The essence of Rosh Hashana is encapsulated in the phrase "Yom teruah ye'hi'ye lochem - a day of blowing of the shofar it will be for you." Chazal had a tradition that the word teruah refers to a broken sound similar to a cry. It is this tradition that is the source for the three different sounds of the shofar, the shevraim, the teruah, and the shevraim-teruah, which correspond to different types of crying. What is it about a cry that becomes the central feature of Rosh Hashana?
Tears are a reflection of a person's innermost feelings. Similarly, a proper fulfillment of the mitzvah of tekias shofar emanates from the inside of one's soul. Mitzvos that are performed with different parts of the body express our desire to serve Hashem with those external parts. We dedicate our hands to Hashem by wearing tefillin and our mouths by reciting berachos, and yet the mitzvah of tekias shofar is different. We blow the shofar with our breath, symbolically drawing upon our innermost soul to perform this miztvah. The word for breath, "neshÂima", is related to the word for soul, "neshama". When we blow the shofar, we are dedicating the very essence of our souls to the service of Hashem.
It is this dimension of tekias shofar which represents our peni'mi'us - our internal self, rather than our chitzonius - our external appearance, that explains a certain phenomenon we find about the shofar. There are three major historical events associated with the shofar. First, akeidas Yitzchak culminated with a ram being brought as a korban instead of Yitzchak, and thus we prefer to use specifically a ram's horn for our mitzvah of tekias shofar, harkening back to that ram. Additionally, the beracha of zichronos concludes with a plea to Hashem to remember akeidas Yitzchak. The second time a shofar plays a prominent role is during matan Torah, and we refer to the shofar of Har Sinai throughout the beracha of shofros. Finally, the shofar associated with the future redemption is the culmination of the special berachos inserted into the musaf of Rosh Hashana. Besides a shofar, there is another unifying theme between these three events, and that is the prominent role of a donkey. Avraham and Yitzcahk ride on a donkey on the way to the akediah, Yetzias Mitzrayim, which began the process that culminates with matan Torah, begins with Moseh returning to Mitzrayim on a donkey to lead the Jewish People to freedom, and the era of redemption will begin with moshiach riding on a donkey. Why do the donkey and the shofar go hand in hand throughout our history?
A donkey is unique in that although it is a non-kosher animal, a first born donkey has sanctity and must be redeemed. Externally, a donkey seems very far removed from holiness, yet a donkey has an internal sanctity. A donkey and a shofar both symbolize our deepest innermost desires for holiness even if our external appearances and actions are not living up to that yearning.
As we approach Rosh Hashana, let us turn inward and draw inspiration from the shofar of the akeidah, Har Sinai, and Moshe. As we cry out our innermost feelings to Hashem on Rosh Hashana, let us focus on those feelings being desires for a life of kedusha. May we reconnect to the shofar of the akeidah, the sounds of Har Sinai and thereby merit to hear the sound of the shofar of moshiach in our days.