The Shofar of the You! - Past Present & Future - Poem

Lat year, before Rosh Hashana, I was zoche to attend the annual pre-Rosh Hashana lecture organized by PAL (Phone and Learn), a Torah learning outreach organisation founded in the mid-2000s, in memory of a young man, Reb Sammy Homberger A''H, who had tragically passed away at the young age of 41. The organisation was founded as the brainchild of Rabbi Paysach Krohn שליט"א, and has been directed by Reb Dov Harris and his committee since it's inception. For more information please visit www.phoneandlearn.org.

Anyway, since its inception, every year they've had a pre-Rosh Hashana lecture, usually given by Rabbi Krohm. Last year, to take the place of Rabbi Krohn, who was (and I believe still is) recovering from his recent stroke, they invited the renowned Rabbi, lecturer and educator, Rabbi Shlomo Farhi שליט"א, the Rabbi of the Edmund J. Safra Synagogue in New York and founder of CHAZAK, a UK based organisation.

Anyway, I went to hear Rabbi Farhi speak and really enjoyed and connected with what he said. He had many wonderful ideas, concepts and expressions as well as lessons I found myself connecting with. One of them helped develop the poem you are about to read.

Rabbi Farhi mentioned that in the Rosh Hashana Amida, in the section of "Shofaros" there are number of verses that speak about three types of Shofaros: One set of verses speak about the Shofar of the past -of Har Sinai. The second set speaks about a present Shofar - a Shofar of today, of this time, and the third set speaks about the future Shofar - that of Mashiach, at the time of redemption

Rabbi Farhi continued and he said, that these set of verses are not just verses that were put into our prayers because they mention the Shofar. But its because we are talking about three different types of Shofaros. Not just of the Shofar of me, today, where I stand spiritually, but of the Shofaros of the past and future me.

The Shofar of the past, of old, is a faraway sound, coming from a distance, from a past time, from the deepest part of ourselves and it is the sound of who a person truly is, his essence, who he used to be before the pain, the hardship, the desires and the difficulties.
The other is the sound of a Shofar of now, loud, real, and in front of us, and the other is the sound of the Shofar of a future self, a future you and me, the best outcome or version of you and me, calling, crying, screaming, from the future "Come find me! You today, this you its not enough! Don't give up! There is still more here within you! All you have to do is come, come find me. I am waiting... for you!"

Rabbi Farhi also mentioned how when we hear these sounds, this crying, this screaming, this calling, it is not only the past, present and future you calling to you to do your best to be better, but its Hashem Himself, calling you home, telling you, "Its okay, come home. Come back. I love you. I'll accept you. I'll help you be better. Just, please, please, come home, come back."

It is up to us to hear these callings.

Now, with these thoughts in mind, I hope you will connect to and enjoy the poem I wrote based on the Shofar of the You.

Have a blessed week ahead,

Your friend,

Yitzy Schweitzer

The Shofar of the You! - Past Present & Future - Poem

In the distance, in a time they call the past,
There are memories of a you who is you no more,
You can see him now, the you that was, as he smiles,
For he knows, the you of today, is better than the you from before.

The person who spoke that way, who did those things,
That person is better now, he speaks and performs acts with more clarity and care,
That person of the past is you no longer, he is but a shadow,
Of the you who stands here today, more honest, more truthful, more authentic, more sincere.

But alongside that, in this present time, at this moment right now,
Is but the you, the you of today, the you who is different, the you who has changed.
A person who prays a little better, who learns just perhaps a little more,
A person who is a work in progress, true, but not the one in the past, you are not the same.

The present you feels at peace, feels serene,
For you have done your best, despite the challenges, to get where you are today,
But somewhere, somewhere, somewhere deep inside your very humble being,
There is a soft weeping, a call, a cry, from far away.

This voice belongs to, none other, but a future you,
The you of this new year, that you have just begun,
He calls out to you from afar and cries, “Hold on, keep doing your best, don’t give up,
For soon, you will find, another you, an improved you, the same soul but a better someone.

“There is but more that He above sees within you,
trust me I know,
I am your soul calling to you, listen my son, please,
I am the you from the future, waiting to see you and see how far you can truly go.”

These version of the you, of the me of the us,
Are the voices of our internal Shofar, encouraging, inspiring and calling out,
From where you were, where you are and where you are going to be,
The Shofar, calls to every version of you, past present and future, to reveal the real you and bring the true colours of your neshama, out.

Listen to the Shofar of the you,
Understand who you were, is not who are now, and who you are now is not who you are destined to be,
There is someone greater than you now, waiting for you on the other side,
Calling out with love and with a trembling voice, “My real self, my son, come, find you, find... me