Hashanah – Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed a soul into Adam HaRishon. The question thus arises – why is the soul called Neshama? According to the simple meaning, נ ְ שׁ ָ מ ָ ה is from the word נ ְ שׁ ִ י מ ָ ה – breath, and the Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah, 14:9) provides support for this:
רַ בִּ י בִּ יסְנִי וְרַ בִּ י אַחָא וְרַ בִּ י יוֹחָנָן בְּ שׁ ֵם רַ בִּ י מֵ אִ יר אוֹמְ רִ ים, הַנְּשׁ ָמָ ה הַזּוֹ מְמַלְּאָה אֶת כָּל הַגּוּף, וּבְשׁ ָעָה שׁ ֶאָדָם יָשׁ ֵן הִיא עוֹלָה וְשׁ וֹאֶבֶת לוֹ חַיִּים מִלְּמַעְלָה. רַבִּי לֵוִי בְּשׁ ֵם רַבִּי חֲנִינָא אָמַר, עַל כָּל נְשִׁימָה וּנְשִׁימָה שׁ ֶאָדָם נוֹשׁ ֵם צָרִיך-הּ , לְקַלֵּס לַבּוֹרֵא, מַה טַּעַם: כֹּל הַנְּשׁ ָמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָ -הּ , כָּל הַנְּשִׁימָה תְּהַלֵּל יָ -הּ .
Rabbi Bisni, Rabbi Acha, and Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Meir say: This soul fills the entire body, and when a person sleeps, it ascends and draws life from above. Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Chanina said, for every breath a person takes, he must praise the Creator, as it says: "Let every soul praise Hashem, let every breath praise Hashem."
In practice, if one wants to check if a person is alive or dead, they take a feather and place it near his nose – as long as air comes out of his nose and the feather moves, they clear the rubble from him; even if they know half a ton fell on his head – according to the Torah, if there is air, he is alive!
One might say, if because of the breath the soul is called Neshama, then animals breathe, monkeys breathe, and owls breathe too! Will we say they too have a soul? Of course not! So why is it called נ ְ שׁ ָ מ ָ ה? Not because of the breath, but because Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed a soul into man!
Rav Chaim Volozhin writes (Nefesh HaChaim, 1:15): Indeed, the name Neshama means breath. And it is apparent that a person's breath is the vapor rising from the heart from below to above. However, it is called by the term נ ְ שׁ ִ י מ ָ ה not because of the human breath, but because of the breath from Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s mouth, as we’re told in Sefer Bereshit: וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים – And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Chazal liken the human spirit to glassware; and if glass, formed by the breath of mere flesh and blood, can be repaired after breaking, then all the more so man – whose soul was given by the breath of Hakadosh Baruch Hu – can be restored at Techiat HaMeitim (the resurrection of the dead).
When we examine the breath of the craftsman's mouth in the glassware at the time of its making, we find in it three aspects. The first aspect is when the breath is still within his mouth before it enters the hollow tube. It is then only called breath (נ ְ שׁ ִ י מ ָ ה). The second aspect is when the vapor enters and comes into the tube and is drawn like a line; then it is called spirit (רוּחַ ). The third and lowest aspect is when the spirit exits the tube into the glass and spreads within it until it becomes a vessel according to the will of the glassmaker; then he completes his spirit, and it is then called soul (נ ֶ פ ֶ שׁ ), a term of cessation and rest (שׁ ְ בִ יתָ ה וּמְ נוּחָ ה).
In this analogy, we explore the concept of the three levels of Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama, which are metaphorically influenced by the breath of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The Nefesh is the lowest level, entirely within the human body. The Ruach flows from above, its upper part connected to the lower part of the Neshama, and it descends into the body, connecting with the upper part of the Nefesh. However, the Neshama itself is the breath whose inner essence is hidden and its source blessedly resides within the breath of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Its essence does not enter the human body at all. Adam HaRishon, before the sin, merited its essence, but due to the sin, it departed from him and only hovered above him. Only Moshe Rabbeinu merited having it within his body, which is why he is called Ish HaElokim, as it is known that all three worlds of Beriah (Creation), Yetzirah (Formation), and Asiyah (Action), from their Neshama perspective and above, are complete Divinity. No other person has merited it, only bright sparks of light shine from it upon the head of a person who merits it, each according to their level and measure. These are the wonderful words of the Nefesh HaChaim.
The Shem Mishmuel writes in the context of Rosh Hashanah: Rosh Hashanah is akin to the creation of the world, and the shofar of Rosh Hashanah is akin to what is written about Adam HaRishon: וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים. This is what is stated in Sifrei – namely, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the one who blows the shofar.
