Lamnatzeiach

In this powerful chapter of Psalms, the name of God, Elokim, appears seven times. Elokim is the screen that shields the receiver from the infinite overwhelming light of God, expressed in the essential four-letter name, the Tetragrammaton, which is spelled in Hebrew yud-hei-vav-hei, and which we are forbidden to pronounce. This essential name of God represents the infinite, while Elokim represents the finite, the Divine energy that is clothed within restrictions of time and space. When we recite this name the seven times, we pierce the seven heavens and overcome the seven levels of veils, and from our narrow, constricted, finite place—reflected in the narrow mouthpiece of the shofar—we extend into a wide, vast place of the Infinite light.

Koli Shima

Taking the first letters of these verses, we spell out kra Satan (rip apart Satan).

Satan is nothing more than a concealment of the Divine. It is the power of kelipa, which translates in our own life as uncertainties, doubts, and the inability to see our Divine purpose. In its grasp, we perceive life as random, giving rise to even greater confusion and covering over the Divine life force within us. But when we rip apart the kelipa, we realize what it is a shell. The kelipa is a mirage—when we peel it away, there is nothing there.

The sound of the shofar blasts open a cosmic opening in the restricted place of kelipa, allowing Divine energy to flow into this world and into our lives.

Min Ha’metzar

“From the depths I call out to you, and You answer me with expansiveness.” This is the theme of the shofar—a simple cry from the deepest parts of our soul, penetrating all worlds and inspiring a renewed and expanded desire for God to create and assume kingship.