The Silence of the Shofar on Shabbat Rosh Hashana

“Sometimes the light’s all shinin on me,

Other times I can barely see,

Lately it occurs to me,

What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

“Truckin” from the American Beauty album by the Grateful Dead 1970. Music by Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Phil Lesh. Lyrics by Robert Hunter.

It is Elul, the month that precedes Rosh Hashanah. At this time of year, my mind is on the essence of Rosh Hashanah. Every Chag (holiday) has a Mitzvah Hayom (a commandment of the day), a commandment that defines the festival. Fulfilling this obligation goes beyond the ritual. It expresses the raison d’être of sacred times. For example, Chanukah—Lighting Chanukah lights. Purim—Listening to the Megilah. Yom Kippur— Fasting. What is the Mitzvah Hayom of Rosh Hashanah? Listening to the Shofar.

Fascinating. What does the Torah call Rosh Hashanah? Yom Truah, Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:1, “It shall be a Yom Truah, a Day of Shofar sounding for you.” When the Torah says Yom Truah, we know it is Rosh Hashanah, because of the month and day. Most importantly, the text states that the quintessence of Rosh Hashanah is listening to Shofar.

Furthermore, while the Torah gives no rationale for Shofar, post-biblical texts offer many interpretations. However, since the Piyut (liturgical poem) Unetanneh Tokef refers to  Rosh Hashanah as Yom Hadin, the Day of Judgment, the interpretation I believe resonates most is the Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance), Chapter 3, Halacha (Law) 4, that Shofar should wake us up to do Teshuvah (repentance). Sefat Emet on Bamidbar 10 says the Shofar awakens us in our battle with the Yetser Harah on Rosh Hashanah. (Yetser Harah literally translates as the evil inclination, but a better way to understand this term is our base desires that are not always positive on an ethical and spiritual level, but can be overcome. In some ways, it is similar to Dr. Sigmund Freud’s concept of the Id, first described in his 1920 essay titled “Beyond the Pleasure Principle.”)

Clearly, Shofar is the soul of Rosh Hashanah. On a visceral level, many of us have Shofar memories. I recall, when I was young, being on my father’s shoulders, mesmerized, as our synagogue’s Shofar Blower modulated the different notes.

We are all excited for the Shofar. Nonetheless, I have disappointing news. No Shofar blowing on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. Why? This year, Rosh Hashanah Day One is on Shabbat. When Shabbat coincides with Rosh Hashanah, there is no Shofar. Why? Is it inherently forbidden to sound the Shofar on Shabbat? No! Then what is the problem?

The Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, Kaf Tet Amood Bet, is concerned that the one tasked with helping the community fulfill the Mitzvah will not be trained and will carry the Shofar past the Reeshute Harabim, the Public Domain, which is impermissible on Shabbat. It seems far-fetched. Some Synagogues start planning far in advance. When you are singing “L’shanah haba’ah b’Yerushalayim” (Next Year In Jerusalem) at the Passover Seder, your rabbi is thinking, “Time to start planning the High Holidays.” Flowcharts, checklists, graphs, and schedules. Nothing is left to chance. I guarantee you, your Rabbis are on it. An inexperienced Shofar Blower at your Synagogue? Improbable.

That being said, if it did happen and we did not have someone prepared, no worries. Many communities have an Eruv (an enclosure around a community that converts a public domain into a private domain, and thus permits carrying within the Eruv on Shabbat). The probability of someone carrying a Shofar on Shabbat beyond the Eruv for instruction? Not likely. Even if a community did not have an Eruv, if this situation did arise, a way could be found to instruct someone without carrying the Shofar, into the public domain. It is irrelevant. The Chidushei Chatam Sofer on Rosh Hashanah 29b explains that the Shofar is not blown on Shabbat because of a Gezerah, a permanent Talmudic decree against carrying it. The Gezerah applies universally, even where an Eruv exists, under the principle of lo plug, no distinction, whereby the Talmud does not distinguish between various local circumstances. This Gezerah cannot be repealed. This is the Halachic reason, which seems to supersedes logic.^[1]

Still, let us try to think about this from a spiritual perspective. I will suggest a philosophical approach. A story: one year, I left the Oakland Coliseum after an extraordinary Grateful Dead concert on New Year’s Eve. I was walking down a dark road, still close to the venue. It was hard to see. I felt lost. All of a sudden, giant floodlights shot on, only for a moment. A burst of light.

