On this day, Ezekiel prophesied that Egypt would be destroyed, as punishment for failing to keep their repeated promises to assist the Israelites.
So says the L‑rd G‑d: Behold I am upon you, O Pharaoh, king of Egypt, the great serpent that crouches in the midst of its rivers, who said, “My river is mine, and I made myself.” I will put hooks in your jaws and will cause the fish of your rivers to cleave to your scales; and I will drag you out from your rivers….I will scatter you in the desert, you and all the fish of your rivers…to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the heaven I have given you to be devoured. (Ezekiel 29:3–5)
Links: Haftorah Reading for Va’eira; Va’eira Haftorah in a Nutshell; Action Is the Main Thing
The sound of the shofar
is not the cry of a human voice.
It is the howl of an animal’s horn.
It is a cry so primal, so raw,
that the mind ceases to ponder,
the heart suspends its throb.
With the fury of a beast pent up in its cage,
the naked essence of the soul bursts out,
howling, ripping through heaven’s curtains,
awakening the primal essence of all being.
The raw core of your soul below
touches the Primal Essence above,
and now their reunion may begin.