V1.
תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵֽנוּ
וְשָׂא נֵס - לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּוֹתֵֽינוּ
וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנו יַֽחַד
מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ:
V2.
תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵֽנוּ
וְשָׂא נֵס - לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּוֹתֵֽינוּ
וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנו יַֽחַד
מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה מְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵי עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל:
(1) Sound the great shofar for our liberty, and raise a banner to gather our exiles, and gather us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Gatherer of the dispersed of His people Israel.
תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵֽנוּ
When the time of the Final Redemption comes, a loud and powerful shofar blast will be sounded to inform the Jews that the exile has come to an end and there will be no more exiles after this redemption.
It seems from here that there is a correlation between the shofar blast and the ensuing "freedom" from galus that the shofar blast is heralding in. What is this connection?
The term חירות, ("freedom") is used in a very technical way in the Torah, in reference to the freedom of the jubilee year and this reference can help us sharpen what we might be praying for in the blessing.
In Parashat Behar, the image of the shofar, and the freedom of the jubilee year, appear together:
ויקרא כה:ט-י
וְהַעֲבַרְתָּ שׁוֹפַר תְּרוּעָה בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִעִי בֶּעָשׂוֹר לַחֹדֶשׁ בְּיוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים תַּעֲבִירוּ שׁוֹפָר בְּכָל־אַרְצְכֶם: וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּם אֵת שְׁנַת הַחֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה וּקְרָאתֶם דְּרוֹר בָּאָרֶץ לְכָל־יֹשְׁבֶיהָ יוֹבֵל הִוא תִּהְיֶה לָכֶם וְשַׁבְתֶּם אִישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּתוֹ וְאִישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ תָּשֻׁבוּ:
Leviticus 25:9-10
Then you shall sound a blasting shofar in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month; on the Day of Atonement, you shall have the shofar sounded throughout your land. You shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim freedom (dror)throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to your land, and each of you shall return to your family.
On the passuk (Leviticus 25:10), Onkelos translates the word דרור as חירותא.
We see that the yovel year, which marks a time when everyone can return to their ancestral land and a terminal freedom - cheirus - is granted is heralded through the blast of the shofar on Yom Kippur.
In our beracha our too, the imagery is the same; the shofar blast will usher in our freedom the concept of (expressed as cheiruseinu) appear in our blessing’s first line.
What is the common theme between these two freedoms? The jubilee marked the ultimate end of slavery, and just as people could return to their original land, slaves could return to their original free status in their land. In a similar way, the geula from this gals will be final and will not be followed by any other subsequent exiles.
גָּדוֹל
Why do we refer to this shofar as the "great" shofar?
Etz Yosef brings two explanations:
1. Chazal say that this shofar will be made from the right horn of the bull which Avraham Avinu offered as a korban to Hashem in lieu of Yitzchak at the Akeida (Bereishis 22:13). The right side is referred to in Kabbalistic sources as a greater side, as it represents Hashem's middah of largesse towards the world (middas hachesed), whereas the left side is smaller and represents Hashem's mid of strict judgement.
And also from a practical standpoint, in order to facilitate the ingathering of the exiles, a large shofar with a larger sound making capacity will need to be used in order to notify all of the Jews from all over the world. ()
(יג) ר' חנניא בן דוסא אומר, אותו האיל שנברא בין השמשות לא יצא ממנו דבר לבטלה...של שמאל שתקע בו בהר סיני שנ' ויהי במשוך בקרן היובל, ושל ימין שהיא גדולה משל שמאל שהוא עתיד לתקוע בה לעתיד לבא, שנ' והיה ביום ההוא יתקע בשופר גדול והיה ה' למלך על כל הארץ.
(13) Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa said: From that ram, which was created at the twilight, nothing came forth which was useless...the horn of the ram of the left side (was the one) wherein He blew upon Mount Sinai, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass, that when the ram's horn soundeth long" (Josh. 6:5). (The horn) of the right side, which is larger than that of the left, is destined in the future to be sounded in the Time to Come, as it is said, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown" (Isa. 27:13); and it is said, "And the Lord shall be king over all the earth" (Zech. 14:9).
The deeper understanding of the connection between the horn of the ram of the Akeida and the heralding of the ingathering of the exiles is a topic discussed among the later meforshim.
