Hefkervelt
When Rosh Hashana Falls On Shabbos, No Shofar Could be A Good Year Ahead
Sep 9, 2026·5 min read
Any year that we do not blow the Shofar on Rosh HaShana we will have a bad year at the end (Rosh HaShanah 16b). There are opinions that the gemara refers to a regular year where there was no shofar blowing others say it is talking about when shabbos falls out on Rosh Hashana such as this year. The Aruch Laner, (in his Minchas Ani, Parshas Haazinu) He discovered that whenever Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos, that year was either a terrible or a fantastic one for Klal Yisroel. Either way, it is almost never an uneventful somewhat forgettable year.
Article in the Yated By Rabbi Yaakov Feitman - No Shofar, No Chain, But Shabbos is Always There for Us
This year, we will not hear the sound of the shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah. ...It is simply that our rabbonon decreed that we may not blow the shofar on Shabbos (Rosh Hashanah 29b; Rambam, Shofar 2:6). It may seem too early to discuss this subject, but if anything, it is a bit late. As we have indicated in these columns in the past, many of our sages have taught us that everything important requires preparation. Here, too, there is a special power to a Shabbos Rosh Hashanah. Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, author of the Aruch Laner, shares with us (in his Minchas Ani, Parshas Haazinu) the results of a historical study he completed. He discovered that whenever Rosh Hashanah fell on Shabbos, that year was either a terrible or a fantastic one for Klal Yisroel. Either way, it is almost never an uneventful somewhat forgettable year.
Rav Ettlinger offers several dramatic examples of this thesis: The destructions of both Botei Mikdosh took place in such years, as did other national tragedies. In fact, the Gemara itself (Rosh Hashanah 16b) declares that “a year when the sound of the tekiah is not heard in the beginning [on Rosh Hashanah], the sound of the teruah will be heard at its end.” This refers to evil tidings in such a year
. On the other hand, he continues, the day of Yom Kippur, when we were forgiven for the sin of the Eigel, was also such a year. That year, we were also commanded to build the Mishkon, as was the year when we entered Eretz Yisroel with miracles. What is the meaning of this strange dichotomy? The Aruch Laner explains with a moshol, a complex parable, which we condense here in the interest of brevity:
An officer of the king sinned egregiously against him. None of his attorneys or advisors could budge the angry monarch. Finally, his wife tearfully stood before the king and poured out her heart. “Your majesty, my husband did indeed transgress toward you. However, it was a one-time aberration; he is truly loyal to you. Please, I beg you. Do not execute him and leave me as a widow and my children as orphans.”
The king was moved by her honesty and pain, by the thought of the innocent children, and granted clemency. A few months later, the story replayed itself with another officer, who suggested to his wife to do the same. A soon as she appeared before the king, he took note of the fact that she was covered with bruises and wounds. He ordered an investigation and discovered that it was the husband’s doing, immediately sentencing him to death. When this second defendant cried foul, the king answered him sternly. “Your wife did not speak out of her love for you. She spoke out of fear of your wrath. For that, there is no clemency.”
The Aruch Laner concluded: “Shabbos is the bride of Klal Yisroel (Bereishis Rabbah 11:8). When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbos, we do not blow the shofar because we are concerned that someone will desecrate Shabbos in order to learn how to blow shofar. Imagine! Because of the rather far-fetched possibility that one Jew in millions will desecrate Shabbos, we deny the multitudes all the merits, power and value of the shofar. On those years, Shabbos herself comes to the defense of Klal Yisroel and pleads our case, because we have such a mutually loving relationship with her. We care so much about her that we have given up our most powerful weapon in obtaining a good year. Hashem hears her cries and supplications and forgives us because of her. That is why a shofar-less Rosh Hashanah often brings the greatest of blessings. However, if Shabbos has been injured and abused, if Shabbos has been treated unkindly and there is no shofar to bring us forgiveness, Shabbos cannot make a winning presentation either and the year becomes a dangerous one indeed.”