At the giving of the Torah “the sound of the shofar was very loud… it went and became very loud” [1]. But the shofar was already loud! Besides which, the shofar was initially loud enough that the entire encampment heard; but then it “went” – why did it need to ‘go’ anywhere, and where exactly did it ‘go’?
Hillel Blankowski worked in the Jewish cemetery of the Ghetto in Lodz.
He related how they defied the Germans restrictions, and in particular the restrictions that the accursed Germans placed upon prayer.
Knowing that Rosh Hashana was a time of special prayers, the Germans stepped up their efforts in hunting down prayer groups. But even this did not stop the determined inmates from blowing the shofar; a shofar blowing that they would not forget in a hurry! They wrapped the blower of the shofar in a heavy blanket to ensure that it sounds would not be heard from outside, and they hung upon the blanket to absorb the holy sound.
The shofar is the ‘voice’ of the giving of the Torah. Wherever we uphold the Torah, the voice of the shofar is with us.
Sometimes, such as in our generation – for one reason or another – the voice of the Torah is not as loud as it has been. But the shofar “went and became very loud”?! Even in our times, or more accurately especially in our times, the voice of the Torah is louder than ever. It has to be in order to be heard, albeit muffled, through the heavy blanket of our physical world. But a person who, ‘hangs on’ and listens, will surely merit absorbing the very loud voice of the Torah.
Literally the voice of the shofar was not “loud” but rather “strong”. After making our efforts to listen to the voice of the Torah, we will be blessed with a special spiritual strength to continue [2], which will ‘go’ with us, becoming ‘louder’ and ‘louder’ wherever we go.
Have a very loud Shabbos,
Dan.
Additional sources:
Preserved Evidence Ghetto Lodz, vol. 1 p. 294-6
[1] Shemos 19:16, 19
[2] Makkos 10b; Yuma 38b; Medrash Rabba, Shir haShirim 5
