In honor of Moses’ final poem, one I wrote recently about my inability to blow the shofar. Enjoy!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex
“Shofar Lessons”
Squish your lips
Like a fish kiss
Press them against the handle
And let them vibrate
Buzz full force
I promise sound will come
This is one of my kids
Telling me, the rabbi, how to blow the shofar
No, they did not teach this in rabbinical school
Or grade school or undergraduate or graduate
I had no training in horns
And no matter how hard I ever blew
Could never get a sound
For my kids on the other hand
They were naturals
They would puff up their cheeks with air
Until they grew red and let the air rip
The ram’s horn sweaty, opening up, like a flower
And emitting a long sustained blast
Like a young elephant pup raising her trunk
To call her mom
They had what it takes instantly
Without training
Something even a lifetime of living
Hadn’t given me more than a faint sound
Like shifting a chair on a hardwood floor
What was I doing differently
My son was explaining the science of it all
How the vibration of the lips vibrates through the orifice
Creating sound
Tikiah Shevarim Teruah
Tikiah Gedolah
This was always the favorite
How long could you extend the note
A few seconds a half a minute or longer
I might have made a millisecond if I was lucky
Dad you aren’t doing it right
Your lips aren’t tight enough together
For God’s sake you’re just spitting
Ha ha you think you’re funny
Perhaps there was a lesson after all
Parents should never be good at everything
How lucky it was that my child could teach me
Even if it didn’t stick
Even if I would never be able to stand up in front of the congregation
To announce the New Year
-Alex Lazarus-Klein