A highlight of the Rosh Hashanah prayer service is the
sounding of the shofar. However, before the shofar is blown, the congregation
recites Psalm 47 seven times. The psalm begins with the verse:
For the conductor, by the sons of Korach,
a song (47:1).
The majority of the 150 psalms found in the Book of Psalms
were written by King David. Moses and King Solomon also authored some of them.
But who are these sons of Korach?
We read about Korach in the fourth book of the Torah, the
Book of Numbers (16:1-18:32). Because he was jealous of Moses and Aaron,
Korach instigated a rebellion against their leadership. The result was tragic.
Korach and those who followed him were swallowed up alive by the earth.
However, Korach's children refused to join in the rebellion
and so they were saved - and their descendants reached such a high spiritual
level that they were privileged to compose several magnificent psalms.
It is therefore perhaps no accident that we begin the Shofar
service by reciting one of these psalms written by the sons of Korach.
The piercing blasts of the shofar are meant to waken our
slumbering hearts and rouse us to thoughts of repentance. But what if we feel
that our situation is hopeless? What if we have rebelled against God's will so
often that we feel there is no point in even trying to return to Him?
By bringing the sons of Korach to mind before we hear the
shofar, we are reminded to never give up hope. Yesterday, perhaps, we were one
of Korach's band of rebels. We were jealous of others, we were dissatisfied
with our lot, we mocked and we tried to destroy.
But today, on Rosh Hashanah, we have thrown in our lot with
the "sons of Korach." We have pushed aside our thoughts of rebelling and now
we are ready to acknowledge the Kingship of God and trust in His management of
the world. Today we are ready to sing:
All the nations, join hands;
sound the shofar with a joyous cry.
Because God is supremely awesome,
a great King over all the earth (47:2-3).
Because we have chosen to acknowledge that God is our King, we
can sound the shofar with a joyous cry. Because we have chosen to acknowledge
that He is our Father, we are certain that He will remember that we are His
children and that we are dependent upon His mercy.
Chasiva v'chatima tova - May you be inscribed and sealed
for a good and sweet New Year.
