מדרשי שופרות

1 "On the seventh month on the first of the month" (Leviticus 23:24): This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Psalms 119:89), "Forever, O Lord, does Your word stand in the Heavens." It was taught in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, "The world was created on the twenty-fifth of Elul." And that of Rav comes out like that which Rabbi Eliezer taught. As we recite with the shofar blows of Rav, "This day is the beginning of Your works, a memorial for the first day, 'For it is a statute for Israel, etc.' (Psalms 81:5); and about the provinces it is said, which for the sword and which for peace, which for hunger and which for satiation; and for the creatures - on it are they remembered, to remember them for life or for death." It comes out that you say on Rosh Hashanah (the first of Tishrei in the first year) in the first hour, [man's creation] rose in thought; in the second, [God] consulted with the angels; in the third, He gathered his dirt; in the fourth, He kneaded it; in the fifth, He weaved it; in the sixth, He made it a form; in the seventh, He blew breath into it; in the eighth, He placed him into the Garden [of Eden]; in the ninth, he was commanded [about the fruit]; in the tenth, he transgressed; in the eleventh, he was judged; in the twelfth, he was pardoned. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, "This is a sign for your children: In the same way that you stood in front of Me in judgement on this day and were pardoned, so too in the future will your children stand in front of Me in judgement on this day and be pardoned in front of Me." When? "On the seventh month on the first of the month"

6 Rabbi Berakhiah opened [his discourse]: "Blow the horn (shofar) on the new moon, [on the covered (moon) for our festival day]." (Psalms 81:4). And is it not that all the new moons only become months when they are covered; and all the months are only covered for our festival day; and is Nissan not a month that is covered and has a festival of its own? Rather which month has a new moon that is covered and has a festival, and its festival is on the day [of the new moon]? You only find this in the month of Tishrei. On this month, rejuvenate your deeds with the shofar; on this month, improve (shapru) your deeds. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "If you have improved your deeds, I will surely do like this shofar for you: Just like this shofar takes in [air] on this [side] and releases [it] on that [side], so too will I stand up from the throne of justice and sit on the throne of mercy and reverse the trait of justice for you into the trait of mercy." When? In the seventh month.

10 "And Avraham lifted his eyes and saw after it got stuck by its horns, behold a ram" (Genesis 22:13). [This] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Avraham our father, the ram separated from one grove and get entangled in another grove. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham, "So in the future will your children be stuck in iniquities and mired in troubles. But in the end, they will be redeemed by the horns of the ram. This is the [understanding of] that which is written (Zecahriah 9:14), "and the Lord, God, will blast with the shofar." Rabbi Huna beRabbi Yitschak said, "[This] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed Abraham the ram separated from one grove and get entangled in another grove. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Avraham, "So in the future will your children be stuck in the nations and entangled by troubles, and going from one empire to [another] - from Babylonia to Medea, from Medea to Greece, from Greece to Edom. But their end is to be redeemed by the horns of the ram. This is the [understanding of] that which is written (Zecahriah 9:14), 'And the Lord will manifest Himself to them, and His arrows shall flash like lightning; etc., will blast with the shofar.'" Rabbi Abba the son of Rav Papei and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sakhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi, "All of the days of the year, Israel is involved in their work; but on Rosh Hashanah they take their shofars and blast in front of the Holy One, blessed be He; and He stands up from His Throne of judgement and [moves] to the Throne of mercy and is filled up with mercy upon them." When? In the seventh month.

3. Rabbi Yehuda son of Rabbi Nachman opened and said, "God ascends in acclamation (lit. in truah), The Lord in the call of the shofar" (Psalms 47:6). In the moment when the Holy Blessing One sits on the Throne of Judgement, God ascends with judgement. What happens? God ascends with acclimation, at the time when Israel takes their shofarot and sounds them before the Holy Blessing One, God stands up from the Throne of Judgement and sits on the Throne of Mercy, as it says, "Adonai in the call of the shofar," And they are filled with mercy and God has mercy on them, and switches their treatment from the attribute of judgement to the attribute of mercy. When? In the seventh month...