CRY OUT

Exodus 3:7-9 -- Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

This morning I heard a teaching that inspired thoughts on "crying out."

CRYING OUT - OLD

Rabbinic and later Jewish teaching explicitly interpret the shofar sounds (תְּקִיעָה, שְׁבָרִים, תְּרוּעָה, תְּקִיעָה גְּדוֹלָה) as patterned types of human crying—long wail, sighing sobs, staccato broken sobs—so the shofar becomes a nonverbal cry of the heart before God. 

The sound called Teruah תְּרוּעָה is likened to the weeping of Sisera’s mother in Judges 5:28, understanding the shofar’s teru‘ah as an echo of a bereaved mother’s cry.

The Hebrew word זְעָקָה (ze'aqah) means "cry," "outcry," or "cry for help," referring to a vocal expression of distress or lament, often in situations of injustice or suffering.  The sounds or blasts of the Shofar on the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) are related to the emotional sound of the shofar's blasts. 

Within High Holiday liturgy and homiletics, the shofar’s wordless blast is often described as a צְעָקָה (tse‘akah, “cry, outcry”) that rises from the depths of the soul when ordinary speech fails. Many teachers explain that this cry is meant both to awaken the listener to return (תשובה) and to represent a broken-hearted plea for mercy—an inner cry expressed outwardly through the shofar.

Actual names of the blasts: Tekiah (long blast), Shevarim (broken wails), and Teruah (staccato alarm), with Shevarim often described as the sound of crying. 

Understanding Ze'aqah (זְעָקָה):

Meaning: An outcry, shriek, lamentation, or cry for help. Ze'aqah (זְעָקָה) is used for cries of distress (like Sodom's, Genesis 18:20) or cries for justice (like Abel's blood, Genesis 4:10).

The root of Ze'aqah comes from the verb זָעַק (za'aq), meaning "to cry out". 

Shofar Blasts & Their Meanings:

Tekiah: A single, long, clear blast (the call to attention).

Shevarim: Three medium, broken blasts, described as groaning or weeping sounds, representing sorrow.

Teruah: Nine or more rapid, short, staccato blasts, like a loud alarm or a cry of alarm.

The Shevarim and Teruah blasts are the sounds that evoke "crying" (ze'aqah/za'aq) within the shofar's ritual language, calling people to reflection and repentance. 

CRYING OUT - NEW

In the New Testament, "cry out" describes urgent, loud vocal pleas for help, salvation, or praise, often in moments of desperation or worship. This echoes Hebrew concepts like teru'ah but emphasizes personal encounters with Jesus or divine intervention. 

In Luke 19:40, Jesus declares that if his disciples silence their praise during the Triumphal Entry, "the stones would cry out" (krazo), highlighting creation's involuntary testimony to the Messiah. 

Blind Bartimaeus "cried out" (krazo) repeatedly to Jesus for mercy in Mark 10:47-48 and Luke 18:39, persisting despite rebuke until healed. Demons frequently "cry out" (krazo) in recognition of Jesus' authority, as in Mark 1:26 and Luke 4:41, voicing fear and submission. 

The phrase appears in Revelation 6:10, where martyred souls "cry out" (boaō) for justice, paralleling Old Testament cries like Abel's blood in Genesis 4:10.  Jesus himself "offered up prayers...with loud cries" (Hebrews 5:7), modeling supplication in agony.  These instances portray crying out as raw, effectual prayer that God hears and answers.

The First Cry -- LIFE!

The first sound of human life outside the womb is indeed a newborn baby's cry, which serves critical physiological functions to initiate independent breathing and survival. This vigorous cry clears amniotic fluid and mucus from the lungs, expands the chest for oxygen intake, and triggers circulatory adaptations from fetal to newborn patterns.

Mothers exhibit a rapid, instinctive neurological response to their newborn's cry, often within 5 seconds, activating brain regions linked to movement, speech, auditory processing, and caregiving. This universal reaction across cultures prompts behaviors like picking up, holding, or talking to the infant, driven by hormones such as oxytocin, which heightens sensitivity and urgency to soothe.

Functional MRI studies show enhanced activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA), inferior frontal regions, superior temporal gyrus, midbrain, and striatum when mothers hear their own baby's cry, preparing them for immediate action and bonding.

A baby throws off its coat, the placenta. It crys out and its lungs fill with breath. The new born baby's eyes open up and the first image the baby sees is its mother and father. 

Psalm 34:17 -- "When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles." 

Psalm 34 is an acrostic psalm of David, written during flight from Abimelech. It contrasts the fate of the righteous and wicked, emphasizing God's protective attentiveness. Verse 15 sets the stage: "The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry," while verse 18 follows: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit," portraying divine rescue amid affliction. 

Amen.