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During my days at Yeshiva University in the month of Elul, Rav Tzvi Sobolofsky discussed two of the "mitzvah items" we use in the month of Tishrei: the shofar and the daled minim, noting a fascinating discrepancy between them.
There are a whole slew of laws that describe what makes a lulav or etrog kosher. They are complex and plentiful: acceptable lengths, physical blemishes, color, appearances, specific sub-species that are okay or not okay, dryness levels that invalidate them, the way the lulav came to your possession, what happens if the top or bottom are lopped off, etc.
But when it comes to the shofar, there are very few: a shofar can be from almost any kosher animal and provided the sound that is emitted from the shofar remains intact, the shofar is essentially kosher no matter the size, shape, color, etc. The halachot surrounding the shofar seem to point to the essence of the shofar - its voice. For the shofar, nothing about it is physical, but for the lulav, everything is physical. Even the brachot we make suggest this: contrast the shofar's blessing of "lishmoah kol shofar" with "al netilat lulav."
What are we highlighting here? Sukkot is a holiday based around physicality. It celebrates the harvest. Thus, the symbols of the chag are physical as well. And the elements of ourselves that are gashmi are critical. They play a special role in the world and in who we are.
But on Rosh Hashanah, there is (almost) nothing physical about the shofar and what makes it kosher. It is all intangible - you can't touch the sound of the shofar in any real way. This holiday, and its artifact, are ruchni in nature. This Shabbat and Sunday, we approach Hashem with our ruchniyut in focus.
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