times me on Tekiah Godolah his watch runs just a little fast

3-Tekiah – the first in the series. I know the literal translation is “blast” but for me this sounds more like, “Hello, is there anybody out there? Anybody home? It’s time to wake up team Shomrei Torah, the end of the year is here (of course it also sounds a lot like my other team - the Minnesota Viking’s horn blast that they play at the Metrodome during football games http://www.kansasviking.com/downloads.html - but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to go deep on my other allegiance during high holiday services…)

4-Shevarim – the 3 blasts. Again I understand the literal translation means “broken”, but to me this is all about repetition. This repeating is a reminder to think back on the year. What did I do? Where did I meet my goals? Where did I screw up? (It also sounds a little like the blasts you used to hear about 5 years ago during those Ricola cough drop commercials – but I might be alone on that one) http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ricolah+cough+drop+commercials&ei=UTF-8&fr=chr-greentree_ff&type=302398

5-Teruah - this stands for "alarm" the nine staccato blasts that denote urgency. To me this means – ok so what am I gonna do about it? What actions am I going to take to make this year better for me and those I touch, family and otherwise? How am I going to spread the love? Pick your metaphor; the clock is ticking, the sand is falling through the hourglass, the train’s leaving the station, we’re chasing daylight, and my personal favorite, act as if your hair’s on fire (and no, that’s not how I lost it). And…

6-Tekiah Godolah – “the great blast“ or as I think about it – the money blast. It seems that’s what everyone mentions the most, but to me it symbolizes that my goal is to put every last breath into trying to be the best person I can be. For me, my family, and my community; large and small. And the reason I do a 360 while I blow it, is so everyone can hear a portion of the blast directly in their ear.

So that’s it; Wake up. What did I do with this year? How am I going to act to make next year better! And represent the congregation to show the strength we all have to get whatever it is that’s important to us - done…