This week’s OOTW (as nobody calls it) will double as the Rosh Hashanah edition of our weekly Shabbos Notes. Appropriately, the song chosen is the popular T’kah B’shofar which was composed and sung by the Hornosteipler Rebbe of Milwaukee, Reb Michel Twerski, shlit”a. It made its first appearance as the first track on R’ Michel’s first record entitled Kol B’rama – A Voice on High back in 1967. Since then, it has become one of Milwaukee’s favorite theme songs, and has certainly grown to become one of Klal Yisroel’s most beloved anthems.

{As a bonus, we have included a more modern version, stylishly sung by the dynamic Sruli Twerski, a grandson of R’ Michel. This version can be found on Sruli’s 2015 release V’kabtzeinu Yachad which is an album filled with some of the wonderful tunes that his illustrious Zeide has composed. As one would expect from a Twerski niggun, it contains elements of warmth and inspiration, but maybe most of all, it contains that undeniable dose of Yiddishe Hartz.}

…בחדש השביעי באחד לחדש יהיה לכם שבתון זכרון תרועה

When Rosh Hashanah arrives, the shofar announces its arrival along with all the new beginnings and fresh opportunities that we had hoped and prayed for the entire year. But if you listen closely, you will understand that the shofar does much more than we thought.

The shofar’s sweet melody reminds us of the beauty that is a Jewish way of life; the enrichment, fulfillment and contentment that Torah brings to each of our lives. The shofar’s cries reach that pure spark within us, that inextinguishable flame of the Pintele Yid. Like a tune we have heard before, its melody is recognized by our souls as the same mighty sound we once heard at Har Sinai and pleads with our innermost core for us to return to our utmost selves. Its lofty wail softly prompts us to start over and leave behind all the issues and circumstances that cloud our vision – the visions of ourselves, of the world, and of each other.

When we hear the shofar, it should inspire within us a newfound desire for true freedom; freedom to let go of the many challenging events of this past year, the freedom to let go of whatever lingering grudges and preconceived notions we may hold – The freedom to begin our lives anew.

It was on Rosh Hashanah that the “Defender of Israel,” Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (1740–1809) famously said to Hashem:
“Ribono Shel Olam, You ordained the Yom Teruah – a day of blowing the shofar (Bamidbar 29:1). See how much Your children love You! You commanded a single teruah – and they blow a hundred notes. Thousands, tens of thousands, millions of Your people have blown those hundred notes for millennia. How many shofar notes have been sounded over the ages? No one can count them.

“But at the same time, they have called upon You with the words, T’kah b’shofar gadol l’cheiruseinu – Hashem, blow just one note on Your great shofar to herald the beginning of our Freedom and Redemption. Hashem, You asked us for one teruah, and we give You a hundred multiplied over and over again. All we ask from You is one tekiah. Why can’t You give us just that one note?”

Coming to our defense, the shofar’s piercing blasts also serve as a potent advocate for our People on this annual Day of Judgment. Yet this year, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah we will be without our teru’os. This year, the first day will be hosted by a royal queen; an otherwise accommodating host, Shabbos will prohibit us from sounding the shofar, keeping one of our most effective weapons in its holster. But worry not! This year, our prosecutors will be met by a force more powerful than our teki’os – this year, the Defender of Israel will be none other than the holy day of Shabbos.

Our observance of Shabbos gives her the ability to come to our aid in our time of need, bringing all the benefits of the shofar and then some! Just as we have kept and protected Shabbos throughout the year, Shabbos will keep and protect us this upcoming Yom Ha’Din. How truly fortunate we are to have Shabbos in our lives.

This Rosh Hashanah, may the merit of Shabbos and the sounds of the shofar be echoed by the sound of the Great Shofar of Freedom, a song that we have been waiting to hear for so long.

Wishing you a blessed Day of Rest, a k’sivah v’chasimah tovah, and a gut g’zunt g’bentcht yuhr!