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Rabbi Hershel Schachter





                Tekiat Shofar to Elevate


                     Tefillah to Ze’akah





               ne might find it surpris-     and supplicate to You in this House”   regular, daily obligation of  tefillah
               ing  that the  tekiot blown   (Melachim I 8:33).                  is converted into an obligation of
        Oduring  chazarat haShatz                                                ze’akah during an eit tzarah. Indeed,
        on  Rosh  Hashanah  do  not consti-  Even  when one finds himself at a   the Ramban  likens the blowing
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        tute a hefsek (break) in the middle   distant location, he should face the   of the shofar during Mussaf to the
        of the Amidah.                       Beit HaMikdash when praying.        blowing of the chatzotzrot following
                                             In this way, the  tefillah gains    each of the additional six blessings
        Instead, it seems that these two     acceptance, as Shlomo continued:    added to the  chazarat haShatz on
                                                             ְ
                                                                  ָ
        entities blend together as one. We   ה ָּ ת ַ תָנ ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א ם ָ צ ְ ר ַ א ך ֶ ר ּ ֶ ד ךי ֶ ל ֵ א ּול ְ ל ַּ פ ְ ת ִ ה ְ ו   a public fast.  The shofar converts
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        can better appreciate the intimate   תינב ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א תִי ַּ ב ַ ה ְ ו  ָּ ת ְ ר ַ ח ָּ ב ר ׁ ֶ ש ֲ א רי ִ ע ָ ה ם ָ תֹוב ֲ א ַ ל    the  tefillah of Rosh Hashanah into
                                             ָ
        connection  between  tekiat  shofar   ך ֶ מׁ ְ ש ִ ל, “And they shall pray to You   ze’akah. This is the Gemara’s intent
        and  chazarat haShatz based on       by way of their Land that You gave   in describing tekiat shofar with the
        an  analysis  of  the  efficacy  and   to their forefathers, and [by way of]   phrase, י ִ מ ָ ּ ד םיִנ ְ פ ִ ב ְּ כ אּוה ןֹור ָּ כִז ְ ל ִ ּ ד ן ָ וי ֵּ כ.
        acceptance of tefillah.              the city that You have chosen, and
                                             [by way of] the House that I built for   The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah
        The    Gemara    (Berachot  32b)     Your Name” (8:48).                  26b) which discusses which is
        teaches, “From the time that the                                         the optimal shape of the  shofar, a
        Beit HaMikdash was destroyed,        Nevertheless, the Gemara continues,   bent or a straight one, should be
        the heavenly gates of prayer were    “Even though  the gates of  tefillah   understood similarly. The Gemara
        locked.” The Gemara’s source is: םַּ ג   have been locked, the gates of tears   relates this question to the optimal
        י ִ ת ָּ ל ִ פ ְּ ת ם ַ תׂ ָ ש  ַ עֵּ ו ׁ ַ ש ֲ א ַ ו ק ַ עְז ֶ א י ִּ כ – “Though   have not been locked.” If one prays   posture that one should maintain
        I would cry out and plead, He shut   with such sincerity that he is brought   when he prays on Rosh Hashanah
        out my prayer” (Eicha 3:8). Based on   to  tears  during  his  prayers,  that   because it is through the shofar that
        this  Gemara,  we  have  the  practice   higher form of  tefillah is  answered,   one beseeches G-d. According to
        of omitting the phrase,  ל ַּ ב ַ ק ְ ת ִּ ת   even if the Beit HaMikdash is in   one Tannaitic opinion, the more a
        ןֹוה ְ תּוע ָ בּו  ןֹוה ְ תֹול ְ צ – “May the prayers   a state of  churban. The Targum   person “straightens his mind,” the
        and supplications be accepted,”      translates the phrase,  הֶי ְ הִי  ה ָ עּור ְּ ת  םֹוי
        from the  kaddish after Shacharit    ם ֶ כ ָ ל, as ןּוכְ ל י ִ הְי א ָ ב ְּ בַי םֹוי – “it shall be   better. Thus, a straight shofar and
                                                                                 an erect posture are preferable. We
        on Tisha B’Av, since our tefillot are   a day of crying for you.” The shofar
        not answered to the same extent      blasts are described as sounds of   follow the opinion that the more
        as they would be if there was a Beit   crying because  tekiat shofar can   one  “bows  his  mind”  the  better.
                                                                                 Accordingly, a bent shofar and a
        HaMikdash.                           elevate the  tefillah to one offered
                                             with tears, to a level of  ׁשֵּי ֶ ׁש  ה ָּ ל ִ פ ְּ ת   bowed  posture should  be  used  to
        This is because the Beit HaMikdash   תֹוע ָ מ ְ ּ ד  ּ ה ָּ מ ִ ע. This is what is gained by   reflect an attitude of submission.
        is not only the place for the offering   blowing the shofar in conjunction
        of  korbanot; it is also the central   with  Malchuyot,  Zichronot and   Thus,  tekiat shofar combines with
        location for acceptance of  tefillah.   Shofarot, and that is why, according   the tefillah, and together we offer a
        The Beit HaMikdash is termed “Beit   to Rashi, joining these two  mitzvot   ze’akah on the eit tzarah of the Yom
        Tefillah” in the verse, ה ָּ ל ִ פ ְּ ת תי ֵּ ב י ִ תי ֵ ב י ִּ כ   is a fulfillment of a mitzvah d’oraita.   HaDin (Day of Judgement).
        םי ִּ מ ַ ע ָ ה ל ָ כ ְ ל  א ֵ ר ָּ קִי – “for My House   Through this combination, the
        will be called a House of Prayer for   tefillah is elevated to a status of   1   Hilchot Ta’anit 1:1.
        all  the  peoples”  (Yeshayahu  56:7).   ze’akah (cry).                  2   Milchamot,  Rosh  Hashanah 11a  in  dapei
        Indeed, when Shlomo HaMelech                                             haRif.
        offered  his  beautiful  tefillah upon   Similarly, the Rambam   writes,  in   3  Mishnah, Ta’anit 2:3-5.
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        the dedication of the First Beit     reference to  a public fast during
        HaMikdash, he made no mention of     an  eit  tzarah  (difficult time), that   Rabbi Hershel Schachter  is Rosh
        the offering of korbanot, but instead   it is a  mitzvah d’oraita  ַ עי ִ ר ָ ה ְ לּו  קֹעְז ִ ל   Yeshiva and Rosh Kollel at Rabbi Isaac
                        ָ
        emphasized: תִי ַּ ב ַּ ב ךי ֶ ל ֵ א ּונְּנ ַ ח ְ ת ִ ה ְ ו ּול ְּ ל ַּ פ ְ ת ִ ה ְ ו   תֹור ְ צֹוצ ֲ ח ַּ ב – “to cry and to sound   Elchanan Theological  Seminary  of
        הֶּז ַ ה, “And [Your people] shall pray   the  chatzotzrot (trumpets).” The   Yeshiva University


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