שופר

Thereupon, the Holy One, blessed be He, opened the sky and the cloud (surrounding Him) and said: “By myself have I sworn,” saith the Lord (ibid., v. 16). “You have sworn.” Abraham replied, “and now I swear that I shall not descend from this altar until I say what I wish to say.” “Speak,” He answered. “Did You not tell me,” said Abraham, “Count all the stars, if thou be able to count them; so shall thy seed be (Gen. 15:5)?” “Yes,” He replied. “But from whom shall my seed descend?” queried Abraham. “From Isaac,” the Holy One answered. “It was in my heart, yesterday, to remind You that You told me that Isaac was my seed, when You said to me: Take him for a burnt-offering. But I restrained myself and did not challenge You. Therefore, when Isaac’s descendants sin and are being oppressed, recall the binding of Isaac, reckon it as if his ashes were piled upon the altar, and pardon them and release them from their anguish.” The Holy One, blessed be He, answered: “You have spoken what was in you heart, now I will say what I wish to say. In the future Isaac’s descendants will sin against Me, and I will judge them on Rosh Hashanah. If they want Me to discover something to their credit, and to recall for their advantage the binding of Isaac, let them blow upon this shofar.” Abraham asked: “What shofar?” The Holy One, blessed be He, said: “Turn around. Then it was that Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind a ram caught in the thicket by his horns (Gen. 22:13). This was one of the ten things that were created at twilight.¹⁷Ten things were created by God in the twilight of Sabbath eve. See Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 2:83 and 5:169. A ram caught in the thicket by his horns (ibid.). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham: “Let them blow upon the ram’s horn to Me, and I will save them and redeem them from their sins.” This is what David meant when he sang: My shield and my horn of salvation, my high tower (Ps. 18:3). Then I shall remove the yoke of exile from them and comfort them in the midst of Zion, as it is said: For the Lord hath comforted Zion (Isa. 51:3). Amen.

If Yom Tov of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbat, they would blow the shofar in the Temple but not in the country. After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai decreed that it should be blown [on Shabbat] in every place where there was a court. Rabbi Eliezer said: Rabban Yohanan ben Zakai decreed for Yavneh only. They said to him: both Yavneh and any place where there is a court.

For the Leader; a Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye peoples; shout unto God with the voice of triumph. . For the LORD is most high, awful; a great King over all the earth. He subdueth peoples under us, and nations under our feet. He chooseth our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom He loveth. Selah God is gone up amidst shouting, the LORD amidst the sound of the horn. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing ye praises in a skilful song. God reigneth over the nations; God sitteth upon His holy throne. The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham; for unto God belong the shields of the earth; He is greatly exalted.