Disorienting Tears: A Biblical Trio and the Shofar in 5784 (2024)

For months, I have been dreading Rosh Chodesh Elul. Up until now, each year, I eagerly awaited this day. As crisp fall air would gradually make its presence felt in the early mornings, Elul would be a time to cue up my special Playlist on Spotify, take out my Yamim Noraim sefarim and await the first sounds of the Shofar. Yet, this year, the thought of those first sounds fills me with angst. While the shofar’s first blasts have always brought me to tears, the tears of this Elul, Elul 5784, will be painfully and dramatically different. These will be tears of loss, of heaviness and of a world that seems stuck in sadness. . I was not sure I could be ready for this shofar moment until I thought of the lives of three Biblical figures, Noach, Daniel and Iyyov, and realized that if they could face catastrophe, so must we. The Torah mentions Noach three times in one pasuk (Bereshit 6:9) נח ו, ט: אֵ֚לֶּה תּֽוֹלְדֹ֣ת נֹ֔חַ נֹ֗חַ אִ֥ישׁ צַדִּ֛יק תָּמִ֥ים הָיָ֖ה בְּדֹֽרֹתָ֑יו אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ. These are the generations of Noach, Noach was a righteous man; he was perfect in his generations; Noach walked with God The Midrash asks: why? 

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