Sweet Sound of the Shofar

More Elul reflections and stories and a little on Parsha Ki Tetze

 1.  The big Shofar and the little shofar, continued

This "blurb" (paragraph, below italics) is from a Prayer Sheet I am working on as part of a series of prayer sheets over one year to pray from the parsha (weekly Torah readings).   Each prayer sheet contains scriptures that have to do with themes from the parsha, and just in the blurb I write a little something to introduce the week.  This is for Parsha Ki Tetze (readings from Deuteronomy 21:10 ~ 25:19) ,

"In this week we read detailed commandments for all kinds of different situations like the mother bird and her young, and relationships including husband and wife.  It may be hard to even imagine in our human minds that the God of creation would care so much as to give us detailed do’s and don’ts of so many scenarios in everyday living.  And yet our God, who is the God of creation, and Maker of all things, is the Father who attends to every detail of our lives!!   Why even this morning, I had set my alarm to a certain time, and yet HE woke me an hour earlier to say to get up!!, that there was some place He wanted me to be!!"

This is what I reflect on in this week---continuing from something I started in the previous post about the "Big" Shofar blast at Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah) and the  "little " sounding of the shofar in Elul.  In Elul, I feel like a child as I approach and spend time with my Father and King, who is "in the field".  What I meant in the paragraph above, the unbelievable truth that the same King who is the Master of all Creation is also the one who attends to all the tiny details of our days  and cares so very much about all the ways we carry on in our every day life.  How He is present and active in our days to even the smallest details of waking us up earlier than the alarm we set if need  be!!!  (This very life which is given by Him!!) 

All this to say, that we are coming closer to that Coronation day and the Fall Feasts.  So even in the month of Elul as I start out in a sheer joy and delight of having this month to hold on to my Fathers hand and learn from Him in a  Father-daughter relationship, growing deeper in intimacy , I am aware in my spirit that its also time to buckle down and revere Him for who He IS as the King and Creator of the world and Judge who is holding a Feast for all His people to attend,  during the days of Awe and Repentance.   Time to to prepare my heart, my best clothes, be on my best behavior and get ready to attend the feasts.  I can feel that shift coming closer, and  move from leaping and jumping and exclaiming, to a posture of bowing down to His Holiness even as I go out with my little shofar in the latter part of Elul.  Whew.

Praise God!
  Our Father, Our King.

2.  More sweet sounds as we get closer to Rosh Hashanah

Yesterday I bought a few jars of made-in-Japan honey to give as Rosh Hashanah gifts, including one to bring to my daughter for a Sweet New Year.  On the way home, I  stopped to blow the shofar at the river.  So I took a few of the honey jars out of the shopping bag, with the apples that I also had bought to go with the honey, arranged them on the steps, and started to feel an early sweetness that we associate with the coming of the New Year!!   note:  it is a Jewish Holiday tradition to have apples and honey in the New Year!!  We are in the last days of the year 5779, the new year will become 5780 on the biblical calendar at the end of September.


3.  A butterfly meeting in Elul!!

This was sooooo Elul and such an amazing gift from God!!  I saw a butterfly and I knew she was the one who I prayed for in the Matot and Masei postings (here) from last year!! She had the same markings and was flitting around showing off how well her wings were working!! I tried to get her to stop and sit on my hand as she did that time, but no!   She was too busy flying with her wings all perfect and being who she is in wholeness, health and vibrancy---this day she wanted to just show me that!!!   I was so happy and want to remind you of what the Holy Spirit showed me----don't ever stop praying and believing for healing for those you love, and don't ever ever think its too silly or a waste of time to spend a whole day with a butterfly with a broken wing.  She will come back one day and fly to show you that she is healed and  show you even how good she flies and how she was meant to be, perfectly created and perfectly healed!!  Oh, and don't take it personal if she doesn't have the time to spend the whole day with you this time, she is doing what she was meant to do --fly!--- and just wanted to thank you for taking the time with her when she was broken and needed someone, and show you that He hears your prayers!!

4.  Elul transitions into Rosh Hashanah and the Fall Feasts.

In taking out my little shofar everyday of Elul I meet with wonder that is particular to this Hebrew month!!  I find new things in each day that can only be described as  "in Elul".

In this month of preparation for Rosh Hashanah and the  Kingdom Feast time, I find that Elul is a time of seeking and reflection in preparation.

I just heard a rabbi teaching about the shofar who described the shofar blowing as a form of prayer without words.   I really love that, it was a beautiful point to hear!


 5.  Ice cream and Shofar

I am not really a big ice cream eater, but the other day somehow it just welled up in me,  I wanted an ice cream!! So I got an ice cream and brought it with me to a place by the river where its an open space to blow the shofar!! And what happened was that I was able to offer a sweet sound to the LORD by having the ice cream and delighting in it and in Him as I sounded my call for returning to Him.

6.  My Elul lesson

 Big You
little me
is the way its gotta be!!

That means I am "little" and God is "Big" and when I recognize that and especially He is not only Big, He is Infinite, and Everlasting, and yet He comes to meet little me in this wonderful divine-human partnership , oh that is har-mon-y!!  I also am learning that when the Huge God meets us in the "small things" , that is truly a miracle.  May we be thankful for the many daily miracles that we might have skipped over in this year, and go into the new year with a grateful heart and prepare for His return in readiness to meet Him in all our days!

Blessings and renewal to you as we get closer to the New Year and Fall Feasts of the KING!!  Still some time to prepare!! Wishing you a Happy, Sweet New Year, Shana Tova!!! 

Love,

♡

Shayndel

For your maker is your husband—ADONAI Tzva’ot is His Name—- 
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer.  He will be called God of all the earth.  

                                    Isaiah 54:5 (from the Haftarah reading from Parsha Ki Tetze)

Shabbat Shalom!

Days of the Fall Feasts 2019:
(note:  all days on the Hebrew calendar begin in the evening, which follow the Creation where God said first there was evening and then morning, one day)

The month of Elul Sept 1 ~ 29

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Teruah  (Feast of Trumpets, Head of the Year)
September 29 ~ Oct 1

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
October 8 ~ 9

Succot (Feast of Tabernacles)
October 13 ~20

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah as one year Torah Cycle is complete
and scroll back to the beginning)
October 20 ~ 22

New Parsha/ Torah Reading Schedule for the new year 5780, 2019-2020
HERE