Ma Koreh
Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Life Primary
Friday marks Rosh Chodesh Elul, the first day of the month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish calendar before we mark Rosh HaShanah and the new Jewish year.
Today, as part of our Shabbat celebrations, we sounded the shofar to mark the custom of hearing the Shofar being sounded every morning, except on Shabbat, during Elul.
The word shofar שׁוֹפָר comes from the word לְשַׁפֵּר which means ‘to repair’, hinting that the sound of the shofar is designed to personal reflection and self improvement in the lead up to the start of a new year. The combination of sounds as seen in the graphic below may also represent our experience of the year that is coming to an end, starting solid and then fracturing and breaking as we experience the challenges and busy-ness of life. The final long blast of tekiah gedolah serves to give us strength in the month leading up to the High Holy Days of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
This week students have been dusting off their shofar blowing skills in anticipation of sounding of the shofar. Todah Rabah to Rabbi Kaiserblueth who has come to school to share his insights and skills in shofar blowing with us and our students.
