[Avodah] When Rosh Hashanah Falls out on Shabbos

[Prof. L. Levine]

From

https://ohr.edu/this_week/insights_into_halacha/11371


This year (5784), the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashana falls out on Shabbos. Although that may not sound so remarkable in of itself (as statistically speaking, this actually occurs over 25% of the time),[1]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn1> it actually will cause several halachic and minhagic (if that is a word) shifts.

The first deviation from the norm is that the Shofar will not be sounded on the first (Biblical) day of Rosh Hashana, but rather only on the second (Rabbinic) day. The reason given for this ‘silencing of the Shofar’ is the remarkable Gezeira of Chazal that one may come to mistakenly carry a Shofar out of the permitted area on this Shabbos in order to learn how to properly blow it.[2]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn2> Whenever Shabbos Rosh Hashana occurs, we are collectively astounded as to the strength of this extraordinary Gezeira – for all of Klal Yisrael desisting from performing an outright Mitzva Deoraysa simply due to a far-out possibility of one person unwittingly and unintentionally transgressing another – that of Hotza’ah – carrying, especially in an age when many of us have Eruvin[3]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn3> [a.k.a. ‘Eiruvs’] (and thus technically, the issue moot), is simply incredible.

Yet, there is an alternate, and perhaps more appropriate way to view this situation. Not sounding the shofar on Shabbos Rosh Hashana as per Gezeiras Chazal showcases to us all that Kedushas HaShabbos is of paramount importance in all that we do – and yes, even to the extent of pushing off a precious, once-a-year (OK, twice-a-year) Mitzva Deoraysa.[4]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn4> Several of our Rabbinic luminaries, including the Chasam Sofer, the Aruch LaNer, and Ben Ish Chai, stressed that in a way, a year like ours is a gift[5]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn5> – that not blowing the shofar due to Shabbos credits us with whatever spiritual gain we would have obtained had we been able to blow the shofar.[6]<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn6> Yet, there is a caveat – we need to show how much we honor, respect, and delight in our Shabbos observance in order to properly reap the spiritual rewards of a Shabbos Rosh Hashana.[<https://ohr.edu/11371#_edn7>

See the above URL for much more.

Professor Yitzchok Levine



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