That brief bit of illumination helped me find my way to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). I made my way to the Haight in San Francisco, where I was staying. When I got there, the sun was beginning to rise. I thought of the words we began with: “Sometimes the light’s all shinin on me, Other times I can barely see, Lately it occurs to me, What a long, strange trip it’s been.” The light was shining on me, and then I could barely see, and I had gone through A Long Strange Trip. I always do.

I remember thinking about the difference between the sky being lit up when I left the arena and the light of dawn. When I was on that dark road, everything was visible, but only for an instant. It was a burst of light. When the Sun was rising in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, it was an ongoing light. It was not as bright as the floodlights, but it was constant.

We categorize Mitzvot in diverse ways. Mitzvot Aseh and Lo Taseh, Positive and Negative Mitzvot. Dorayta and Derabinan. Biblical and Rabbinical Mitzvot. There are many other ways of classifying Mitzvot. I have a system that I have created myself: Burst of Light Mitzvot and Ongoing Light Mitzvot. Burst of Light Mitzvot are commandments that are powerful experiences occurring a few times a year. They happen in a flash.

Listening to the Shofar is a Burst of Light Mitzvah. We are looking forward to it; it’s exciting, but it’s brief. Only twice a year, or this year, once. Ongoing Light Mitzvot do not “seem” as transcendent because they happen more regularly. What we need to understand is that the Ongoing Light Mitzvot are the building blocks of Judaism and our relationship with God. Prayer, Learning Torah, Ethical Mitzvot. To highlight one, which we always need to be careful about, but tragically now, we must be so vigilant: Vayikra (Leviticus)19:16 “Do not stand idly by when your neighbor’s blood is shed.” We must speak out for our fellow Jews and human beings in times of hate. In this City, Country, Israel, and the World.

Of course, Burst of Light Mitzvot are central to our lives. They wake us up and give us a spiritual thrust. Shofar is a Burst of Light Mitzvah. Shabbat has many Ongoing Light Mitzvot. I want to suggest that, by not blowing Shofar on Shabbat, the message that is articulated is that, as integral as the Mitzvah of Shofar is, as important as Rosh Hashanah is, Shabbat takes precedence.

Rav Yehuda Amital zt”l (the founding Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion) says it much more deeply. In a Sicha on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 5760 September 11, 1999, when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, the absent Shofar is replaced by Zikhron Teruah (A Remembrance Of The Blast, Vayikra/Leviticus 23:24). Divine compassion comes not through action, but through inward remembrance and complete Shibud HaLev, subjugation of the heart. God “heeds the blast,” and I would add, even in silence. Rav Amital continues that our willingness to forgo a desired Mitzvah and observe Shabbat demonstrates a profounder acceptance of God’s Sovereignty. Moreover, and this is my own thought, the Shofar’s primal cry remains, but on Shabbat, the silence itself becomes that cry.

Therefore, on this Rosh Hashanah, let us listen differently when there is no Shofar. To the questions the Shofar challenges us with. Are we awake? Are we listening to people? Are we willing to look inward and outward at the same time? The Shofar gives us that burst of light. Yet this year, on this first day of Rosh Hashanah, we are asked to find that light without the burst. To discover that holiness is not only found in extraordinary moments. It is found in the ongoing. In our homes, celebrating Shabbat and holidays. In our synagogues, pursuing prayer, learning, and opportunities to perform acts of Chesed (kindness). In every aspect of life, treating our family, friends, co-workers, and strangers with dignity.

