תְּקַע בְּשׁופָר גָּדול לְחֵרוּתֵנוּ. וְשא נֵס לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּותֵינוּ. וְקַבְּצֵנוּ יַחַד מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפות הָאָרֶץ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’, מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּו יִשרָאֵל – Blow a great shofar for our freedom, and raise a banner to gather in our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the Earth. Blessed are You Hashem, Gatherer of the dispersed of His people Israel.
Sequencing
The Return of Exiles is a prayer to return the Jewish People to the Land of Israel. It is the tenth blessing of the Amida and follows the prayer for sustenance. They follow each other because they overlap – we want to get by or do well, but we want it in the Land of Israel. One of the seven great miracles of Israel is only its productive best for the Jewish People, as borne out by history. Israel has been occupied by Greece, Rome, Saladin, Crusaders, Ottomans, British, and Arabs for centuries; only the Jewish People have been able to create an economy with abundance.
In fact, other than a flaming Beis HaMikdash falling from the sky, there can no more obvious sign than the Land of Israel bursting into life for the Jewish People – וְאַתֶּם הָרֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַנְפְּכֶם תִּתֵּנוּ וּפֶרְיְכֶם תִּשְׂאוּ לְעַמִּי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי קֵרְבוּ לָבוֹא.
The power of ten
Ten is an interesting number because it is the base of the decimal system humans count with; every count of ten begins a new sequence of numbers. It includes what came before, nine, and adding one unit creates a new series. The concept of 10 individuals gathering to form a minyan is a prominent example of this concept, becoming one new thing in the way that a fist is different from and stronger than five fingers. It completed the series, including and elevating all the components that came before. The Return of Exiles necessarily consists of all of them.
Humans have been writing for at least five thousand years and counting far longer. It might surprise you that the numbers we use for counting are relatively modern, only a thousand or so years old. The concept of numbers is a relatively late development in human culture, and different cultures used a variety of numeral systems. In Hebrew, letters also have conceptual values as stand-ins for numbers. In Hebrew numerology, Ten corresponds to the letter YUD, the smallest letter, just the barest stroke of a pen.
In much the same way, relationship and togetherness can be characterized with a certain degree of smallness; disputes and friction are almost inevitably the product of the largesse of ego. To have relationships with each other, we need to check our egos at the door somewhere to avoid feeling challenged or threatened by others. When we feel whole within ourselves, we can get along with most people because we don’t feel threatened; we feel confident in who we are.
A little can contain a lot.
Although the letter yud is small, a little can contain a lot. The Gemara teaches that one of the other great miracles of Israel is that despite its relatively small size, it could contain an enormous amount. The Gemara even compares Israel to a deer – ERETZ HATZVI; if you skin a deer, it’s impossible to stretch the hide to fit back on again. Similarly, the land was always big enough to encompass its inhabitants, bending to accommodate us so long as people lived in peace with each other. The land rejects us when people violate the smallness that peace requires with animosity and hatred.
Here at the tenth blessing – the yud -, we ask God to gather the exiles once more.
According to legend, when the Jews went to Beis haMidkash for the holidays, everybody fit. The Gemara says that people squeezed in shoulder to shoulder, yet somehow everybody found room to bow on Yom Kippur. When people stand on ceremony, there’s no space to move. When people bend, there’s plenty of space for everyone.
Source of prayer
The Midrash teaches that the angels first said this prayer when Yosef revealed himself to his brothers. Our sages also note that Reuven and Binyamin did not participate in Yosef’s sale – Reuven had left the group, and Binyamin was a young child still at home; there were ten of them, and with Yosef’s return, they were ten once more.
We might expect the ideal model of the return of the exiles to be something like the End of Days or the return from Exile and the Second Beis Hamikdash, but it’s not. It’s as simple as friends and family making up and healing, burying the hatchet. That’s what redemption looks like, and that’s how ultimate redemption starts, human to human.
תְּקַע בְּשׁופָר גָּדול – Blow a great shofar
The prayer calls for a great shofar – בְּשׁופָר גָּדול. What’s the difference between a regular shofar and a great shofar? Is it extra large?
