Hearing the shofar is a requirement of Rosh Hashanah; I'm one of the shofar blowers at my synagogue. Usually I spend a lot of time leading up to the holiday studying the laws and meanings. I plan to think about one thing or another but when I'm actually blowing it all falls out of my head. This year I didn't have anything planned. Then the rabbi talked about it as a siren, what her friends in Jerusalem were hearing as a warning to get to their safe houses. A wake-up call to all of us to examine our lives. And I was filled with rage and defiance. Antisemites: hear this! God: hear this! Many years I feel like I'm carrying the congregation's prayers to heaven. This year I was punching my way through the trouble, hate, disregard.
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