Ki Teitzei: Getting Out There
Dear Friend,
The NYC subway system had a problem. Riders were not paying attention to safety announcements. So when it installed a new systemwide PA system, it hit on a solution: Three distinctive tones precede every important announcement. This Pavlovian trick worked to help catch the people’s attention in time to hear the timely message.
The Hebrew month of Elul is here. It's a month of reflection, a performance review if you will. The High Holidays are mere weeks away. And to grab our attention, we have our own three-tone message: Each morning, the shofar is sounded in the synagogue. Our sages say the shofar call is designed to "wake us from our slumber." Will we be "awake" when we walk into the synagogue on September 4th? Will our hearts be primed to focus on the Rosh Hashanah message?
This year, with the High Holy Days arriving so unusually early, the need to be awakened from our summer-induced sleepiness is all the more urgent. If you have a shofar, blow it to get your soul stirring. Better yet, head to the synagogue for your spiritual awakening. Unplug your iPod, take off those headphones, and you will hear the shofar tones signalling the impending arrival of an important Message.
Moshe Rosenberg,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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