SINAI ECHOS THROUGH THE SHOFAR

The Blast of the Shofar, Rosh Hashanah, and the Hidden "DNA" of Jewish Trauma and Identity

Imagine a majestic Mount Sinai, radiant beneath dramatic thunderclouds pierced by lightning flashes. From its summit, concentric powerful sound waves ripple outward in glowing, ethereal waves, represented by the blast of the shofar. These sound waves pulse with intensity—visualizing the "very powerful blast" described in Exodus 19 that made the entire Israelite tremble.

As the Jewish community gathers each year on Rosh Hashanah, the blast of the shofar resounds—piercing, stirring, and awakening the soul. It is a sound steeped in millennia of tradition, symbolizing both a spiritual call to awaken to repentance and renewal, and a profound reminder of the covenant between God and the children of Israel at Sinai. Yet, beyond the spiritual and cultural, there may be a more profound, biological dimension to this call—a key to unlocking a deep ancestral memory embedded not only in the soul but also in the very spiritual DNA of the Jewish people.

Sinai Echos Through the Shofar: Spiritual and Biological Legacy

The experience at Mount Sinai, where God revealed Himself to the Israelites amid thunder, lightning, and the dramatic blast of the shofar, remains the foundational event of Jewish identity. According to biblical tradition, the shofar’s blast punctuated that revelation, shaking the people to their core and electrifying their covenantal relationship with the Divine.

Recent perspectives suggest the Sinai moment is not only a collective memory but could be locked into the genetic heritage of Israelites and their descendants. Researchers have found that Jewish populations, including priestly Cohanim lineages, carry genetic markers that trace back thousands of years, underscoring a physical continuity from that ancient people. 

Myself, being 99% Ashkenazi, my DNA makes me part of the Diaspora that left Israel. Genetic studies show that Ashkenazi Jews retain strong genetic links to the ancient Israelites, reflecting continuity from the biblical population while also carrying admixture from interacting with host populations in Europe. This heritage solidifies a biological and cultural connection to Israel as the ancestral homeland, even as your lineage represents a chapter in the long Diaspora journey.

The shofar’s sound, in this light, becomes more than ritual; it is a spiritual and symbolic key awakening a biological and ancestral memory—an echo within the spiritual DNA that connects modern Jews to Sinai’s covenant. Tradition reverberates in the blast—a “primordial scream” that reaches into the core of identity, awakening both soul and something encoded deeper still.

Trauma and DNA: The Holocaust as a Case Study

Beyond the memory of Sinai, modern science reveals another dimension of this genetic legacy—how profound trauma experienced by an entire people can leave marks on their descendants’ DNA. The trauma of the Holocaust, with its unprecedented brutality and horror, is an extraordinary modern example.

Groundbreaking research spearheaded by scientists like Dr. Rachel Yehuda has shown that Holocaust survivors and their children bear epigenetic changes—modifications in gene expression that do not alter the underlying DNA sequence but affect how genes function. Particularly, alterations in the FKBP5 gene, which regulates stress response, have been identified in survivors and their offspring, indicating inherited biological imprints of trauma.

This phenomenon means that PTSD and the immense suffering endured were not only psychological or cultural memories but became biological legacies passed from parents to children—engraving trauma into their very molecular makeup. The descendants of survivors often exhibit heightened vulnerability to stress disorders and anxiety, embodying a living genetic testament to this shared history.

The Shofar Blast: A Key that Unlock Memory

If the Sinai revelation is locked in the Israelite and handed down through the generations, it follows that the shofar blast—the very sound that marked the original covenant—acts as a spiritual “key” awakening not only cultural memory but also ancestral, biological memory. Similarly, the inherited trauma of the Holocaust, locked epigenetically in descendants’ DNA, finds a voice in communal rituals like the shofar’s call during Rosh Hashanah.

The shofar, then, represents a profound symbol and tool: it calls the Jewish people to awaken spiritually, to recall their covenant, and perhaps also to connect with the dense, often hidden biological layers of their identity shaped by both divine encounter and historical trauma.

