Potential For A Stupendous Year In 5787!

This year, the first day of Rosh Hashanah is on Shabbat, and we do not blow the shofar. The Rabbis forbade it because one Jew might carry a shofar in a place without an eiruv, in order to learn how to blow. Blowing for the mitzvah itself would be permitted. This just goes to show us the importance of everyone keeping Shabbat, that not even one Jew should come to chillul Shabbat.

The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (16b) brings Rav Yitzchak, who said: Any year that does not have the tekiot — shofar blowing — at the beginning, will have meririm — wailing — at the end of it, because of the suffering we will have that year. Why is that? Because we did not have the shofar blowing to confuse and prevent the Satan from prosecuting against us. This is another topic that needs its own article.

Tosafot brings the Sefer Halachot Gedolot, who explains that this does not apply to Shabbat, but rather when there is an ones — something beyond one’s control — that prevented the shofar blowing.

The Tur quotes this Gemara in Hilchot Rosh Hashanah (Orach Chaim 585). In the Shulchan Aruch, the Taz explains that it is like when a person has a really bad dream, and they worry, fast, and cry over it. That teshuvah changes it from a bad interpretation to a good one. So too, if there is an ones and no shofar, it is a sign that calamities are coming that year. But teshuvah can change that outcome.

That is why the Halachot Gedolot says that Shabbat Rosh Hashanah without the shofar is not included, as it is not considered an ones. If anything, the merit of Shabbat protects us.

So far, so good. Shabbat without the shofar is like any other Rosh Hashanah with the shofar.

However, now we will bring the explanation of R’ Yaakov Ettlinger, who lived in the 19th century and is known by the title of his sefer, the Aruch LaNer. He writes that they made a calculation and found that years when the first day of Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbat were either very challenging or amazing years for klal Yisrael. The years of Churban Bayit Rishon and Bayit Sheini fell out in years when Rosh Hashanah was on Shabbat. The year of the Meron and Surfside tragedies was also like that, as was the year of October 7/Simchat Torah.

On the other hand, the year that klal Yisrael built the Mishkan, which included forgiveness for the cheit ha’eigel, was when Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbat. So was the year that klal Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael. Amazing achievements for us!

So we see that it could go either way. It could be much worse or much better than a regular year.

However, what is the reason why Shabbat without the shofar is not considered to be an ones? And why did the merit of Shabbat not protect us in those years? It is impossible for us to know exactly, but the Aruch LaNer explained why with the following story.

A king’s high-ranking officer transgressed his royal decree. The king was furious. The officer would be tried for treason, with a potential death sentence! The officer desperately looked for a defender, but no one was willing to help him. Too risky.

His wife suggested that she was good friends with the queen, and she would come with him during the hearing to try to speak with the queen. Maybe that would help. They went to the hearing, and she spoke with the queen. The queen spoke to the king, and he had mercy on the officer, pardoning him completely!

The same story happened with another officer. Together with his wife, they planned the same strategy. When they arrived in the court, the king saw that the wife’s face was all bandaged, and she looked bruised. The king asked why, and someone said that the husband was very difficult and would beat his wife. The king roared, “He abuses and beats his wife?! That is the worst disloyalty! Off with his head!”

Shabbat is our wife, our partner, who defends us. If we are careful with our shemirat Shabbat, then we are assured of its protection, as mentioned by the Halachot Gedolot. If not, and Shabbat is all beaten and bruised, then we lose our defender. And without the shofar, the Satan’s prosecution is very powerful.

The year of the October 7/Simchat Torah attack began with the first day of Rosh Hashanah 5784/2023 on Shabbat. It was a very difficult beginning, with the major Yom Kippur protest and desecration in Tel Aviv, following an entire year of leftist anti-government and anti-religious protests.

But then, as the year progressed, there was a major turnaround, with most of the hostages returned, and great victories against our enemies! Hezbollah — beepers…

I would like to suggest that a year that began without the shofar indeed ended with sirens. The second Iranian attack was on October 1, just before Rosh Hashanah of 5785/2024. In the days prior, the Home Front banned all large gatherings. Major soccer games were canceled. Everyone was wondering why, and what would all the yeshivot and Chassidim do on Rosh Hashanah.

Then, the night before Rosh Hashanah, the sirens began wailing at 7:15 p.m., and then went on for another half hour. Iran fired 180 ballistic missiles at us! Baruch Hashem, there was minimal damage, with only one victim in Yericho. Amazing miracles!

I believe that we indeed had wailing at the end of a year that began without the shofar. But what brought about that change from destruction to salvation?

The year 5784, which began with terrible fighting between Jews, preceded the horrible attack on Simchat Torah. But afterwards, there was a surge of achdut, as all of klal Yisrael unified. All disputes were shelved — not resolved, but put aside and overlooked — as everyone worked together, each in their own way, toward the survival of klal Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael. As well, there was a tremendous surge of strengthening in avodat Hashem, a major teshuvah movement. I have heard from Rabbanim and kiruv workers that business is still booming, especially among younger Israelis.

Unfortunately, the achdut factor has become extremely weakened. As people got used to the new reality, they began to return to the old path of machloket and sinat chinam. Consisting of a small but powerful and vocal minority, the anti-government protesters latched onto the desperate hostage families, which spread to include the troubles of the reservists, which turned into all-out attacks on the Chareidim, enacting decrees that the Supreme Court ruled could not be done against terrorists and their families. Terrible machloket and hate.

But even if that is challenged, the teshuvah movement has not stopped. The overflow crowds for selichot by the Kotel every night show it. The shemirat Shabbat among Jews has increased, together with Torah learning and mitzvot. We are far from being perfect, but the merit of Shabbat is definitely there, perhaps stronger than it has been!

This should be great encouragement for us! And perhaps our achdut is not really as bad as we think, but we need to work on it, and we can succeed, even with our differences.

May we merit to greet Mashiach in 5786. But if he does not come before the year’s end, may the merit of shemirat Shabbat, together with teshuvah, tefillah, and tzedakah, enable us to be written and sealed for a truly incredible year in 5787, with the coming of Mashiach very soon!

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R’ Dovi Chaitovsky and his family have the zechut to live in Eretz Yisrael, where he dedicates himself to learning and teaching Torah. His divrei Torah often draw from the shiurim of R’ Yisrael Altusky shlit”a of Yeshiva Torah Ore, available on www.KolHalashon.com. In his column, Connecting The Dots: Torah Thoughts For Modern Times, R’ Dovi offers thoughtful insights that bridge timeless Torah wisdom with the challenges of contemporary life, using stories, parables, Torah sources, and reflections on current events to highlight practical lessons from Jewish tradition and encourage readers to apply them in their daily lives.