In an outpouring of care and concern, Am Yisrael has stepped up to the plate with Torah, tefillah, and chesed
This year began with a Rosh Hashanah she’chal lihiyos b’Shabbos — a Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos, when we do not blow the shofar. The sefer Minchas Ani, in parshas Ha’azinu, points to a fascinating dichotomy. He calculates that the years in which the Churban of both Batei Mikdash occurred were years in which Rosh Hashanah fell out on Shabbos. This would suggest that the absence of the protection offered by the shofar presents a year of danger and precariousness.
On the other hand, he calculates that the year in which we received atonement for the Cheit Ha’eigel, the year in which the Mishkan was built, and the year in which we entered Eretz Yisrael were all years which began on Shabbos.
How do we make sense of this contradiction? Does a Rosh Hashanah that falls on Shabbos spell blessing or danger?
Minchas Ani explains that it depends. Each Rosh Hashanah, we look toward the shofar as our merit for a blessed and protected year. But when Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos, then Shabbos becomes the source of that blessing. How much of that blessing will be realized depends on one thing: our level of meticulousness in observing Shabbos. Should our shemiras Shabbos be lacking, the absence of the shofar blowing leaves us in a terribly compromised position.
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