Our prophets also talk about a great shofar; when Mashiach comes with the Final Redemption, it will be heralded by a great shofar – וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִתָּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל וּבָאוּ הָאֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַה בְּהַר הַקֹּדֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם.
What’s more, our sages teach that at the Akeida, Avraham and Isaac found and offered a ram; that ram had two horns. These two horns were saved and became mythical artifacts, literally the stuff of legend; one was the first great shofar used at Har Sinai and heard worldwide – CITE, and the second great shofar was hidden away until the time Mashiach comes.
Vhaya bayom hahu yitaka bashofar gadol
Many Jewish people go to shul on the High Holy Days and listen to the shofar on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. But for everyone who comes and hears, so many still do not. At Har Sinai, our sages teach that every Jewish soul was in attendance; everyone heard the shofar. It’s not enough to blow our shofars for the people in attendance to hear; we need a great shofar that everyone not in shul gets to hear as well.
The first great shofar at Sinai was a powerful moment, but we still live in a deeply imperfect and unredeemed call. When the alarm clock rings, half awake and half asleep, you might hit the snooze button, but you wake up much better when it goes off the next time. The first great shofar is still tiny compared to the second one because we won’t go back to sleep with the second one.
What does the great shofar sound like?
R’ Tsadok HaKohen suggests that it doesn’t just sound like a regular shofar or a very loud one. It sounds like the accumulated cries of every Jew in history; the ones massacred by Romans; burned by the Church; butchered by Crusaders; gassed by Nazis; murdered by Palestinians. Every persecution, every tear of pain, and Teshuva will stack and accumulate. That sound will irresistibly penetrate the hearts of all Jews in all places. In this prayer, we contribute our cry to the great shofar of freedom to come.
לְחֵרוּתֵנוּ – for our freedom
Freedom doesn’t mean literal slavery, but we are enslaved. Slaves to death, slaves to things we should not be – our lesser nature rules over us, but that shofar will herald our freedom. External things dictate what we do; but we so desperately want to be free.
R’ Shamshon Raphael Hirsch notes that we don’t simply pray for everyone to make aliya and move to Israel; it’s a shofar of teshuva. A family gathering where everyone is there but everyone is awful to each other is missing the main thing: to be home and not have the thing that makes it home is a greater tragedy than exile.
וְשא נֵס – Raise up a flag
In any emergency, there are two types of people. There are the people who respond right away and the people who follow instructions.
In the context of redemption, this prayer speaks of two kinds of people: the people who respond to the sound of the shofar and others who need a flag. Some Jewish people are waiting to go home; others are perfectly at home in their host cultures, and that’s the people this is a prayer for, the people who need a sign.
Some people aren’t ready to see. We pray that they see it as the real deal.
What is a flag?
A flag is a patriotic symbol of who you are, what you believe in, and what you’ll fight for. Flags are also placed as indicators – some are used to show wind direction, and others positions indicate the mood – a half-mast flag symbolizes sadness or mourning. People who observe it can respond accordingly.
The Israeli flag utilizes blue stripes to symbolize the stripes on a tallis, the traditional Jewish prayer shawl, and a reminder of Heaven, and the Star of David is a widely acknowledged symbol of the Jewish people and Judaism.
The Union Jack of the United Kingdom combines the flags of the three united kingdoms of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The Stars and Stripes banner of the United States is deeply symbolic. The stripes represent the original 13 Colonies, and the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The flag’s colors are also symbolic; red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance, and justice.
Whether a company logo, sports team badge, family crest, or monarchy coat of arms, symbolism and imagery are utilized to convey identity. This is a prayer for clarity that what we are showing the rest of the Jews is something they should want to be a part of. This flag will represent a united Jewry and identify and distinguish us not just for ourselves but also the beacon that distant fellow Jews will be drawn back to. If everyone leaves exile, we will have inherently begun redemption.
Who waves the flag?
This prayer contemplates two waves of redemption: the ones who hear the shofar and those who see the flag. The ones who hear the shofar are the ones who must raise the flag and wave it. God doesn’t have a flag or arms; waving is something people do.
