I Spirituality THE SHOFAR'S BLAST True Sound As we approach the NewYear, we are proud to continue our mission of caring for older adults. Thank you for your support. Our best wishes for a happy and healthy NewYear, 5769. Seeing green in the shofar — and its call to action. Edmon J. Rodman Jewish Telegraphic Agency Los Angeles LuJ I ecazai Roden/Awl. Mc ida koiaaidufr- execatoe 2114ectolt Ate Alden" Baidoa gded. 4zatc.zyt *ceps and &aid o? ec Jewish Home S Aging Services 6710 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield on the Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus May the coming year be filled with health and happiness for all our family and friends. L'Shanah Tovah! May the coming year be filled with health and happiness for all our family and friends. L'Shanah Tovah! B8 September 25 * 2008 1433980 s green the theme of the shofar this Rosh Hashanah season? In a year of sustainability and carbon footprints, high gas and hybrids, the shofar is the simplest, most eco-friendly method of reach- ing the Jewish community with a vital message. The shofar, if you pause to think about it, is a rhapsody in green. Lightweight and easily transport- able, it sports no moving parts — the shofar blower or ba'al tekiah's own mouth becomes the mouthpiece. Yet it's dependable enough to deliver the complex musical message required to begin a new Jewish year. A totally natural product, its avail- ability is a byproduct of an already ongoing ancient enterprise — sheep herding. Powered by one human, and empowered by a congregation, the sho- far requires no batteries, power cord or transformer. When we hear it, we are the ones who become transformed. An instrument conceived thousands of years ago in, by today's standards, a near noise-free environment, the shofar still has the power to hold our attention. Yet sans headphones or ear buds, the shofar delivers a sound like no other, penetrating our kishkas and our consciousness. It's the great proclaimer, announcing in a low-energy way some high-energy concepts. In Israel, the shofar's call also was used to introduce the Torah concept of the jubilee year: Historically, on Yom Kippur, the shofar announced that the land was allowed to lay fallow while also proclaiming "liberty throughout the land" and the release of all servants. The jubilee in Hebrew,yovel, is derived from the Hebrew word for ram's horn — yobel. Yovel and the related concepts of shmitta, a Shabbat of rest and rejuvenation for the land every seven years, are land-use con- cepts practiced today through crop rotation and organic farming. Each year we are commanded to hear the sounds of the shofar — we cannot celebrate Rosh Hashanah with- out hearing them. But what is it that we are supposed to hear? The shofar, held high for us to hear and see that day, presents an under- heard and overlooked message: Jews, now and in the future, will always need to have a relationship with the natural world, with the world of animals and their environment. A relationship that will need to run far deeper than what "my daddy bought for two zuzzim," as the traditional Passover song "Chad Gadya" proclaims. When issues of treatment of live- stock to be used for kosher slaughter come to light, the sound of the shofar can remind us that the horn that announces the times of our lives comes from something that also was alive — an animal that must be sus- tained with compassion, with humane treatment, fed even before we feed ourselves. Shofars can only be fashioned from the horn of a ram, antelope, gazelle or goat. A world where the environ- ment is so polluted — where there is no clean water, no toxin-free feed, no land available — will be a world that will not hear the blast of the shofar. On that day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah, the day of the blast, will be our "silent spring." This year as you hear the blasts, wake to a green meaning in the tones: Tekiah, the long blast: the wake-up call. Understand it to announce the stewardship we have been given over the earth and the responsibilities thereof. Shevarim, three short blasts: a warn- ing that change is coming. The crack, crack, cracking of polar ice due to gobal warming. Teruah, nine quick notes like ticks of the clock: Reminding us that when it comes to the environment, the day is short and the task is great. This Rosh Hashanah, we can be the prophets of change, shaping in short bursts and long beautiful curves and spirals our actions and intentions to green and repair our world. ❑ Edmon J. Rodman is a writer and toy designer whose most recent creation is "Do-Re-Mi Musical Building Blocks."