The Shofar as a Wake-Up Call
The shofar is sounded on Rosh Hashana because it is an explicit commandment in the Torah. Nonetheless, it seems to convey a hidden message: "Wake up from your slumber!" it arouses us.
"Return to G-d and remember your Creator! To those who forget the truth and waste most of the year in frivolity and foolishness, look into your souls, improve your behavior, and correct your negative ways." (Maimonides)
For You remember everything that is forgotten...
A Chasidic sage once noted: G-d only remembers those things that man forgets. If a person has sinned and "remembers" it - i.e., is conscious of his misdeed and regrets his actions - G-d "forgets" about the transgression. But if a person sins and is not even bothered by his offense, G-d does not "forget" so easily...
...Who forgives transgressions by law
G-d is bound by His own statute, as it were, to forgive the Jewish people their sins. It is a law that cannot be abrogated. (Nahar Shalom)
Reprinted from the Rosh Hashanah 5761/2000 edition of L’Chaim.
