When the Player Played. In Memory of the holy Rabbi Dov Baer (1773-1827) by Rabbi David Zaslow
Judges 6:34 “And the Spirit of the Holy One
came upon Gideon, and he blew a shofar.”
Rabbi Dov Baer pointed the way
for us to understand the meaning of the verse,
“And it came to pass, when the player played
that the spirit of Hashem came upon him.”
He teaches us that even though a person
may be proficient at blowing the shofar
there remains inside the mind distracting thoughts.
This is not true of the shofar itself
which is undistracted when being played.
Here is the meaning of “…and the player played.”
That is, when the player becomes the played,
when the blower becomes the blown,
when the player becomes shofar itself.
At that moment, for just a moment,
we are not distracted just as the shofar is not distracted.
And that is when “…the spirt of Hashem” comes upon us.
Here is a secret of the shofar:
As the blower becomes the blown,
so the listener must become
that which is listened to.
In this way only do we become
at-one with Hashem.
For are we not like the Holy One’s own shofar?
Does the Holy One not blow the soul of life into us,
into the bent horns of our lives?
Reb Dov Baer taught,
“That which comes from the heart enters the heart.
That which comes from the Maker
is certainly heard by the Maker.
That is why the Holy One can hear
our prayers of Teshuvah
during the Days of Awe.”
And this is the secret of atonement:
Becoming at-one with our Maker.
During the High Holidays?
“Yes, as a model for the rest of the year.”
Bio of Rav. David Zaslow:
Rabbi David Zaslow was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947. He was ordained in 1995 by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi under the supervision and mentorship of Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfeld. In 2003 he completed his term as a Spiritual Advisor to ALEPH, the umbrella organization of the Jewish Renewal movement. Before his ordination he served as a rabbinic intern for the Jewish communities Crescent City, CA, Bend, OR, and Redding, CA. During his years as a poet-in-the-schools for the southern Oregon region, David Zaslow wrote and edited more than a dozen of books of poetry as well as two albums of children’s music for publishers like Good Apple; Harcourt Brace Javanovich; and Scott Foresman. In the late 1970s David, along with partner Steve Sacks, co-created what became the Peter Britt Jazz Festival by bringing jazz legends like Dave Brubeck, Count Basie, Dizzie Gillespie, Woodie Herman, and dozens of other jazz greats to southern Oregon for the first time. Along with poet Lawson Inada, in 1988 he was awarded an American Book Award for educational materials for a project he co-produced featuring Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows to music composed by Patti McCoy. Rabbi David also teaches Bible and spirituality in classes at Southern Oregon University’s Elderhostel program, and leads Shabbaton weekends and retreats for Jewish Renewal communities throughout the United States. Today Rabbi David is completing a series of books that he has been working on for many years: on Jewish meditation & Kabbalah; interfaith relations with Christianity; on the poetry of the Tenakh (Bible); and a collection of his own poetry. Rabbi David Zaslow can be reached by phone, 541.488.0772 or email, shalomrav@aol.com.
