Vayikra: Chapter 44

The blowing of the Shofar

Synopsis

Rabbi Elazar tells about the blowing of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, and about the day that Isaac was bound. On that day God raised Abraham, teaching us that the right was constructed and perfected by binding the left. God told Yisrael that they should not be afraid of the judgments of the Left Column, for He detains those judgments from coming out. When the sound of the Shofar rises up, the prosecutors above are pushed aside by the sound and cannot prevail. Rabbi Elazar talks about the worthiness of the messenger, saying that a priest and a Levite should be examined before they begin their service to be sure they are worthy of it. Then they shall put incense on the altar so that everything is perfumed, and so that blessings will prevail in all the worlds.