Rosh Hashanah Meanings & Meditations

1. It’s a holy convocation, it’s a way of gathering everyone together with a shofar.

2. It is a preparation for the Day of atonement.

3. It is a day to stand tall as we are evaluated by G-d.

4. It is a day of reflection as we complete the summer harvest.

(RH is ten days before Yom Kippur.)

5. Just as the shofar of the Jubilee year proclaims liberty, so does Rosh Hashanah liberate us.

6. It is a day to use the shofar, an instrument of war, to fend off the attack of the enemy within, the evil inclination.

7. It is a day to anoint the king.

8. It is a day to be aroused from complacency.

9. It is a day to praise G-d

10. It is a day when G-d remembered our ancestors.

11. It is a day of silent, unspoken prayer.

Shofar Meditations: What should we think about?

The coronation of G-d. Giving G-d priority.
Coming close to G-d, connecting.
Abraham’s total devotion.
Our deepest hopes, wishes, and prayers.
The voice of G-d at Sinai.
Our call to G-d to remember us positively and to recall the covenant
G-d’s call to us to recall the voice of Sinai
Our tears to G-d
Heaven’s tears regarding the human condition
The desire of our souls to surge out of their physical confines
A call to wake up and look at our wasteful lives and improve our ways (Maimonides)
A way of praising G-d
A harbinger of the Messiah
A heavenly call to repent now or forever hold your peace
A reminder of the words of the prophets to repent
A reminder of the Great Day of Judgment yet to come
A harbinger of the ingathering of the exiles
Our own personal prayer to G-d reflecting our personal needs