2. Additionally, the beracha aims to parallel the terminology the Navi uses to describe the shofar, as it is written:
(יג) וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא יִתָּקַע֮ בְּשׁוֹפָ֣ר גָּדוֹל֒ וּבָ֗אוּ הָאֹֽבְדִים֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ אַשּׁ֔וּר וְהַנִּדָּחִ֖ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְהִשְׁתַּחֲו֧וּ לַֽיהֹוָ֛ה בְּהַ֥ר הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ בִּירוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃ {פ}
(13) And in that day, a great ram’s horn shall be sounded; and the strayed who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt shall come and worship GOD on the holy mount, in Jerusalem.
וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנו יַֽחַד
מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ:
Rav Emden (Siddur Shaar HaShamayim) asks, we already asked Hashem for redemption in the seventh beracha, so how come we are asking Him for redemption here too?
He answers that in the seventh beracha we were Hashem to redeem us from the physical exile from under the dominion of the kingdoms and governments whom we are subjegated to. (geulas hagufim mi'shibud)
However, in this beracha, we are asking Hashem redeem us from the spiritual maladies which have insidiously seeped into our national collective consciousness over the long period of exile. (geulas nefashos)
Since we anyways ask Hashem for geula in this beracha, we incorporate a second request to Hashem to bring about the geulas hagufim. We allude to this in the clause is alluded to in the words וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנו יַֽחַד מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ. The beracha could have said וְקַבְּ֒צֵֽנו מֵאַרְבַּע כַּנְפוֹת הָאָֽרֶץ, and left out the word "יַֽחַד" altogether (no pun intended), and by including it we can extrapolate that it is coming to include another geula that is unspoken, namely the geulas hagufim.
(See more on this topic in Shaarei Yitzchak p. 17...also he brings this concept from the Etz Chaim (Vol 1. p. 46a) in the name of Arizal, that there is a kibbutz hagufos and a kibbutz hanitzotzos)
The idea of the extra word יַֽחַד "together" I don't think is a simple "ribui" to include another thing. Rather, the way I see it, the word "yachad" is turning our request into a supplication for a complete geula of both body and soul so that they can fuse together for us to be able to serve Hashem in the best way possible in the Time to Come.
Rav Emden adds that the extra word "יַֽחַד" can also be an allusion to the geula of the Shechina (Hashem's Divine Presence) from exile. We should make sure to have kavanna to ask Hashem to bring back the Shechina from Galus so we can have more clarity and closeness to Hashem.
The idea of the Shechina being in Galus is found in the Gemara in Megilla:
תַּנְיָא, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי אוֹמֵר: בּוֹא וּרְאֵה כַּמָּה חֲבִיבִין יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁבְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁגָּלוּ — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן. גָּלוּ לְמִצְרַיִם — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הַנִּגְלֹה נִגְלֵיתִי לְבֵית אָבִיךָ בִּהְיוֹתָם בְּמִצְרַיִם וְגוֹ׳״. גָּלוּ לְבָבֶל — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְמַעַנְכֶם שֻׁלַּחְתִּי בָבֶלָה״. וְאַף כְּשֶׁהֵן עֲתִידִין לִיגָּאֵל — שְׁכִינָה עִמָּהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְשָׁב ה׳ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת שְׁבוּתְךָ״. ״וְהֵשִׁיב״ לֹא נֶאֱמַר, אֶלָּא ״וְשָׁב״. מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שָׁב עִמָּהֶן מִבֵּין הַגָּלִיּוֹת.
It is taught in a baraita: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: Come and see how beloved the Jewish people are before the Holy One, Blessed be He. As every place they were exiled, the Divine Presence went with them. They were exiled to Egypt, and the Divine Presence went with them, as it is stated: “Did I reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt?” (I Samuel 2:27). They were exiled to Babylonia, and the Divine Presence went with them, as it is stated: “For your sake I have sent to Babylonia” (Isaiah 43:14). So too, when, in the future, they will be redeemed, the Divine Presence will be with them, as it is stated: “Then the Lord your God will return with your captivity” (Deuteronomy 30:3). It does not state: He will bring back, i.e., He will cause the Jewish people to return, but rather it says: “He will return,” which teaches that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will return together with them from among the various exiles.
V2.
