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Shavua Tov chevra,
On to the third perek of Rosh HaShana!
Please make plans to join us for our siyyum of Rosh Hashana, on Wednesday evening, August 30th at 7:30 in the Beit Midrash! Rachel Grose, Zev Wainberg, Etan and Maccabee Cohen, and Sari Abrams will each teach a Mishna in honor of the occasion!
The third perek discusses numerous aspects of the Mitzvah of shofar on Rosh HaShana. Several central ideas emerge:
(1) It is an unchallenged assumption that there is a mitzvah to blow shofar on Rosh HaShana, despite the fact that the Torah makes no explicit mention of of it, rather simply identifying the day as "a day of Teruah" (literally, "a day of noisemaking"). Mishnayot 4 and 5 reveal the interpretative thinking that established Rosh HaShana as a day of blowing shofar in particular. Mishna 4 works off the the assumption that when the Torah explicitly identifies Rosh HaShana as a "day of teruah" it must be indicating something distinctive for Rosh HaShana beyond the "standard" Yom Tov blowing of trumpets, and Mishna 5 reveals the assumption that Rosh HaShana is conceptually analogous to the proclamation of the Jubilee year, which is explicitly described as being done via the blowing of a Shofar.
(2) Some of the Sages use technical scriptural derivations to figure out exactly what sort of horn the shofar of Rosh HaShana should be. Other Sages infer this detail from the day's religious meaning (i.e. a day of remembrance / judgement), and therefore assume that the Shofar needs to be a horn whose shape evokes (a) human contrition, (b) the Akayda, and (c) specifically NOT the golden calf (!) Mishnayot 2, 3, and 5 each touch upon this (see your favorite commentary).
(3) The Mitzvah of hearing the Shofar requires kavvanah on the part of the hearer( Mishnayot 7 and 8). Enormous amounts of Talmudic and halachik ink have been spilled over exactly what sort of kavannah is required. When the dust settles, the halachik discussion actually favors a low bar ("intention to fulfill a Mitzvah") in terms of the kavannah minimum requirement, while at the same time urging and encouraging higher and deeper thoughts and intentions. This reflects an aspirational, yet maximally inclusive religious legal philosophy on the part of our Sages.
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