Kol Shofar
Rachel Posner
This year , there were many moments when we wanted to speak out , to respond to events unfolding half a world away - and simultaneously unfolding inside us , in our hearts . Sometimes we fell silent , overwhelmed by aching loss , by fear , by lethargy . We could not find the words .
When there are no words , there is shofar - the wordless cry of our people : “ I was whole , I became broken , I will be whole again .” A hundred times : Whole , broken , whole
As we prepare to sound the shofar , we pray : “ Min hametzar / From a narrow place , I called out to God , but God answered me from an open place ( Psalm 118 ).” This year we found ourselves in increasingly narrow places . We struggled to speak with others who think or feel differently from how we think and feel . We retreated , we fell silent . Instead of staying open , we shut down .
When there are no words , there is shofar - the cry of the other , our fellow human : “ I was whole , I became broken , I will be whole again .” A hundred times : Whole , broken , whole
This year , there were times we looked up to the horizon longingly , asking , “ Where will my help come from ?” We listened for God ’ voice . We heard stories of death , hunger , violence . We
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