By Rabbi Dovid Sapirman, Dean, Ani Maamin Foundation
In this week’s parsha, we read about an interesting mitzvah: to blow a pair of silver trumpets in the Beis Hamikdash at certain specific times, such as wartime, during korbanos, or when calamities befall am Yisrael.
The Sefer Hachinuch offers a rationale for this mitzvah, one relevant to every day of our lives. “Since it was required to focus when bringing a korban... with complete kavanah, before the Master of all, Who commanded us about the korban, and also in times of troubles one must have great kavanah when pleading before Hashem to have mercy, therefore we have been commanded to blow the trumpets at these times. Since a person is merely a physical being, he [i.e. his emotions] need to be roused for such things. By human nature, without something to awaken him, a person can remain as if sleeping. Nothing has a greater ability to arouse emotions than the power of music, and trumpets are [one of ] the most powerful instruments.”
What a lesson! Without effort to awaken, we can sleep through life, going through the motions without feeling or passion. The messages in the mitzvos we do may simply go over our heads, leaving no impact on us.
Today, in galus, we have no korbanos—but tefillah is their replacement. It, too, requires kavanah. If a person was drowning and quietly mumbled for others to come and save him, it would be ridiculous. Yet in our davening, we beg and plead for Hashem’s mercy to spare us from the things we dread—without listening to the words. Even in ancient times, as related in the Gemara, maintaining attention was always a nisayon.
In Maariv we say, “Remove from us enemies, plagues, the sword, and hunger.” In today’s world, these words should jump out of the siddur! How many swords have been lifted against us? Did the world not long ago experience a plague during which millions of people passed away, including so many acheinu beis Yisrael a”h? We must stop a moment before davening to realize Who we are talking to, what messages we are sending Him. The feelings we express should be mirror the seriousness of the words.
May Hashem help us to go through life fully awake, so that we, our tefillos and our mitzvos will merit gracious acceptance on High.
