When the call of the shofar
Is to arouse us from our slumber
When we try to cleanse ourselves from sin…
The awesome tefillos
The haunting melodies
The words of “mi yichyeh umi yomus”
Are to shake us to our very core
The Day is here
The Day of Awe
The day when we proclaim His Kingship…
When the call of the children
Is to arouse us from our slumber
While we try to cleanse ourselves from sin
The cries of a baby
The songs of a mother
As she hushes her child
To the tune of “mi yichyeh umi yomus”
Shaking her to her very core
When we yearn to be in shul
With Klal Yisroel
When we wish with all our hearts and souls
To be able to penetrate the gates of heaven
With our tefillos
When we cajole our children, ply them with treats
So they will enable us to daven, to beseech Hashem on their and our behalf
When our prayers are interrupted
Intermingled with their cries…
Rosh Hashanah, a day like no other
A day to rehash the year
A day to begin the Days of Repentance
A day to cleanse ourselves from sin
A day when we think of all the tragedies –
All the “shofar blows” of the year
Rosh Hashanah, a day like no other
A day to rehash the year
While performing motherly duties
A day to begin the Days of Repentance
While interacting with our children
A day to cleanse ourselves from sin
While cooking and cleaning, dressing and feeding
A day when we think of all the tragedies –
All the “shofar blows” of the year
When we try to remember that our children’s cries
Are our most important “shofar blows”
Rosh Hashanah and then Yom Kippur
Days to cherish
Days to remember
That Hashem gave us these gifts
Our precious children
Days to plumb the depths of the brachah
That we recite daily — she’asani kirtzono
That we were created according to Hashem’s will
Days to remember that every cry from our children
Every altercation, every boo-boo, every mess
Every smile, every milestone
Is our own, personal shofar blow with all its inherent rachamei Shomayim…
Rosh Hashanah and then Yom Kippur
Days to cherish
Days to contemplate as we go about our chores
That we are each a kohein gadol doing the avodah
In our home, our mikdosh me’at
Days to hear the shofar and harken
Our families are our ruchniyus!
Days to remember that our purpose in life
Is to educate our children
Lead our children
Show them what it means to be a Yid
All the while, praying at every possible moment
While performing motherly duties
Cooking and cleaning, dressing and feeding
Praying in our hearts, minds and souls
That Hashem should lead us and them along the proper path
That Hashem should fill our hearts and souls with the strength of spirit
To guide our families and raise the seemingly mundane responsibilities of our lives
To a higher plane – to that of hearing our daily “shofar blows”