While there are times holiness is found in sound, it can also be experienced in silence. Sometimes God enlivens us with a blast. Other times God asks us to listen more deeply, with our hearts, to the quiet voice within, to the needs of others, and to sacred responsibilities.

This year, on this Rosh Hashanah, may we hear the Shofar, even when it is not blown. May its cry live inside us. May the silence awaken us. May the burst of light become an ongoing light. A light that guides us in how we serve Hakodesh Baruch Hu (The Holy One Blessed Be The One). Then when the second day of Rosh Hashanah comes, and we hear the Shofar, may it not simply be just a sound, but a true call to Teshuvah. A call to become more fully who we are meant to be. That is the long, strange trip for all of us: Sometimes the light is shining on us. Other times, we can barely see, but through it all, God is calling. Our task is to listen. Shanah Tovah.

Epilogue:

The above article focuses entirely on explaining why the Shofar is not blown on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah. What is interesting is that the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 4:1 illustrates that in the Beit Hamikdash, (The Temple), the Shofar was blown when Rosh Hashanah coincided with Shabbat. Why is Shofar permissible on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah only in the Temple?

From a technical point of view, according to the Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 29b–30a, Shofar, is a Chokhmah ve’einah melakha, a skilled action, not a Melacha (a purposeful, creative labor that alters or exerts control over the environment, this act is forbidden on Shabbat). It is innately permitted on Shabbat. It was banned outside of the Temple because a regular person might carry the Shofar to learn. As we discussed earlier, inside the Beit Hamikdash, the concern is irrelevant, as the Kohanim were very careful about Shabbat and experts in the Shofar.

The Talmudic commentary, Tosafot on Rosh Hashanah 29b adds something very interesting. The Beit Din, (Jewish Legal Court, meaning the Sanhedrin system) meeting in the Beit Hamikdash ensured that a depth of seriousness in Shabbat observance was maintained when the Shofar was used on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah. Tosafot is not just talking about the Temple. The touchstone for Tosafot is the Beit Din itself, and how the presence of the Beit Din could expand the prospect of Shofar on Shabbat Rosh Hashanah.^[2]

Now that we have looked at the sources. Let us apply our idea of ongoing light vs. a burst of light. The Temple was where the burst of light and the ongoing light converged, where the mechanics of religion occurred simultaneously with ecstasy. Where the Shechinah dwelled, the direct manifestation of God.

Interesting, every institution in Judaism is called Beit __, House of __, fill in the blank. Synagogue, Beit Knesset, the House of Assembly; school, Beit Sefer, the House of the Book; the room in a Yeshiva where learning takes place, Beit Midrash, the House of Learning. Why does each facility in Judaism utilize the word Beit, “House”? Is it possible that this trend goes back to the earliest Jewish establishments? The Beit Hamikdash, the House of Holiness. The Temple.

Why was the Temple called the Beit Hamikdash, the House of Holiness? Could it be that the Beit Hamikdash is modeled after the Bayit, the Jewish home, where families live, and the Bayit, the Home, is the true center of Jewish life? The place where our day-to-day and ethereal lives are intertwined. Just like the Temple, Bamidbar Rabbah 12:3: “I only ask that you make me a Bayit Katan, a Small House, just so that I may dwell right next to you.”

Let us continue to build a Bayit. Both the Bayit of our family, the Bayit where our Congregations meet and every other kind of Bayit, throughout the world. Let us do this, with joy, for God, for us, for Klal Yisrael, and for humanity.

Yeshayahu (Jeremiah) 56:7: “I will bring them to My Holy Mountain. And let them rejoice in My House of Prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices shall be welcome on My altar; for My House shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The following is a meditation for the first day of Rosh Hashanah, to experience the silence when we will not be blowing the Shofar, due to Shabbat.

