Guest Authors
Sho-far Sho-good
As a pastor in a small town I often get the opportunity to be invited into small groups to give a talk. I often use this opportunity to educate people in the Torah or the Hebrew heritage of the Christian faith. This gives people the opportunity to hear things that they would not often hear.
This past week I had the wonderful opportunity to go to an adult day care center in our area and talk about the Shofar. I bring my Shofar with me and I discuss the history and the heritage around it and then I sound the Shofar. With Yom Kippur coming up, this was a special chance to share with others this instrument of God.
The center that I went to is a place designed to take care of the needs of the elderly and the handicapped who still live at home with their families. This gives them an opportnity to be cared for and fed and also engage in some fellowship. The guests stay for the day and then return to their homes and families at the end of the day.
When I began my talk I noticed that there was a woman in the corner who had Down Syndrome. She simply sat in her chair with her head down. There was not much reaction from her when I began my talk. However, as soon as I sounded the Shofar her head raised up, her eyes got bright, and she put her hands up in the air. We could also see a huge smile on her face.
She kept her attention focused on the Shofar. When I asked her if she would like to hear it again, she smiled. I sounded it again. Again, her eyes lit up and she smiled for me. That smile made my day!
How amazing is it that the shofar, an instrument that is thousands of years old, can bring about such a change in a person. It made me think about that glorious day when the Great Shofar will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, healed, and full of the life of God. This was my Yom Kippur glimpse at the resurrection.
I could not wait to get home and sign on to the FFOZ Torah Club Online Forum and share this story with my friends there. On the Forum we have such a remarkable chance to share stories with each other and rejoice, mourn, and strengthen each other in our faith and life. If you are a Torah Club member, we would love to see you on the online forum! For those of you who are not yet Torah Club members, may you continue to have a blessed Hebrew year 5768.
Shalom,
Bill
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Visitor Feedback:
In Chassidic thought, a person who is 'special' (handicapped and disabled are negative words that imply a defect in the person some how) actually possesses a very lofty soul, one that would parallel that of a tzaddik (or even excede it). The Chassidic teachers say that the reason the person was born without the use of some of his/her faculties is that their soul is so great that a person's body with complete health would not be able to sustain the power of that soul. Hashem sends such lofty souls into the world for our benefit so that we may share in the divine light that flows through their soul into the world.
Brian R. | September 25, 2007 6:06 PM
Bill & Brian R.,
Bill, thank you for sharing that very touching story.
Brian R., Thank you for your beautiful comment!
Rob D. | September 26, 2007 12:01 PM