Wider Implications for Jewish Identity and Other Ethnicities

This scientific and spiritual understanding of trauma’s inheritance reshapes what it means to be Jewish. Jewish identity is not merely cultural or religious; it also assimilates a biological dimension where ancestral experiences—particularly those of trauma and revelation—are in stored in someway in the descendants.

This concept extends beyond Jews to other ethnic groups who have faced profound historical trauma. Native American communities, African Americans, and others show similar biological and cultural transmissions of trauma across generations. Such shared ethnic experiences, locked in our biological memory, manifest as “historical trauma,” blending biology, culture, and memory into a collective identity.

The Shofar’s Timeless Call

As the shofar sounds this Rosh Hashanah, it evokes layers of meaning—calling the Jewish people to spiritual awakening, communal reflection, and renewed covenant. Yet beneath these well-known layers lies an awe-inspiring possibility: that the sound reverberates in a deeper ancestral code, stirring within the indelible marks of Sinai and the profound trials of history, taken with Jews into the Diaspora. 

For Jews living in Israel, the experience of the shofar’s sound is layered with immediacy and presence. It is not only a connection to a distant ancestral memory but also a living, breathing reality within their land. Jerusalem’s unique topography, with its hills, valleys, and ancient stone architecture, creates a natural amplifier and echo chamber for the shofar’s blast. This echoing sound has the effect of filling the air with a tangible sense of awe, evoking memories of the Sinai revelation, the ancient Temple, and the enduring covenant between God and the Jewish people. Many describe hearing the shofar in Jerusalem as an immersive, soul-stirring event.

This call historically, culturally, spiritually, and biologically summons a people to remember, to awaken, and to embrace a complex identity forged through divine encounter and the endurance of immense suffering—a legacy of resilience etched not only in stories or faith but in the very fabric of their being.

About ten years ago I was in class with my rabbi at that time about the shofar. The rabbi asked everybody, what were they thinking or remembering when they heard the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. There were lots of answers about memories of family and food and being a temple. My answer was that, "I am at Sinai."

Conclusion

This intertwined story of the shofar blast, genetic inheritance, and Jewish identity highlights how ritual, history, and biology converge to shape a people uniquely tied to their past, their trauma, and the eternal covenant made at Sinai and renewed each year at Rosh Hashanah.

Matthew 24:31 (NIV) "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other". 

Eyes Into the Divine Realm

Depiction of Jacob's Ladder," from the Bible (Genesis 28:10-12) of a ladder or staircase reaching from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

The bible contains stories people of faith and vision who had glimpses beyond the veil of this world. Each journey was unique, yet their stories weave together a powerful tapestry of divine glory, awe, and transformation.

The prophet Daniel, in the dark of night, witnessed majestic thrones surrounded by angelic beings and strange beasts symbolizing earthly kingdoms. Though troubled, Daniel saw the Ancient of Days ruling with justice and a Son of Man receiving eternal dominion. This vision brought him clarity about God's sovereign plan amidst earthly turmoil.

Enoch walked so closely with God that one day, he vanished from the world, taken straight into paradise, spared the common fate of death. Elijah, too, soared on a chariot of fire into the heavens, a remarkable sign of God's favor and power.

As Stephen was being stoned to death, he saw the heavens open and Jesus standing at God's right hand. The impression is that Stephen was being welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Spirit empowered Stephen to witness faithfully until his death, making him the first Christian martyr. 

The Apostle John saw heaven opened like a door and heard the worship of countless angels surrounding the throne of God. The colors, sounds, and visions transcended human words. The Apostle Paul’s experience of the “third heaven,” a realm beyond earthly and sky heavens, left him humbled and strengthened, though he chose silence over boasting. 

Despite such profound encounters, these witnesses were often reluctant or unable to fully describe what they saw. The glory was too overwhelming, the holiness too pure, and human language too limited. Their visions were often symbolic, prophetic, and partly veiled in mystery—meant not just to marvel at, but to strengthen faith, warn, and inspire holy living.

Yet, each who saw heaven was forever changed. Their encounters deepened their faith, filled them with courage, humility, and a renewed calling. They bore witness to a realm where God's justice reigns, holiness shines, and ultimate hope is found. They walked away with a conviction that earthly trials are temporary, and God's eternal kingdom is supreme.