When we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, we return to the sixth day of Creation; to that moment when Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed a soul into Adam HaRishon. This is what took place on Rosh Hashanah, and in memory of this, the Shem Mishmuel says, we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah!
So far, we’ve covered our first yesod.
Every morning, we recite the piyyut Adon Olam, which begins with the words: אֲדוֹן עוֹלָם אֲשׁ ֶר מָלַךְ בְּטֶרֶם כָּל יְצִיר נִבְרָא – Master of the Universe Who reigned before any creature was created. Hakadosh Baruch Hu was King in this world even before Adam was created; and what happened after Adam was created? לְעֵת נַעֲשָׂה בְחֶפְצוֹ כּ ֹל אֲזַי מֶ לֶךְ שׁ ְ מוֹ נִקְ רָ א – At the time when all was made by His will, then was His Name proclaimed King.
What is the difference between the state before the creation of Adam HaRishon and the state after his creation? Before the creation of man, Hakadosh Baruch Hu was King in potential, k’viyachol. But after Adam was created, a new state emerged – the essence of a King was created, given there were now creations that call Him 'King'! After all, a king cannot be by coercion, as it is said: וּמַלְכוּתוֹ בְרָצוֹן קִבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם – His sovereignty they willingly accepted. The Vilna Gaon asks how it is that after saying כִּי לַה' הַמְּלוּכָה וּמֹשׁ ֵל בַּגּוֹיִם, we go on to say עַל כָּל הָאָֽרֶץ וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶֽלֶךְ. This implies that Hakadosh Baruch Hu will only be King after and not before, chas v’shalom. Is this possible? He explains that we – His people, Bnei Yisrael – accepted His kingship upon us, unlike the idolaters over whom He rules as He wishes and subdues them as He pleases, and for them, He is called ruler. כִּי לַה' הַמְּלוּכָה is over us, whereas וּמֹשׁ ֵל בַּגּוֹיִם refers to the other nations.
I want to bring a wonderful yesod, brought in the sefer Doleh u'Mashkeh, by the Rav Yaakov Horowitz, in the name of his rebbe, the Gaon Rav Yitzchak Hutner ztz”l. Rav Horowitz writes (Ma'amarei Elul and Rosh Hashanah) that the kingship of Hashem over His people must be by will; and what cannot be revealed in a manner of coercion and governance, is a result of something deep and fundamental, for which we need several introductions.
Kingship, unlike governance, is only applicable among similar beings. That is, a person can be a king over other human beings, a lion can be called king of the beasts, the eagle called king of the birds, and the ox called king of the cattle. However, it is not appropriate to define a person as king of the animals. He can control them, subdue them, and do with them as he wishes, but he is not their king.
In contrast, governance can also be over a different species, such as humans over animals, etc. The reason for this is that a king includes the particulars within himself, whereas a ruler does not necessarily have a connection to the traits of those he rules over. Consequently, one can say that an animal is called king in relation to another animal, as it shares traits with those other animals, but the relationship of a person to animals is governance, as he is not similar to them but is more important and superior to them.
That said, how do we crown Hakadosh Baruch Hu as King on Rosh Hashanah? What connection do we have with Him, after all, He is not of our species!
Rav Horowitz says, if you understand the essence of Rosh Hashanah, you will also understand what you have in common with the King. What happened on the sixth day of Creation, in the seventh hour? Adam HaRishon lay on the ground as a lifeless form, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu came and breathed a soul into him! He gave a unit of His own into the human, as it is said כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱ -לֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם – For in the image of G-d was mankind made. The entire unit that operates within the human body – what does it operate from?! From the same power that Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed into man – the soul!
If so, with what do we crown Hakadosh Baruch Hu? If you say with the body, the body is animalistic. Rather, we crown Him with the part that belongs to Him – the Neshama! The soul! And where does the Neshama come from? When you blow the shofar, the soul emerges! It does not belong to the body, nor to the vocal cords, nor to the stomach. The sound of the shofar comes directly from the Neshama and from there Melucha emerges, for a king can only rule over his own kind!
וְאִמְרוּ לְפָנַי בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה מַלְכִיּוֹת זִכְרוֹנוֹת וְשׁוֹפָרוֹת. מַלְכִיּוֹת – כְּדֵי שֶׁתַּמְלִיכוּנִי עֲלֵיכֶם, זִכְרוֹנוֹת – כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה זִכְרוֹנְיכֶם לְפָנַי לְטוֹבָה, וּבַמֶּה – בְּשׁוֹפָר.
