From the straits did I call upon G-d; G-d responded by giving me expansiveness (Tehillim 118:5; recited prior to the Shofar blowing)
There is a striking and cryptic comment recorded in the Magen Avraham, one of the most concise and precise halachic commentators. Found in Orach Chaim 585:11, it is all the more intriguing given that the Magen Avraham was known to write in the briefest possible terms. Sometimes, in fact, due to poverty, he even wrote his notes on the walls of his home rather than on paper.
And yet, in this instance, he records a story, something highly unusual for a work of halacha:
“One time, the ba’al toke’a (one who blows the Shofar) attempted to blow, but no sound emerged. He tried everything, but to no avail. Eventually, he turned the Shofar around, and spoke into the wide end the words: ‘Vihi Noam Hashem Elokeinu Aleinu—And may the pleasantness of Hashem our G-d be upon us’ (Tehillim 90:17), and then he turned it back around, and it blew.”
That’s it. That’s the comment.
This small anecdote raises a host of questions:
- Why is the Magen Avraham including a story at all? His work is a halachic commentary, not a collection of tales.
- Secondly, why include a comment about something so esoteric and seemingly supernatural when his work focuses on that which is practical?
- Thirdly, the problem in the story lies with the mouthpiece; the narrow end of the shofar. Why, then, would they speak into the wide end?
- And most mysterious of all: why those specific words—“Vihi Noam Hashem Elokeinu Aleinu”? What do they have to do with Tekias Shofar?
To answer this, we must first recognize a foundational truth of life. Without Siyata Di’shmaya, without Divine assistance, we can...