Lessons and Morals:

- True vision of heaven invites awe and reverence, recognizing God's holiness beyond earthly comprehension.

- Prophetic visions often carry divine messages urging faithfulness, courage, humility, and perseverance amid hardship.

- The experience of heaven transforms the heart, encouraging a focus on eternal realities over temporary struggles.

- Words fall short in describing divine mysteries; humility in sharing spiritual insight is a mark of true spiritual depth.

- Hope of heaven should inspire righteous living, confident trust in God's sovereign plan, and perseverance in faith.

The Greatest Mystery

Heaven remains so mysterious and glorious that it defies our imagination and description. Even biblical visionaries struggled to convey its fullness, speaking of overwhelming light, radiant glory, and divine otherness—realities that words and images cannot capture. While painters across history have labored to portray the heavenly realm, using gold, supernatural light, and idealized figures to suggest divine majesty, every canvas is ultimately limited by earthly materials, human imagination, and cultural understanding. These artworks point to spiritual truths and inspire longing, but they necessarily fall short of the true beauty, holiness, and perfection of God’s dwelling place. The greatest art can only gesture toward heaven's awe, reminding us that faith rests not in what can be depicted, but in the promise of a reality greater than anything we can see or conceive.

Eye Witness Accounts

People who claim to have died, gone to heaven, and returned often describe leaving their bodies and moving through a dark tunnel toward a radiant, loving light. They report encountering a beautiful, peaceful place filled with vibrant colors, gardens, and an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance, sometimes meeting beings of light or deceased loved ones. Many feel freed from pain and physical limits but are told it’s not yet their time, so they return to life with a renewed sense of purpose. These experiences emphasize a loving divine presence, eternal peace, and reunion beyond human understanding.

My Personal Vision

At my mother-in-law's funeral I had a heavenly vision that blew my mind and overwhelmed me with emotion.  The assurance that I felt was unlike anything I have ever experienced and it has never left me. 

Conclusion:

In some sense, I think it is this motivation to understand and commune with our Creator that drives the entire bible. It is sad to think that this world is all there is. We want to believe that we are more the body and that our soul has a future. A vision of heaven give us hope. 

In Joshua 2:17-21, the prostitute Rahad hides the spies in Jericho. She is told to put a scarlet cord (a Tikva in Hebrew) out her window during the Battle of Jericho so Joshua (Yehoshua (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ), meaning "Yahweh saves" or "The LORD is salvation") could find and rescue her and her family. The scarlet cord was her hope that Joshua would return for her. The story of Rabad at Jericho is the first time we find the word "hope" (Tikva) in the bible. 

The journeys into heaven recorded in scripture remind us that God's divine realm is both magnificent and mysterious, radiant with holiness and full of hope. Though few can grasp it fully, these glimpses assure believers that beyond life's trials awaits a kingdom prepared by God Himself. The stories inspire a life lifted above fear and doubt—rooted in the certainty of God’s eternal presence. Faith thus becomes a bridge between earthly shadows and heavenly light, inviting all to walk in hope, strengthened by the vision of the divine.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV) -- "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES

1 Samuel 8:21-22 -- When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

The biblical history of Israel is not pretty. To the contrary, it is down right brutal and idolitrous at times. But it is rich with lessons and messages for us. 

I recently finished an excellent historical book by Barry Strauss about the Jews and Rome. It covered about 200 years of Jewish history. There was tremendous strife and violence in Israel's past, marked by enormous internal conflicts and violence.

This video presents a longer period of time from a biblical perspective. 

When you look at the difficulties with uniting just 12 tribes in a tiny parcel of land, it is a wonder that any nation as large and diverse as a America exists. Uniting the 13 original colonies, let alone all 50 states, is remarkable. We united without internal battles. The colonies and states didn't wage war against one another. We had no King. The glue that bound us together was the love of freedom, a belief in biblical principles, strong resentment of taxation and conflicts of interest by our leaders and rights guaranteed in our Constitution. 

America put into action the lessons and principles in the bible. I think it can be said that if there wasn't either the Hebrew Bible or the Gospels, there wouldn't be America.

