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The Shofar Removes the Barriers between Us and God

 

The Shofar Removes the Barriers between Us and God

 

            “God, Lord of Hosts, how long will You smoke [with anger] at the prayers of Your nation?” (Psalms 80:5). When God is angered, “smoke rises from His nostrils” (Psalms 18:9) to form a barrier that bars the path of our prayers as they struggle upward (Alshich).

            Every morning before shofar blowing during Elul, visualize this smoke blocking your prayers, hovering over you, in the same way that smoke hovered over the burning ruins of Jerusalem and the Temple. Then, as you hear the shofar blast, imagine it blowing away all of the smoke and clearing the way for your prayers to soar.
            As you listen to the shofar, implore God, “Please allow the shofar blast and the feelings that it arouses in my heart to clear away all barriers between my prayers and You.”

By: Rabbi Simcha Weinberg, n''y

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