לע"נ סבתי מרת חנה בת ר' מאיר זאב ע"ה
The previous post reminded me of the following idea ["ide-er" as some would have it].
One of the biggest gifts we have is MEMORY. If we didn't remember we wouldn't be able to do almost ANYTHING. We wouldn't understand a word of what we hear or be able to speak. All language is remembered. We wouldn't be able to get into our house [we forgot the idea of a key]. We wouldn't know how to get dressed. Also from memory. We wouldn't eat [we remember that food is tasty and to put it in our mouths and chew based on memory]. I always say - Having Alzheimer's isn't so bad because the person makes new friends every two minutes.... But we know that in real life it is anything but funny. So don't complain that you don't have a good memory. We all have FANTABULOUS memories. We remember millions of things [except today when I went to the supermarket to buy tea bags and it was only after I returned home tea-less that I remembered why I went there in the first place. He-he-he:-)].
Without memory life is just a bunch of disjointed points.
So THANK YOU HASHEM FOR MEMORY!!!!!
What is the HEIGHT of memory? The peak? The apex? The zenith? [All the synonyms from MEMORY!! And even when I google words for synonyms or definitions, that is also from memory that there is such a rebbi/teacher/Dr./ called "google"]
That moment when the neshma was blown into me. Ahhhhhh!!! There is no greater gap between pre-neshama and post-neshama. So every morning we say "אל-הי - נשמה שנתת בי טהורה היא אתה בראתה" Hashem, the neshama you created is PURE etc. We go back in memory to that critical point of creation.
The medrash says that the angels argued against man's creation by saying מה אנוש כי תזכרנו - What is man that you should remember him??
Why didn't they say מה אנוש כי תבראנו - What is man that you should CREATE him? Why כי תזכרנו - remember him??
The angels are saying: "Look at man!! He doesn't remember and connect to that point when he was still pure!! That טהורה היא time. Look at him now. How PATHETIC!! Don't REMEMBER him by creating him with his memory that won't be put to proper use!" [By the way - the word אנוש also means to forget as we say in siyumim לא תתנשי מינך מסכת. Why should you remember man if he is going to forget you!!]
We blow the shofar to jog our memory and bring us back to that primal point of creation, when Hashem BLEW from His nostrils [ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים ויהי האדם לנפש חיה] and created us. That memory should transform us.
MAYBE that is what the gemara means that since the shofar is for memory purposes, it is as if it was done in the kodesh kodashim - כיון דלזכרון אתי - כלפני ולפנים דמי, What is deeper or holier than that moment when Hashem blew from HIMSELF into us in order to create us.
Let us all remember that we are a holy pure neshama and reconnect to that.
Here are the words of Rav Hutner:
