QUESTION: In Elul, we blow the shofar every weekday, except one day - the day before Rosh Hashana. Why?
ANSWER: The shofar represents our collective crying out to G-d. A cry from such a deep place in us that there are no words. A cry for connection, to be seen, to be helped, to be heard, to return.
When children fall down, they get hurt, they get scared. They need comfort, connection. They need the compassion of a parent, holding them. There is no sound - it is simply connection and feeling that they need. And the harder they fall down, the longer and deeper is the breath they take before they cry out. They can't help it- the silence before the cry is deafening sometimes. The longer the breath, the harder the cry, the more they need from their parents.
We need the connection with our parent on Rosh Hashana. It is the start of a new year and new beginning in our lives. We want that connection so badly, we need it. The day before Rosh Hashana we take a collective deep breath- because we need to cry that much harder on Rosh Hashana. May Hashem hear the cries that come from our core and comfort us, and hold us, and may we feel the love that Hashem has for us.