Rosh Hashanah 5787 · First day on Shabbos / Shabbat

The shofar rests.Let Shabbos / Shabbat speak for us.

This year, we will not sound the shofar on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, out of reverence for Shabbos / Shabbat. Shabbos / Shabbat will be our advocate. Let us honour Shabbos / Shabbat with one meaningful commitment—together.

A complete shofar resting quietly on deep indigo fabric in warm light

Next milestone: 1,000

One movement, five milestones

We want to reach 1,000 by Rosh Hashanah and one million during the year. Every registered commitment moves the whole movement forward.

11,000By Rosh Hashanah
210,000Next milestone
3100,000Next milestone
4500,000Next milestone
51,000,000During the year

5787 · תשפ״ז

Why this Rosh Hashanah is different

The first day of Rosh Hashanah 5787 falls on Shabbos / Shabbat. The Gemara explains that, on such a day, the shofar is not sounded out of deference to the honour of Shabbos / Shabbat.

Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, the Aruch LaNer, in his sefer (work) Minchas Ani, observes that years of this kind have often been exceptional for the Jewish people—sometimes for great good, and sometimes the opposite. He explains that because we set aside the shofar out of honour for Shabbos / Shabbat, the hope for merciful judgment is bound up with our own commitment to honouring Shabbos / Shabbat.

Our response is simple and practical: each person chooses one meaningful way to deepen their observance and honour of Shabbos / Shabbat—together, בלי נדר.
The cited sources are linked for direct study. This teaching is presented as a call to teshuvah—not as a promise of outcomes.
01 · This yearRosh Hashanah begins on Shabbos / Shabbat
02 · The shofarEvery year we need the shofar to invoke Hashem's mercy on the day of judgement. This year, the shofar is not sounded on the first day.
03 · Our responseOne personal commitment to Shabbos / Shabbat

בלי נדר · Bli neder

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1My commitment, in my own words (optional)
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A commitment to return

You do not have to decide today

Rosh Hashanah is a time to reflect. If you are not yet ready to choose a specific commitment, make a personal resolution—בלי נדר—to return to this site in the days after Rosh Hashanah and choose one.

Please register it here rather than relying only on a private decision. Every person who joins adds to the count and gives encouragement to others.

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The teaching in context

The sources—and what they ask of us

01The Gemara

Rosh Hashanah 29b explains that when the first day falls on Shabbos / Shabbat, the Sages suspended the shofar outside the Temple lest someone carry it four cubits in the public domain while taking it to an expert. The safeguard expresses deference to the honour of Shabbos / Shabbat.

Rosh Hashanah 29b
02Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, the Aruch LaNer

Rav Yaakov Ettlinger, the Aruch LaNer, in his sefer (work) Minchas Ani, derush 6, describes Shabbos / Shabbat as Israel’s partner and advocate. When the shofar is set aside in its honour, he links the hope for merciful judgment with our own readiness to honour Shabbos / Shabbat. He notes that such years have sometimes been exceptionally good and sometimes otherwise, and calls for teshuvah—not certainty about an outcome.

Minchas Ani, derush 6
03Our response

We answer with one sincere, practical strengthening of Shabbos / Shabbat, made bli neder. The campaign is an invitation to honour Shabbos / Shabbat together, not a promise of what Divine judgment will be.

Privacy

Country is required so the movement can show aggregate participation worldwide. If you choose an anonymous commitment, no name is stored. Personal details remain private and are used only for this campaign. Email is optional and collected only for requested follow-up. Personal text is shown only if you explicitly opt in to the anonymous wall, and only after moderation.