The Meaning of the Shofar - Prof. William Kolbrener

Professor William Kolbrenner explains that before speech comes kol or voice; for kol comes in a place where speech is not yet possible. When the people of Israel descend to Egypt, speech too, the kabbalists say, goes into exile.At a time when we feel disconnected or depressed and we have no other means of communication, we cry out. The voice of the shofar is there to remind us that on Rosh Ha-shana, we take the first step to reclaiming our speech, by first finding the kol, the ability to cry out with the voice of our true selves.