Drama in three acts – the Musaf service of Rosh HaShanah
The Musaf service for Rosh HaShanah is the longest of the whole year.
It is made up of nine blessings – the usual three opening and three closing b’rachot, and three special intermediate b’rachot. These are Malchiyot (God is King), Zichronot (God remembers His creatures’ deeds) and Shofarot (God will redeem the world to the sound of the Shofar).
Each of the three b’rachot has the same structure –
1. Introductory hymn
2. Ten Biblical verses
3. Concluding benediction
4. Sounding of the Shofar (except on Shabbat)
5. Plea that our prayer be heard
Through these three blessings, Judaism traverses the whole of history, from creation through revelation to redemption.
It is a drama in three acts – in the first we are Adam and Eve, newly created, ready for history to unfold; in the second, we are Moses and the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai, finding our purpose in life; and in the third, we are our own descendants, hearing the Shofar announce the culmination of history.
You could say that the aim of Rosh HaShanah, symbolised by these b’rachot, is that we should recognise where we come from (Malchiyot), where we are at (Zichronot) and where we are going (Shofarot).
