During August, I travelled to France, South Africa, Atlanta, Las Vegas and California. I travelled for a wedding, a bar mitzvah, and a seudas hoda’ah (an event to thank G-d for a miracle). All this, in the span of three weeks!
Believe it or not, although I had a fantastic time, the very best part of my travelling was arriving home at the end of those three weeks. I crossed over time zones, skipped over countries and accumulated more jet lag with each flight. And it was all worth it. I visited the Eiffel tower in Paris, fed elephants and held lions in Africa, visited the Coca-Cola factory in Atlanta and admired the majestic beauty of Palm Springs.
But, as anybody who has travelled knows, the sweetest part of any trip is arriving home at the end. Home sweet home. To be back in your own house, your own space, with your own belongings and food, feels incredible.
We are about to begin the month of Tishrei, a time when we all “come home” after a year of spiritual travel and wandering.
On Rosh Hashanah, we blow the shofar. Our Chassidic masters illustrate the role of the shofar with a parable:
A powerful king loved his son dearly, but as he was an only child, the king wanted to ensure his son didn’t become spoiled. So, he sent him off with a small sum of money and instructed him to travel and acquaint himself with the land and its people.
Well, the prince thoroughly enjoyed himself and didn’t return for quite some time. After years of living abroad as a commoner, he finally decided to return home. But when he arrived at the palace, nobody recognized him! In fact, the guards thought he was a crazy person and threw him out.
The prince was bitterly dejected. All he wanted was to return home, to his family and the royal palace he knew so well. He broke down, crying bitterly. When the king heard his weeping, he recognized his son’s voice. “It is my son,” he told the guards, “Let him come into the palace immediately!”
And so it is with us. During the year, many of us travel abroad. We may have strayed from our heritage and from what we know to be correct and true. We may have indulged in the material pleasures of this world, mistakenly thinking they will bring us lasting peace and harmony. But the cry of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is our expression of longing to return. It’s a cry from the depths of our souls; a cry that our dear Father in Heaven hears and recognizes as belonging to His wayward children.
This year, we’re celebrating Rosh Hashanah right after labor day, and right after vacation. The last time Rosh Hashanah was this early in the season was in 1899, and the next time will be in another 76 years! We’ve all just returned home sweet home from our summer vacation, let’s also make sure to return home sweet home spiritually, to our Father in Heaven.