For the month of Elul and on Rosh Hashanah, we are meant to listen to the Kol Shofar, the voice or sound of the ram’s horn. This year, though, we are told to take precautions while blowing the shofar in public because of the fear of spreading droplets that may carry the coronavirus. This year, as well, the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, and traditionally, this has meant that no shofar is heard.
The Unetaneh Tokef prayer speaks of a time when a great shofar will be blasted - like the one that was sounded at the time of the revelation at Sinai. And right after that blast, “a thin voice of silence will be heard.” This recalls the prophet Elijah’s own experience of God’s presence, which was not in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. But after the fire, there was a “thin voice of silence.” (I Kings 19:11-12).
Could it be that the sound we are listening for is the silence after the sound of the shofar blasts? Perhaps the shofar itself is reminding us to quiet ourselves and then to listen with intention and focus. The blasts jolt us out of the noise of life so we might listen better to others who need us to hear them. They also remind us to listen for the quiet voice inside our own hearts.
Gordon Hempton, founder of the One Square Inch of Silence Foundation writes:
“Silence is not the absence of something but the presence of everything….It is the presence of time, undisturbed. It can be felt within the chest. Silence nurtures our nature, our human nature, and lets us know who we are. Left with a more receptive mind and a more attuned ear, we become better listeners not only to nature but to each other. Silence can be carried like embers from a fire. Silence can be found, and silence can find you. Silence can be lost and also recovered. But silence cannot be imagined, although most people think so. To experience the soul-swelling wonder of silence, you must hear it:https://onbeing.org/blog/sounds-of-silence/
With the lack of access to live Shofar blasts for many this year, we can still quiet ourselves so we might listen to the pregnant silence around us and within us.