Both the Hebrew Bible and the Gospels provided foundational principles and models for our young nation’s laws, values, and vision. Without these cornerstone texts, the unique character of America’s founding and it's conception of liberty, justice, and human dignity would likely not have emerged as it did.

Key founding symbols like the Liberty Bell bear direct quotations from Leviticus (“Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof” – Leviticus 25:10). Revolutionary leaders, regardless of their personal faith, frequently invoked stories like the Exodus as metaphors for breaking oppression and creating a new people under God. The structure of American self-government, including ideas like the separation of powers, can be traced to warnings against centralized power in passages like 1 Samuel 8 and principles of justice and equality found throughout the Torah.

The Gospels and Christian teachings saturated both the private lives and public institutions of early Americans. The overwhelming majority of early Americans and their leaders identified as Christian, and the Bible (including the "Old" and "New Testament") was the most-read and most-quoted book of the era. Christian moral teachings heavily influenced concepts such as forgiveness, charity, and civic virtue, which were seen as essential for self-government and a just society. Colonial documents and state constitutions openly declared the necessity of Christian moral principles for ordering society and sustaining liberty. Jews made great contributions directly and indirectly. 

Ironically, Jews by & large refuse to study the Gospels. Here we are living in a nation that cherishes our Hebrew scriptures, and which has sheltered us from antisemitism for centuries, yet we have scales in front of our eyes when in comes to the words and teachings of the New Testament. We have no problem reading about Marx or Buddah, yet heaven forbid we open the Book of Matthew, the first book in the Gospels. It makes no logical sense. It isn't natural.

The story of Israel isn't natural. It is supernatural. It promises a messiah from the line of David.  "The Hope of Israel is 2000 years old." So it says so in Israel’s national anthem. Jews and Christians, with faith, both believe in The Hope. Come. 

THE LAST BATTLE AND A NEW BEGINNING

Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them. Proverbs 17.11

I just finished a great book by Barry Strauss on the history of the "Jews and Rome." It covers two centuries of Jewish revolts against the Romans.  This period of history had profound impacts on the world which are as relevant today as ever. 

The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale, violent revolts by the Jewish population against Roman rule in Judea and the surrounding region between 66 and 135 CE. Sparked by religious, social, and political tensions, these wars unfolded over three major uprisings: the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), which ended with the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple; the Kitos War (115–117 CE), involving widespread revolt and devastation in diaspora communities; and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE), culminating in the crushing defeat at Betar and the near-total depopulation of Judea. Consequent Roman suppression led to immense loss of life, enslavement, exile, and the renaming of the province from Judea to Syria Palaestina, contributing decisively to the spread of the Jewish Diaspora and reshaping both Jewish and regional history for centuries.

The final stand of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire occurred at the fortified city of Betar, which fell after a prolonged Roman siege in 135 CE, on Tisha B'Av, the Jewish fast day. The defeat at Betar marked the end of the revolt and led to a brutal Roman campaign of annihilation,

The last revolt, the Bar Kokhba revolt climaxes with the battle at Betar. The story about Betar is in the last chapter of Barry Strauss's book. It inspired me to the produce this blog post. 

The fall of Betar in 135 CE marked the gruesome climax of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the final Jewish uprising against Roman rule. This catastrophe, remembered as one of the greatest tragedies in Jewish history, not only annihilated hopes for national restoration but also dramatically shaped the future religious landscape of the region, including the growth of Christianity.

The Siege and Horror of Betar

Betar, a fortress southwest of Jerusalem perched atop steep hills, became the last refuge for tens of thousands of Jewish fighters and noncombatants fleeing Roman vengeance. Simon bar Kokhba, declared by some sages as the Messiah and leader of the Jewish forces, gathered his people for a final stand. Roman Emperor Hadrian committed major legions—including V Macedonica and XI Claudia—to besiege the city, encircling it with siege walls and massive camps that cut off Betar’s vital spring.

The siege lasted several months, culminating in a brutal assault. Jewish tradition and historical accounts report staggering, almost surreal atrocities. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, “the Romans went about slaughtering until a horse was sunk in blood up to its nostrils, and blood moved boulders weighing forty "sela" for miles”. Contemporary sources also recount mass killing, indiscriminate butchery of men, women, and children, and corpses left unburied for days—eventually permitted burial only by the mercy of Emperor Antoninus Pius. The city, ruins today, was never rebuilt.

