Rosh Hashanah
Two meshalim, the Baal Shem Tov's homesick son and the Berditchever's rescued king, frame the shofar as a wordless plea from the depths of the heart.
Part of Rosh Hashanah
Presents two classic meshalim on the meaning of the shofar. In the first, a king's only son, having forgotten his father's language after years away, is recognized and welcomed home by his cry alone. In the second, a king reunites with the man who once saved his life by reenacting the moment they met, paralleling how the shofar recalls Matan Torah and awakens Hashem's rachmanus for the Yidden who accepted the Torah with naaseh before nishma.
Audio Transcript
A vort from the Rebbe concerning Rosh Hashanah. The Rebbe brings in a sichah the two meshalim concerning blowing shofar: the first one from the Baal Shem Tov, and the second one from Rabbi' Levi Yitzchak Barditchever. First mashal is like this: A king that had a only son, a 讘谉 讬讞讬讚, and his father gave him a lot of money to go to a far place to learn more, and to become smarter, and to reach a higher level, better than he would have been in his father's house. He was there for a long, long time, and he used up all his money that he took, and he got so used to the place, he even forgot the language of the father's country. But then he decided once that he has to go back, it's not and he can't, he has to go back to his father. But when he came there, and he wanted to go in, he couldn't tell the people, the guards who he is. He tried to motion them, they didn't understand. So he stood outside of the palace, and he was screaming out loud, \"Tatty, Tatty!\" And the father, sitting in his palace, heard the voice, and he said that that sounds like the voice of my son. So he went down and he took his son back, and he kissed him and hugged him, etc., etc. And the nimshal to this mashal is, the Yidden are called children, the Yidden are like a 讘谉 讬讞讬讚, a single, only son of Hashem. And the Eibershter sends down the neshamah to this world in order to reach higher 诪讚专讙讜转. But being in this world with all the physical things and all the 转讗讜讜转 of 讙砖诪讬讜转, it could happen that the neshamah down here, being dressed in a body of a person, of a Yid, could forget about his father, connect can can forget about the connection that he has, forget the language, so to speak. So, he gets in tzitter, and he wants to come back. So what does he do? He screams out, just like in the mashal, he screams out, didn't say even any words, maybe said the word \"Abba\", but that's it. But just screaming from the depth of his heart, his father took him back, so too the Eibershter takes us back through shofar, because shofar is the way we connect, communicate with the Eibershter without words, just it's called a 拽讜诇 驻谞讬诪讬, it's a 拽讜诇, a voice from the depth of the heart. And then the Eibershter sees that, He has rachmanus on us and takes us back. Just like in the mashal, that the father, the king has rachmanus on his son when he sees this 诪爪讘, and he takes him back, and he hugs him and kisses him and brings him back, the same thing with Yidden through shofar.
The second mashal is from the Barditchever, who said a king that was traveling once, and he got lost in the forest, and he couldn't find the way home. He saw a smart man who knew the ways, and he realized, that smart man realized this is the king. So right away he helped him and he showed him the way, and he took him back, etc., etc. And the king loved this person because he helped him, he basically saved his life. But after a while, the king did something wrong, and the king got the person did something wrong, and the king got very angry at him. And he told the court to judge him. And the person knew that if they would judge him the normal way, he would lose the case, chas veshalom, his life would be in danger. So he came to the king, and he begged the king, and he said, \"One thing, please do me a favor. What I would like to you to do: put on the clothes you wore when you were lost in the forest, I'll put on the clothes that I was wearing then, and I want to meet you that way before any judgment takes place.\" And when they both put on the clothes, the king reminded himself of the feeling he had at the time when he was lost in the forest, and this person saved his life, he had rachmanus on him, and he forgave him, and he pardoned him, that nothing bad should happen.
The same thing is 讘砖注转 诪转谉 转讜专讛, the Eibershter went around to all the nations to ask them to receive the Torah. No one wanted to receive the Torah. The 讬讬讚谉 were the only ones that accepted the 转讜专讛 讘砖诪讞讛 and with pleasure. They said 谞注砖讛 before 谞砖诪注, and we accept 注讜诇 诪诇讻讜转 砖诪讬诐 to accept the mitzvot. But now, unfortunately, we sinned, we did something against Him. We blow shofar, shofar was blown 讘砖注转 诪转谉 转讜专讛. It's as if we're going through the motions of what took place at Matan Torah. Just like in the mashal when the king puts on the clothes and the person puts on the clothes of that time, we blow the shofar to remind the Oybershter of Matan Torah. And when the Oybershter reminds Himself of Matan Torah, so that reminds Him that we were the ones that said 谞注砖讛 讜谞砖诪注. And the Oybershter has rachmanus on us, and forgives us for all the aveirot. So these are two meshalim concerning shofar, because we know shofar represents many, many things, it says in Rav Saadia Gaon, ten things. But the two main ones is the first one, the one that you return to the king, that means you do teshuvah, you return to the Oybershter, and the other one is that it reminds you of Matan Torah. And they both are the way the Baal Shem Tov and the Bardichever said, that the way it comes, it's connected to the fact that the shofar comes from the depth of the heart, and mimela the Oybershter listen to us, and hugs us and kissed us and kisses us and loves us, and gives us a ketivah vachatimah tovah for a shanah tovah umetukah.