The Shofar We Are: Wake Up to Something - Rabbi Bernath's Sermon for Rosh Hashana Day 1 5787

This Rosh Hashanah begins with a strange silence: the first day falls on Shabbat, and there is no shofar. But perhaps this year, we do not need a horn to wake us up. The Jewish people are already awake, shaken by antisemitism, fear, and an intensified awareness of what it means to be Jewish.

The deeper question is no longer “Are we awake?” but “What are we awake to?” Antisemitism may remind us that we are Jews, but it cannot be allowed to define what Judaism means. We cannot let those who hate us become our rabbis, write our curriculum, or turn Jewish identity into a story only about fear and survival. Rosh Hashanah calls us to take back the pen and build a Judaism rooted not merely in defiance, but in love, Torah, mitzvos, family, joy, and connection to Hashem.

The shofar is more than an alarm clock. It is the wordless cry of the deepest soul, the prince who has wandered far from the palace, forgotten the language, and yet still remembers Home. This year, perhaps we are the shofar: a Jewish people crying out, searching, remembering, and returning.

The sermon offers three invitations: stop apologizing for being Jewish, learn what you are proud of, and teach the next generation that “S’iz gut tzu zein a Yid” - it is good to be a Jew. Ultimately, Jewish pride is not simply refusing to hide. It is discovering something about Judaism beautiful enough that we want to live it.

Key Points
-This year we are already awake. The world has shaken the Jewish soul awake, the question is what we will do with that awakening.
-Antisemitism cannot define Judaism. It may remind us that we are Jewish, but it does not get to tell us what being Jewish means.
-Take back the pen. Our Jewish story cannot be written only around persecution, fear, or survival. It must also be about what we live for.
-Jewish pride must become Jewish love. “I refuse to hide” is important, but deeper still is: “I love being Jewish.”
-The shofar is the cry of the soul. Beneath words, theology, wounds, and doubts is the etzem haneshamah, the part of us that still knows where Home is.
-Stop apologizing for being Jewish. Stand tall, not arrogantly, but without shame.
-Learn what you are proud of. You cannot deeply love a Judaism you have never taken the time to know.
-Our inheritance is more than trauma. We inherited Auschwitz, but we also inherited Sinai, Shabbat, Torah, family, faith, and light.
-Teach children that Judaism is good. Not merely “S’iz shver tzu zein a Yid” - it is hard to be a Jew, but “S’iz gut tzu zein a Yid” - it is good to be a Jew.
-We need to become the shofar. To live Jewishly with such clarity, joy, and conviction that the next generation can hear what Judaism sounds like through our lives.

Send us Fan Mail

The School for Sensitive Souls

Do you feel everything deeply? Absorb other people’s emotions? Overthink conversations long after they’re over? Struggle with boundaries, burnout, or feeling like you’re simply “too much”? .

Course begins October 15th.

Learn more and register here

Support the show

Got your own question for Rabbi Bernath? He can be reached at rabbi@jewishndg.com or http://www.theloverabbi.com

Single? You can make a profile on www.JMontreal.com and Rabbi Bernath will help you find that special someone.

Donate and support Rabbi Bernath’s work http://www.jewishndg.com/donate

Follow Rabbi Bernath’s YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/ybernath

Access Rabbi Bernath's Articles on Relationships https://medium.com/@loverabbi