“the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder…” (Exodus 19:19)
Now the new year is born
beginning with the wail of shofar
like life begins with the baby’s first cry.
How many deserts to cross,
peaks to climb,
as we grow
hiking through the harsh wilderness toward Sinai,
always attempting
to rise up
following pillars of radiant clouds,
and mountains painted purple with sunset.
Straining our ears
to hear, to apprehend
the shofar when it blows,
in the middle of our ascent,
not as a wail
but as a blast of revelation
full of thunderous wonder
and praise
that we have been able
in such a short time
to come
so far.