Aftermath: Suppression and Erasure

With the annihilation of Betar, Rome’s campaign of retribution spread throughout the land. Hadrian ordered the razing of Jerusalem, turning it into the pagan city of Aelia Capitolina, and banned Jews from entering except on Tisha B’Av—the annual fast day commemorating both Temple destructions and now the fall of Betar as well. Furthermore, Hadrian renamed the province from Judea to “Syria Palaestina,” a calculated move meant to obliterate Jewish ties to the land and accelerate Jewish dispersion. The area’s remaining settlements were destroyed, refugees were hunted and enslaved, and Jewish national aspirations vanished for centuries.

Betar, Tisha B’Av, and National Mourning

The horrors at Betar became part of the bitter tapestry of Tisha B’Av, the Jewish day of mourning. Alongside the destructions of the First and Second Temples, the massacre at Betar stood as a searing reminder of the dangers of messianic hope and the relentless suffering inflicted by Rome. Rabbis refocused Jewish life on spiritual practice, scholarship and diaspora existence, distancing themselves from political rebellion.

Impact on the Growth of Christianity

As a spiritual and messianic movement, Christianity was deeply affected by the fall of Betar and the Bar Kokhba revolt. Many Jews had recognized Bar Kokhba as the Messiah before his defeat, but his death and the revolt’s failure shattered hopes for a political deliverer and discredited militant messianism within Judaism. Christianity—already diverging with its belief in a suffering, spiritual Messiah—gained new ground as Judaism’s focus moved away from revolutionary action and physical restoration towards prayer, learning, and communal survival. The Christian message of redemption beyond national boundaries was well suited to the new reality of exile and oppression.

The obliteration of Judea’s Jewish character further favored Christianity’s growth. With Jews banned from Jerusalem and Judea rechristened "Syria Palaestina," the center of Christianity shifted from its Jewish roots to a broader, more universal faith, attracting converts throughout the empire. The deep trauma of Betar, recounted annually at Tisha B’Av, played a silent but significant role in the religious transformation of the region.

Conclusion

The horrors of Betar—mass slaughter, rivers of blood, national erasure, and exile—ended one era and catalyzed another. The tragedy helped drive Judaism towards spiritual resilience and diaspora existence, while opening a path for the rapid expansion of Christianity, whose vision of a suffering Messiah resonated deeply in a world marked by loss and defeat. The catastrophe and its reverberations remain etched in the memory of two great faiths, shaping history down to our own day.

Epilogue:

The irony shouldn't be lost! 

Hamas never stood a chance!  Jews virtually invented and perfected guerilla warefare tactics, especially fighting from tunnels, over 2000 years ago during the Roman wars.  

Jewish resistance in the Roman period stands as a key early example of guerrilla and tunnel warfare perfected nearly two millennia ago. Israel and the IDF knows Hamas's tactics better than Hamas itself does! 

Jewish fighters during the Roman period are considered pioneers of guerrilla warfare, notably during the Jewish-Roman Wars (66–73 AD and subsequent revolts). They used hit-and-run tactics, ambushes, and strategic attacks on Roman supply lines rather than direct open battle against the superior Roman legions. These tactics frustrated the Romans and allowed Jewish rebels to hold out far longer than conventional forces might have.

A distinctive feature was their extensive use of underground tunnels as hideouts and defensive positions. These tunnels served to evade Roman patrols, store supplies, and launch surprise attacks. Historical accounts and recent archaeology confirm how central subterranean warfare was, especially during the siege of Jerusalem.

Jewish rebels combined local knowledge of terrain, fortified hideouts, and subterranean networks into a cohesive resistance strategy, which effectively leveraged guerrilla warfare principles centuries before modern guerrilla movements. While not the sole inventors, the Jewish use of tunnels and irregular tactics mark a notable early development in these forms of combat, demonstrating both tactical innovation and resilience against a powerful empire.

Bar Kokhba coins are ancient Jewish coins minted during the Second Jewish Revolt (132–136 CE) against the Roman Empire, led by Simon Bar Kokhba. 