Say before Me on Rosh Hashanah Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot; Malchuyot so that you will make Me king over you, Zichronot so that your remembrance will come before Me for good, and with what? With the shofar.
This is the reason Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells us to use a shofar – because the shofar comes directly from the Neshama. Otherwise, we have no connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, for we are not of His kind!
We can now return to what took place 5777 years ago. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer describes the scene (11:9): After Hakadosh Baruch Hu created Adam HaRishon, He breathed into him the spirit of His breath and cast a soul into him. Adam then stood on his feet and looked up and down, and his stature was from one end of the world to the other. He saw all the creatures that Hakadosh Baruch Hu had created and began to praise his Creator, saying: מָה רַבּוּ מַעֲשֶׂיךָ ה'. He stood on his feet and was adorned with the Divine Image. All the creatures saw him and became afraid of him, thinking that he was their Creator, and they came to bow before him. He said to them: “Why have you come to bow to me?! Let us go and adorn in majesty and might, and acclaim as King over us the One who created us, for the people crown the king, and the king does not crown himself if the people do not crown him. Adam went by himself and crowned Him first, and all the creatures followed him, and said: ה' מָלָךְ גֵּאוּת לָבֵשׁ and so forth.
According to the words of this Midrash, why didn't the lions, tigers, cats, etc., all come to crown Hakadosh Baruch Hu earlier? The answer is very simple. It is because they are not of His kind! Only when man was created and Hakadosh Baruch Hu breathed a soul into him, was it possible to crown Hakadosh Baruch Hu; as the soul is a part of G-d from above!
With this, let's now move on to Seder Zichronot – the order of Remembrances. "And say before Me on Rosh Hashanah Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot... and with what? With a shofar" What is the connection to the shofar?! Chazal say, the shofar is the secret of Techiat HaMeitim – the resurrection of the dead. Approximately 5777 years ago, in the seventh hour, Hakadosh Baruch Hu took a lifeless man and breathed a soul into him! If so, the breathing of the soul turned him from a dead man into a living man!
Chazal direct us: say Zichronot, so that your remembrance will rise for good – complete it, and then blow the shofar. Why with a shofar? Because even Akeidat Yitzchak is Techiat HaMeitim!
Chazal say (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, 31) that Yitzchak said to Avraham his father, "Father, bind me and tie my hands and feet so that I will not desecrate the Mitzvah to honor your father." Avraham bound Yitzchak's hands and feet and placed him on the altar; he arranged the fire and the wood, placed Yitzchak upon them, and put his foot on him as one does when slaughtering an animal to prevent it from kicking. He strengthened his arm and his knees upon him, stretched out his hand and took the knife. Like a Kohen Gadol offering his Korban and libation, Hakadosh Baruch Hu was watching the father binding and the son being bound with all his heart. The ministering angels cried and wept, "Master of the Universe, You are called merciful and gracious, and Your mercy is upon all Your works. Have mercy on Yitzchak, who is a human and the son of a human, and is bound before You like an animal. Man and beast You save, Hashem!" When the knife reached Yitzchak's neck, פּ ָ רְ ח ָ ה ו ְ י ָ צ ְ א ָ ה נ ַ פ ְ שׁ ו ֹ שׁ ֶ ל י ִ צ ְ ח ָ ק – his soul departed. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu's voice was heard from between the Keruvim saying, "אֶ ל־הַנַּעַר אַ ל־תִּ שׁ ְ לַח יָדְ ך– Do not stretch out your hand against the lad," his soul returned to his body, he was untied, and he stood on his feet. Yitzchak knew Techiat HaMeitim from the Torah; that all the dead are destined to be revived. At that moment, he said: אַ תּ ָ ה בָּ רוּךה' מְ חַ יֵּה הַ מּ ֵ תִ ים – Blessed are You, Hashem, who revives the dead.
If so, Akeidat Yitzchak was a situation akin to Techiat HaMeitim! "Say before Me on Rosh Hashanah the verses of Malchuyot, Zichronot, and Shofarot" – and what is the remembrance? Akeidat Yitzchak; therefore, when we finish saying this seder, Chazal instruct us to blow the shofar, because the shofar expresses the resurrection of the dead!
What do we then say in Seder Shofarot?
