The Sound of Heaven
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On Rosh Hashana, the shofar reminds us of a higher calling.
From my earliest childhood, I recall standing next to my mother in synagogue as the shofar was sounded. A feeling of awe and trepidation descended on the congregation as the call of the shofar reverberated throughout its walls. Time stood still, no one moved. And though I was young, I was struck by the sanctity of it all.
Overnight, our fate changed. Our synagogue became a wistful memory as the suffocating darkness of the Nazi concentration camp, Bergen Belsen, enveloped us. But even in that hell on earth, as Rosh Hashana of 1944 neared, we yearned to hear the ancient sound of the shofar and were prepared to make every sacrifice to see our dream fulfilled.
Through heroic efforts and at great risk and sacrifice, we managed to collect 200 cigarettes, which we bartered for a shofar.
Adjacent to our Hungarian compound was a Polish camp, and they somehow got wind of our treasure. When Rosh Hashana came and we sounded the shofar, our brethren in the Polish camp crept close to the barbed-wire fence separating us so that they too might hear its piercing cry. The Nazis came running and beat all of us mercilessly, but even as the truncheons fell on our heads, we cried out, “Blessed art Thou Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to listen to the sound of the shofar.”
Read Entire Story by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis on Aish Torah
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