Rosh Hashana 34

We are close to the end of this masechet and where do the rabbis focus their attention?  On the sounding of the shofar.

We walk through a detailed analysis of which blasts are sounded in which order, which blasts were similar to or different from each other, the relative length and meaning of each blast, and how the groups of blasts are organized.  One of the more interesting comments suggests that the terua might consists of both whimpering and moaning sounds.  The Gemara tells us that when a normal person experiences a bad event, the moaning is followed by whimpering and thus the blast mimics this sound.*

All of this is performed in our modern services.  It is quite overwhelming to imagine the rabbis attempting to establish a proper order of blasts - and that at Rosh Hashana, I follow those instructions today.

To be clear, the rabbis are very serious about which blast goes where and why it should be so.  Although I cannot imagine that G-d would punish us for misinterpreting or erring in our hearing the shofar blasts, many believe that these exact determinations can be the difference between life and death.

Amud (b) recounts a discussion about a prayer leader saying prayers on behalf of others verses blowing the shofar on behalf of others.  One of the more important considerations is Torah law and rabbinic law.   The prayers are rabbinic in origin, and thus their recitation is not as critical as hearing the sounding of the Torah.

It strikes me that we are reading about the establishment of prayer as much as we are reading about anything else.  Prayer replaced sacrifice in the Temple.  Much of the Talmud focuses on describing Temple rites that will be all-important when the Temple is rebuilt at the time of Moshiach.  But without the Temple, the rabbis had to give the people something to do while they waited for its reestablishment. What could be better than very clearly determined prayer?  But the rabbis do recognize that their suggestions and interpretations are not as meaningful as the words of Torah.


* Does this suggest that there is something inherently sad about sounding the shofar?  It is meant to be a proclamation of G-d's kingship.  So why would sadness be attached to that?  Are we meant to feel G-d's sadness because He is judging us?