THE SILENT SHOFAR

A Meditation for Zikhron Teruah, A Remembrance of Blasting

Shabbat Rosh Hashanah 1 Tishrei 5787 September 12, 2026

Introduction:

Why is Rosh Hashanah different this year? Rosh Hashanah coincides with Shabbat. There will be no sound of the Shofar today.

Bamidbar (Numbers) 29:1 says that Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Teruah, a day of blasting. Vayikra (Leviticus) 23:24 states that Rosh Hashanah is Zikhron Teruah, a remembrance of the blast. This morning, we will not listen to the Shofar, but we will remember it. We pray that the Kol Shofar, the Voice of the Shofar, will enter our hearts, since today the Shofarwill not be entering our ears.

Hachanah/Preparation:

Close your eyes. Breathe in; breathe out. Again.

Let us listen to the Sound of Silence in this sacred space, and remember the sound of the Shofar.

Zikaron, Remember the Tekiah, one solid note. What in our existence is whole?

Zikaron, Remember the Shevarim, three broken notes.

What is broken in our lives, our community, our country, in Klal Yisrael (the Jewish People), Midinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) and the World, that needs repair?

Zikaron, Remember the Teruah, nine broken notes. What must be taken care of immediately?

Zikaron, Remember the Tekiah Gedolah, a longer solid note. Do we have the capacity after so much brokenness to be solid once again?

 Uru/Wake Up:

Rambam, Maimonides, teaches in the Mishneh Torah Hilchot Teshuvah (Laws of Repentance) 3:4 that Shofar is a sound that awakens us to do Teshuha (Repentance).

Today is Shabbat, and the sound of the Shofar will not wake us up. We must wake ourselves up from the inside. Whom have I failed to listen to? What should I change? Make a decision about something that you will do in a different way this year.

A Moment of Silence

Tefilah/Prayer:

Ribono shel Olam, Master of the Universe, we stand in your holy presence, without the sound of the Shofar.

May your קוֹל דְּמָמָה דַקָּה, “The still, small voice” (1 Melachim/Kings 1 19:12), that is within all of us to raise our conscience, to come closer to you, our loved ones, to think about people who are suffering, to respect those with whom we disagree,

May our silence help us on our path to  Teshuvah, Repentance

May our homes and Synagogues become places of Tefilah, prayer, Chesed, kindness, and belonging.

Today we do not listen to the Shofar, but we can become the listeners the Shofar calls us to become.

May the sound of silence wake us up and help us to remember, to return, to repair, and act.

We remember the blast; the voice of the Shofar calls us from within us.

Bracha/Blessing:

Tomorrow we will listen to the Shofar, but today we still receive its message.

Tomorrow we will listen to the Shofar, dear God, may these moments of Zikhron Teruah we have received today enter our hearts.

Tomorrow, the Shofar will call upon us. May we answer this call and be transformed.

May we listen. May we remember. May we return.

שנה טובה ומתוקה, Shanah tovah u’metukah.

^[1]It should be noted that most Reform, Secular Humanistic Judaism, and Jewish Renewal congregations will blow the Shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. The Reform movement articulates this decision in CCAR Responsa, Volume XXIII, 1913, pp. 182-183. In the Reconstructionist movement, there is no single rule; practices vary across synagogues, each with autonomy. Conservative Synagogues follow the same practice as Orthodox Synagogues with regard to not blowing the Shofar on Shabbat.

^[2] Following the Second Temple’s destruction, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai permitted shofar blowing on Shabbat in the presence of the Yavneh Sanhedrin (Mishnah RH 4:1). While the Rif (Rabbi Yitzchak ben Yaakov Alfasi) in Rosh Hashanah 8a–8b practiced this in North Africa, Israeli communities continued this custom for centuries based on local court authority, later echoed by Rabbi Schlesinger’s secret 1905 attempt. More recently this was done through the Modern “Sanhedrin” of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in Jerusalem in 2006. Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, acting on behalf of the Modern “Sanhedrin”, has announced that Shofar blowing will take place on the First Day of Rosh Hashanah at theMachon HaMikdash (The Temple Institute).