אַתָּה נִגְלֵיתָ בַּעֲנַן כְּבוֹדֶךָ עַל עַם קָדְשֶׁךָ לְדַבֵּר עִמָּם. מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם הִשְׁמַעְתָּם קוֹלֶךָ וְנִגְלֵיתָ עֲלֵיהֶם בְּעַרְפְלֵי טֹהַר. גַּם כָּל הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוֹ חָל מִפָּנֶיךָ וּבְרִיּוֹת בְּרֵאשִׁית חָרְדוּ מִמֶּךָּ וְדִבְּרוֹת קָדְשְׁךָ תּוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת. וַתַּשְׁמִיעֵם אֶת הוֹד קוֹלֶךָ לְלַמֵּד לְעַמְּךָ תּוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת. וַתַּשְׁמִיעֵם אֶת הוֹד קוֹלֶךָ מִלַּהֲבוֹת אֵשׁ . בְּקוֹלוֹת וּבְרָקִים עֲלֵיהֶם נִגְלֵיתָ וּבְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר עֲלֵיהֶם הוֹפָעְתָּ : כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶךָ , וַיְהִי בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בִּהְיוֹת הַבֹּקֶר וַיְהִי קֹלֹת וּבְרָקִים וְעָנָן כָּבֵד עַל הָהָר וְקֹל שׁוֹפָר חָזָק מְאֹד וַיֶּחֱרַד כָּל הָעָם אֲשֶׁר בַּמַּחֲנֶה:
You were revealed in Your cloud of glory to Your holy people to speak to them. From the heavens, You let them hear Your voice, and revealed Yourself to them in pure clouds. So too, the entire world quivered before You, and the works of creation trembled before You, when You, our King revealed Yourself upon Mount Sinai to teach Your people Torah and Mitzvot. You let them hear the majestic splendor of Your voice, and Your holy words from flames of fire; amidst thunder and lightning You revealed Yourself to them, and with the sound of a shofar, You appeared to them, as it is written in Your Torah: “And it was on the third day, as morning dawned there was thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud over the mountain, and the sound of a shofar was exceedingly loud; and all the people in the camp trembled.”
What happened at Ma’amad Har Sinai – the revelation at Sinai? The Midrash (Shemot Rabbah, 29:4) says Bnei Yisrael asked two things from Hakadosh Baruch Hu – to see His glory and to hear His voice; but they did not have the strength to withstand them, for when they came to Sinai and He revealed Himself to them, their souls departed as He spoke with them. But the Torah requested mercy for them from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, “Is there a king who marries off his daughter and kills his household? The whole world is rejoicing, and Your children are dying!” Immediately, their souls returned, as it says: תּוֹרַת ה' תְּמִימָה מְשִׁיבַת נָפֶשׁ – The Torah of Hashem is perfect, restoring the soul.
It turns out that even at Matan Torah, the Neshama departed and returned! Given that, we can now understand a wonderful yesod. B’ezrat Hashem, we will conclude Seder Shofarot with:
כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ קוֹל שׁוֹפָר וּמַאֲזִין תְּרוּעָה וְאֵין דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ – For You hear the sound of shofar and listen to the teruah; and there is none like You. What does וְאֵין דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ mean? Does no one hear the sound of the shofar except Hakadosh Baruch Hu?! Surely, anyone in the remote vicinity of the shofar will hear it!
I once saw one of the commentators say, Rosh Hashanah is the birthday of the world. Every king, on the birthday of his kingdom, loves to have songs sung to him while he’s seated on a large stage. Before him sit all the members of parliament, and all the military leaders pass by him and salute. In the skies, planes fly in a great aerial display. They sing him songs of praise, they speak words of admiration.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu says: "Rosh Hashanah is the birthday. My ask on this birthday is that it shall be a day of teruah for you!" Chazal ask: what is teruah – is it a sob (יְבָבָהֹ ) or is it a wail (יְלָלָה)? Either way, it is a consistent cry! Is this really the desire of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, on His coronation day?!
What does Hakadosh Baruch Hu want – that we ask for life, that we ask for sustenance, that we ask for health, that we ask for children, etc. And why? Because if we ask, it is a sign that He is the King! A flesh-and-blood king on his coronation day does not want people to cry to him – he wants honor! But not so the King of Kings, Hakadosh Baruch Hu – who demands from us the cries on this day!
This is a simple explanation I saw, but the matter runs even deeper. "For You hear the sound of the shofar and listen to the teruah, and there is none like You" – in what other place do we say the words וְאֵין דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ? We say it three times a day, in the Amidah:
מִי כָמוֹךָ בַּעַל גְּבוּרוֹת וּמִי דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ, מֶלֶךְ מֵמִית וּמְחַיֶּה וּמַצְמִיחַ יְשׁוּעָה.
Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds, and who is comparable to You, King who causes death and restores life and makes salvation sprout.
