The Rambam says the shofar leads to a great spiritual awakening. There is a story about a boy who went off the derech. He took money from his parents and moved out of their house. Two years later, on Rosh Hashanah, he was walking around the city, smoking and drinking with his friends.
A man with a kippah approached the group and asked the boy if he would like to hear the shofar and the beracha. The boy agreed so that he could make fun of the man with his friends. But when the boy listened to the crying, inspiring sound of the shofar, he was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to return home to his parents.
He walked a long way from Manhattan over the bridge to Brooklyn to tell them he wanted to come back home. As he walked into the house, he saw his entire family waiting to eat the Rosh Hashanah meal with a plate set for him at the table. The boy and his parents broke down in tears. His mother and father were waiting for him to come home all this time with open arms.
All year, or even all our lives, we may have transgressed and turned away from Hashem. All we have to do is tell Hashem, our Father in Heaven, one thing: “I want to come home,” and He will take us back with open arms and forgive us. But we are responsible for taking that first step! On Rosh Hashanah, we must recognize Hashem as our Melech HaMelachim—King of Kings. Even though we keep doing the same sins repeatedly, even if it has been a thousand times, Hashem is still our Av, our Father in Heaven, waiting for us to return.
Reprinted from the Rosh Hashanah 5784 email of Jack E. Rahmey based on the Torah teachings of Rabbi Amram Sananes.