In fact, it’s something the prophets castigate leaders for; if you are responsible for people, why have you not sustained the weak, healed the sick, or bandaged the injured; why have you not brought back the strayed, or looked for the lost – אֶת־הַנַּחְלוֹת לֹא חִזַּקְתֶּם וְאֶת־הַחוֹלָה לֹא־רִפֵּאתֶם וְלַנִּשְׁבֶּרֶת לֹא חֲבַשְׁתֶּם וְאֶת־הַנִּדַּחַת לֹא הֲשֵׁבֹתֶם וְאֶת־הָאֹבֶדֶת לֹא בִקַּשְׁתֶּם וּבְחזְקָה רְדִיתֶם אֹתָם וּבְפָרֶךְ.
It’s essential to meet people where they are and help people in the way they need it; today, there are so many organizations and tireless men, women, and families on the front lines dedicated to battling the forces of assimilation, abuse, apathy, ignorance, illness, intermarriage, and poverty.
R’ Shimon Schwab notes that over the generations, the Jewish People lost so many members to assimilation, people who were lost to the easy life of prosperity and assimilation, a life of happiness and good times – אֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר. And then there were so many who were lost in pain, all those turned off by despair or grief or survival, lost to their suffering – וְהַנִּדָּחִים בְּאֶרֶץ.
Threats don’t always look like the atrocities of Pharaoh or Hitler. How many souls do we lose to assimilation, to a friendly society that opens its arms to us and beckons to us so invitingly? Affluence, no less than genocide or slavery, threatens Jewish continuity by making us forget who we are.
R’ Chaim Shmulevitz would tell the Mir Yeshiva to cry for the assimilating Jews in Russia and the United States, but that the students should not dare to ask for God’s compassion if they could not move themselves to show compassion for others.
We must raise a flag for people in physical exile at the ends of the earth but also for people in spiritual exile. We can’t ask God to do something we are unwilling to do ourselves.
לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּותֵינוּ וְקַבְּצֵנוּ יַחַד מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפות הָאָרֶץ – to gather in our exiles and gather us together from the four corners of the Earth
Some people are stuck – return them.
The prophets promised long ago that redemption will come with the return of our people from across the world – נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי ה מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹד אֲקַבֵּץ עָלָיו לְנִקְבָּצָיו.
It happened long ago, when Yakov’s sons gathered around his deathbed – הִקָּבְצוּ וְשִׁמְעוּ בְּנֵי יַעֲקֹב.
But beyond the physical gathering of our people from all four corners of the Earth and bringing us the Land of Israel, it’s about bringing the Jewish People together – יַחַד.
Moreover, it’s not just a prayer for third parties and others for the distant people to return; it’s a prayer for ourselves: Let us all be united. What would be the point if everyone was gathered but couldn’t figure out how to get along? We mustn’t forget that discord and division were the leading causes of the Exile.
It is not enough to physically be together; we need to ideologically unite as well, seeing past the trivial differences in custom, language, attitudes, practices, and values. What we have in common is overwhelmingly the same.
Our sages teach that in another plan of existence, the righteous will form a circle around the Creator, and all will take their place, each having valid standing, equidistant from the Creator.
The Torah speaks plainly about how compassion will drive God to personally gather up every lost soul and return and restore them from wherever they are:
וְשָׁב ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת–שְׁבוּתְךָ, וְרִחֲמֶךָ; וְשָׁב, וְקִבֶּצְךָ מִכָּל–הָעַמִּים, אֲשֶׁר הֱפִיצְךָ ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, שָׁמָּה. אִם–יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ, בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ – God will return your captives and have compassion for you; and will return and gather you from all the nations, wherever God has scattered you. (30:3,4)
Rav Kook teaches that the first promise is about a physical return to Israel, and the second promise is that God will also return us from the outer edge of the spiritual universe – קְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם. The Sfas Emes teaches that the Creator makes this promise regardless of whatever it is that brought us there to that spiritual wilderness – whether it’s upbringing, bad choices, or poor self-control – none of it matters – מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ / וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’, מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּו יִשרָאֵל – Blessed are you, Hashem, Gatherer of the dispersed of His people Israel
When you ask God for something, you have to do your bit. If you’re crying crocodile tears, you shouldn’t be surprised that your prayers don’t seem to work; you may need to confront the reality that your prayers are wildly mediocre.