וּמִי דּוֹמֶה לָּךְ – And who is comparable to You. Everyone can kill, but no one can revive! Techiat HaMeitim – the resurrection of the dead, can only be done by Hakadosh Baruch Hu!
Rav came and established for us to say: כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵעַ קוֹל שׁוֹפָר. What is the meaning of “the sound of the shofar”? The sound of the shofar is akin to Techiat HaMeitim – that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the one who blows the shofar – for whoever blows, blows from his own!
We have now merited, Besiyata Dishmaya, to understand what the shofar is. The first yesod – the yesod of kingship, returns us to וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים. The second yesod – Akeidat Yitzchak, brings Yitzchak back to life. And the third yesod – Torah from the heavens, brings all of Klal Israel back to life, through the blowing of the shofar.
The Navi Yeshayahu says:
כָּל יֹשְׁבֵי תֵבֵל וְשֹׁכְנֵי אָרֶץ כִּנְשֹׂא נֵס הָרִים תִּרְאוּ וְכִתְקֹעַ שׁוֹפָר תִּשְׁמָעוּ ... וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל וּבָאוּ הָאֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַה' בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם.
All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers of the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see, and when a shofar is blown, you will hear... And it shall be on that day, a great shofar will be blown, and those lost in the land of Assyria and those exiled in the land of Egypt will come and bow to Hashem on the holy mountain in Yerushalayim.
When will this be? At the time of Techiat HaMeitim. All the inhabitants of the world – these are the living, and the dwellers of the earth – these are the dead. The future resurrection of the dead will be through a shofar. How do we know? I found a wonderful Midrash, appearing in Otiot D'Rabbi Akiva (9) that speaks of how Hakadosh Baruch Hu will revive the dead in the world to come. It teaches that Hakadosh Baruch Hu takes a great shofar in His hand, which is a thousand cubits in His cubit measure, and blows into it – and its sound goes from one end of the world to the other. At the first blast, the whole world trembles. At the second blast, the earth splits. At the third blast, their bones gather. At the fourth blast, their limbs stretch. At the fifth blast, their skins form. At the sixth blast, spirits and souls return to their bodies. At the seventh blast, they live and stand on their feet in their garments.
The question arises – why specifically at the seventh hour do they live and stand? The answer is quite simple. It is because we return to the seventh hour on the sixth day of Creation, before the sin of Adam HaRishon! Techiat HaMeitim means returning to the beginning of the path before the sin, when the Yetzer Hara was not yet in man. It means returning to the starting point!
This is what we ask of Hakadosh Baruch Hu every day – "Ribbono Shel Olam, תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵנוּ – take the shofar in Your hands already and revive the dead of Yisrael!” And why does He blow specifically with a shofar to revive the dead? Because the secret of Techiat HaMeitim lies in the shofar! Hakadosh Baruch Hu Himself blows the shofar! Yechezkel, David, Avraham, and Victor can stand and blow the shofar – but the Sifrei tells us, it is not they who are truly blowing; it is Hakadosh Baruch Hu!
This is the end of our shiur and now I will proceed to give you a gem worth millions! I found words of the Zohar which are simply a wondrous wonder! I started dancing with joy in the car until the driver told me, "Stop dancing, you're ruining my chassis!" I understood that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the one who blows the shofar, and I understood that the shofar comes from the Neshama – but why specifically with a shofar? What is it about the shofar that expresses Techiat HaMeitim? Why is everything done specifically with it? The sefer Ze’ev Yitraf brings these words of the Zohar:
כִּי גָּדוֹל כֹּחוֹ שֶׁל שׁוֹפָר לְעוֹרֵר רַחֲמִים לְמַעְלָה וְלִסְתֹּם פִּי הַמַּשְׂטִין וְהַמְּקַטְרֵג, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁיּוֹצֵא מִמֶּנּוּ קוֹל אֲשֶׁר מְעֹרָבִים בּוֹ אֵשׁ רוּחַ וּמַיִם.
The power of the shofar is great to arouse mercy above and to silence the accuser and the prosecutor, because a voice comes out from it that is mixed with fire, wind, and water.
Ze'ev Yitraf explains – this means that when a person blows the shofar, he passes through its hollow a breath composed of the warmth of fire, the moisture of water, and the movement of wind. Specifically, through the fusion of these three elements – fire, wind, and water – the sound of the shofar emerges. Corresponding to this, the sound of the supernal shofar is likewise formed from fire, wind, and water, and through the joining of the two, mercy is aroused above. Yet since these matters are profoundly nistar (hidden), our grasp of them is only what can be understood from the words of the Maharal.