The earliest coins tied to the Roman "Palestina" name, date to the Roman renaming around 135 CE, following the Jewish-Roman wars.

REMEMBERING THE SOUND

With Rosh Hashanah coming up, I am thinking about the sound of the shofar. These are the verses from the Torah that are the basis for the Hebrew New Year, Rosh Hashanah: 

Leviticus 23:24 (NIVl) -- “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.’”

Numbers 29:1 -- “On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.”

The KEY phrase in Leviticus 23:24 is "zikhron teruah" (“memorial of blowing”), which is interpreted by the rabbis and tradition as a command to hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. 

Numbers 29:1 calls it "yom teruah," literally “the day of sounding the shofar,” making the shofar central to Rosh Hashanah observance. 

The verses in Leviticus and Numbers beg the question: What Trumpet blast(s) are we remembering? The first is of course the sound at Sinai. We are remembering the sound of the trumpet at Sinai when God spoke to Moses and he received the Tablets of Testimony, the Ten Commandments. 

19:16-19 (NIV) -- On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

The Battle of Jericho

There is another very memorable moment in Torah when there was a great sounding of Shofars. It was after Joshua crossed into the land God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which Moses led the Hebrew Israelites to. It was at the Battle of Jericho.

Joshua 5:13-15 (NIV) -- 13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"14 "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6:1–5 (NIV) -- 1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in. 2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

Joshua was instructed by the Lord to fight the battle spiritually -- with trumpet blasts.  

I remember about ten years when I was in a Torah study class before the High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  The rabbi asked the students, about 15 of us, the question. "What do you remember when you hear the sound of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah?" Rabbi went around the table we were all sitting at and everyone gave an answer of what they remembered -- of what was on our mind when we heard the sound of the Shofar in temple on Rosh Hashanah. 

Each of us described our thoughts. Some remembered their mother's cooking during the holidays. Others remembered their family getting all dressed up for temple. I could relate to almost all of their memories. I was the last one going around the table to speak.  

For me, when I hear the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah I let transport me back in time and place to the base of Mount Sinai. The sound of the cries and vibrations from shofars filling the space seem to trigger a memory in my DNA. I imagine the powerful and awful (frightening) sound that my ancient ancestors must have felt at Sinai.

Conclusion

Shema, Hear oh Israel...

Epilogue:

WAITING IN JERICHO

I would be remiss if I didn't add the story of the prostitute Rahab who saved Joshua's spies in Jericho to this blog post. After all, this is where in the Hebrew scriptures we first hear the word "Tikvah" used. A Tikvah is a scarlet chord. It's also the hebrew word for "hope" and the name of Israel's national anthem, The Hope, HaTikvah.

Joshua sent spies to scope out Jericho. Rabab hid them for their safety. Joshua instructs Rahab to hang a scarlet cord/thread (a tikvah) out her window as a "sure sign" so Joshua could find and spare her family during the invasion.

Joshua 2:17-18 (NIV) -- "Now then, give us a sure sign. When the Lord gives us the land, we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."
"Tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers and all your family."

This scarlet cord/thread (tikvah in Hebrew) represents the hope and guarantee to Rahab that she and her family would be rescued when the Israelites conquered Jericho. It was a literal sign of deliverance amid uncertainty of battle. When Rahab heard the shofars being blown around Jericho, it was the time of her salvation. 

There is a shadow of the Passover story in the verses of Joshua concerning Rahad and the oath regarding the Tikvah. Rahab's salvation has been called "The second Passover" by some. Here is a link to the Hebrew with translation on Chabad. Read Joshua 2 versus 1-19 and see if you can see the parallels:

Yehoshua - Joshua - Chapter 2 - Tanakh Online - Torah

Some commentators see Rahab’s deliverance as a personal reenactment or “second Passover,” shifting from communal (all Israel) to personal salvation.

The sequence surrounding Rahab—Israel crossing Jordan (like the Red Sea), celebrating Passover in the Promised Land, then Jericho’s destruction and Rahab’s salvation—mirrors the Exodus/Passover pattern.

So when we hear the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah we can be reminded of both Revelation at Sinai AND the battle of Jericho when Rahab is saved.