You won’t get the dream job you don’t apply to. You won’t get healthy if you don’t diet and exercise. You won’t pass the test if you don’t study the material. You won’t get rich if you don’t invest. Your relationship won’t be meaningful if you don’t give your partner attention. That’s the way the world works; if you expect your prayer to change that fundamental reality, you will likely continue to be disappointed.
If you are not good to people, asking God to bring them back is nonsense.
There are all sorts of reasons that people are distant from Judaism; observing the Torah’s laws is difficult. But sometimes, schools and yeshivas push people away; other times, it’s families. But some people get pushed away because of us, because of the way we behave, whether it’s a judgmental remark or hurtful comment.
Near and far, there are always people being pushed away.
Some people are so far away they might not even know they’re Jewish or might know they’re Jewish, and that’s pretty much it. There are so many stories of such people feeling a sudden flash of inspiration to learn, meeting just the right teacher, or picking up just the right book at just the right time; that’s all part of it – מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּו יִשרָאֵל.
Something to consider is why it is that there are Jews in all four corners of the world. The Jewish People couldn’t live in Israel for a millennium or two, but they also lived scattered and dispersed worldwide; the consequence follows the cause. The Jewish People in Israel lived in strife and discord and were separated, but it follows that the inverse must be true as well. If baseless hatred breaks, then free love fixes.
There is a Kabbalistic teaching that all cultures and nations have redeeming characteristics and qualities; a function of the global Jewish diaspora is to pick up those traits through converts or cultural osmosis, the positive teachings we can absorb from them.
When God sends someone somewhere, they are meant to get something from it. The Jewish People had a significant presence in the cultural centers of leading civilizations, from Babylon and Constantinople to Rome and Germany until today. There is a sacred duty to take the qualities we encounter in the world and bring them with us. It is a worthwhile thought exercise to consider the scenarios we find ourselves in and find something to take home that we didn’t have before.
We ask God to bring us home, to take us out of difficulty, to the place we want to be or are supposed to be. Part of exile is the sense of disorientation, confusion, and lack of clarity and direction. Part of the prayer here is a request to find the purpose and meaning of our journey – מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּו יִשרָאֵל.
There is a custom around the High Holy Days of a prayer by a river that symbolizes casting our sins to drift away – Tashlich. The High Holy Days are associated with the attributes of Awe and Fear of judgment; they are followed by Sukkos and Shmini Atzeres, holidays of Love and Joy that celebrate the transformation of sin to merit, and water with the sins we cast off is drawn and offered in one of the most joyous rituals of the year.
The Chasam Sofer notes that the apparent implication of this sequence is that sin can take us places that perfect purity cannot – makom shebaal teshuva omeid. This is true not just of the sparks of redemption people experience along the way; it redeems and uplifts the very concept of exile itself.
We wouldn’t be so bothered if we recognized exile as a good thing. Wasting time and effort is depressing; there’s nothing wasted if we learn from our experience. Part of the prayer is to gather our own personal exiles.
Teka is a verb that means to blow, but it also means to drive something, like driving a peg in the ground. In this reading, it is not just a call to blow the shofar but a prayer to drive it firmly into us, to make it stick.
One sense of the prayer is to bring the Jewish People back and wake everyone up from their sleep and apathy, as well as waking them up to the threats they face. Another sense of the prayer is to bring the Jewish People together again; infighting kills, gossip, and slander kill.
We hurt ourselves and cause our own exile. We have to change ourselves and our culture of cynicism against other Jews. We need to stop labeling and love all Jews.
Chassidus, Sephardim, Ashkenazim. Do you pronounce it this way or that way? This much or that much? Who gets to be Rebbe? Rosh Yeshiva? Who receives the buildings? The organizations? It’s so petty and stupid. Focus on the 99% we can agree on rather than the narcissism of small differences.
Daven that it stops, but also make sure you stop it and put a stop to it when you see it.
If we could find the love in our hearts of k ish echad blev echad that resulted in the first shofar, we can do it again it will result in the second.