…It is as if [the shofar’s call] is saying: Wake up, sleepy ones, from your sleep…and you who slumber, arise.” (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Repentance 3:4 )

The shofar, made from the horn of a ram, is sounded throughout the High Holiday period, beginning during the preparatory days of Elul (the month before the High Holidays in the Hebrew calendar).  The sound of the shofar bookends the High Holidays with blasts heard during the Rosh HaShanah service and at the end of Yom Kippur. The celebration that ultimately evolved into Rosh HaShanah was originally called Yom T’ruah (Day of Sounding the Shofar).  The sound of the shofar is meant to wake us up from our every day lives and confront our actions.

What word or phrase will serve as your personal “shofar” during the coming year—one that you can use to rouse yourself to action. Reflect on why you chose this word to accompany you through 5781.

Blessing for Hearing the Shofar 
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha-olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu lishmoa kol shofar.
We praise You, Eternal God, Ruler of the universe, who has made us holy with commandments, and who has commanded us to hear the voice of the shofar.


Booklet Section: New Year Blessings 
Source: Custom&Craft. Sefaria, Rebekah Lowin, and MB