The Torah describes counting a cycle of seven seven-year periods—forty-nine years in all, and then sounding the shofar to announce the beginning of the yovel (Jubilee) year, during which land returns to its original owners and slaves go free.
We associate the shofar primarily with Rosh Hashanah, which is known in the Torah as Yom T’ruah (the day of sounding the shofar). Texts in this section ask about the connection between these two instances of sounding the shofar: yovel and Rosh Hashanah.
As you explore these texts, consider what the shofar of yovel is designed to evoke. Why is this practice so central in the biblical text? What might sounding the shofar as individuals or in community awaken in us as we approach this fiftieth anniversary?
