By Rabbi Micah Greenland
International Director NCSY
Dear NCSY Family,
This year, Rosh Hashanah begins on Shabbos, which means that for the entire first day of Rosh Hashanah, we will not hear the sound of the shofar.
The shofar plays such a prominent role in Rosh Hashanah that the Torah twice refers to the holiday as “Yom Teruah,” a day of sounding the shofar. And yet, our sages decreed millennia ago that when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, we do not blow the shofar.
There is even a striking passage in the Gemara that says a year in which the shofar is not sounded at the beginning of the year will ultimately prove to be a difficult one. Tosafos clarifies that this does not refer to a year like ours, when we don’t blow the shofar because Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos.
Still, it feels like something central is missing.
Perhaps our task in a year like this is to listen for a different shofar: the “inner shofar” within every Jew.
There is something within the soul of every Jew that yearns for a closer connection to Hashem. Sometimes we recognize that yearning clearly. Other times, we may not even realize it is there. But it is always waiting to be awakened.
At NCSY, we work tirelessly to awaken those souls.
Across our many cities and regions, our programs often look different, because the teens and communities we serve are different. But our staff and advisors share two things in common:
First, they are tuned into their own inner shofar. They are constantly striving to grow, to deepen their own relationships with Hashem, and through that growth, to inspire those around them. None of us are a finished product; we must be perpetually growing. We expect our staff to model that constantly, and in turn, they proudly live up to that standard.
Second, they work to awaken that inner voice within every Jewish teen. Not by telling teens what their Jewish journey must look like, but by building the relationships and creating the experiences that allow them to discover how deeply Judaism can belong to them.
This Rosh Hashanah, before we hear the shofar on the second day, we have an opportunity to listen more closely for that voice within ourselves and within those around us.
May we merit to awaken the inner shofar both within ourselves and within every Jew, and may the year ahead be one of growth, connection, blessing, and peace for our people.
Wishing you and your family a כתיבה וחתימה טובה and a sweet new year.