תְּקַע בְּשׁוֹפָר גָּדוֹל לְחֵרוּתֵֽנוּ
Alternatively, Etz Yosef explains this clause as a supplication to Hashem to gather the Ten Lost Tribes from their exile. According to the Tanna R' Akiva, Hashem will locate them from the far flung areas of the world and gather them in along with the rest of the Jewish people.
The Gemara in Sanhedrin records his opinion:
מתני׳ עשרת השבטים אינן עתידין לחזור שנא' (דברים כט, כז) וישליכם אל ארץ אחרת כיום הזה מה היום הולך ואינו חוזר אף הם הולכים ואינן חוזרים דברי ר"ע ר"א אומר כיום הזה מה יום מאפיל ומאיר אף עשרת השבטים שאפילה להן כך עתידה להאיר להם:
גמ׳ ת"ר עשרת השבטים אין להם חלק לעוה"ב... רבי אומר באים הם לעוה"ב שנאמר (ישעיהו כז, יג) ביום ההוא יתקע בשופר גדול וגו'
MISHNA: The ten tribes are not destined to return to Eretz Yisrael, even during the messianic era, as it is stated: “And He cast them into another land, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 29:27). Just as the day passes never to return, so too, the ten tribes go into exile and do not return; this is the statement of Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Eliezer says: “As it is this day,” meaning just as the day darkens and then the sky brightens the next day, with regard to the ten tribes as well, although it is dark for them now, so it is destined to brighten for them.
GEMARA: The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 13:12): The ten tribes have no share in the World-to-Come...Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: The members of the ten tribes come to the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And it shall come to pass on that day, that a great shofar will be sounded, and they shall come who were lost in the land of Assyria and who were dispersed in the land of Egypt, and they shall worship the Lord at the holy mountain in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13)
The Etz Yosef extrapolates that from our beracha employing the same exact verbiage of the passuk which the Gemara in Sanhedrin uses to proport the righteousness of the Ten Tribes, we can conclude that our beracha is including a supplication for the inevitable ingathering of the Ten Tribes as well.
The Gemara (in the name of Rebbi) brings this passuk as a proof that the Ten Tribes will be allowed into Olam Haba. But according to the context of the passuk and how we are applying it here, isn't it more of a proof that they will be brought back during the exile; why is the source brought as a proof of their eligibility into Olam Haba?
וְשָׂא נֵס - לְקַבֵּץ גָּלֻיּוֹתֵֽינוּ
After asking Hashem to sound the shofar to notify the Ten Lost Tribes, we add that Hashem also facilitates in ingathering them, which is alluded to in the passuk in Yeshaya, which says:
(ג) כׇּל־יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵ֖ל וְשֹׁ֣כְנֵי אָ֑רֶץ:
כִּנְשֹׂא־נֵ֤ס הָרִים֙ - תִּרְא֔וּ!
וְכִתְקֹ֥עַ שׁוֹפָ֖ר - תִּשְׁמָֽעוּ!׃
(3) [Say this:]
“All you who live in the world
And inhabit the earth:
When a flag is raised in the hills -see it!
When a ram’s horn is blown - hear it!”
The pesukim in this perek are speaking about the Time to Come when Klal Yisrael is redeemed from galus. At that time, the Kings of Cush will send agents in ships to Eretz Yisrael to see if indeed Klal Yisrael was redeemed and returned to the land promised to their forefathers.
Our passuk is saying that there will be no need to send agents to verify the geula because the banner that will be raised up and the sounding of the great shofar will be manifest for all to see as a clear attestmant to the geula.
How do we know that this passuk is referring to the ingathering of the Ten Lost Tribes? Perhaps as follows: the passuk mention that the inhabitants of Cush are the ones who will want to verify that the geula has taken place. Rav Moshe Meiselman (brought in ArtScroll Isaiah ibid) posits that modern day Cush is probably what we call Sudan and Ethiopia. According to many meforshim, the Ten Lost Tribes reside in Hodu (see Siach Yom al Tefilla, Teka B'Shofar). And according to one pshat in the Gemara in Megilla, Hodu is next to Kush. If so, it may very well be that the inhabitants of Cush will be curious to know if the redemption has indeed occurred to see if they need to release the Ten Lost Tribes from under their control.
In the aforementioned passuk, the word "kol" implies that for this final geula, we want everyone to return to Yerushalayim. This is in distinction from the return to Yerushalayim during the times of the second Beis HaMikdash, where only a portion of Klal Yisrael returned to Yerushalayim.
The pesukim tell us that when the Second Beis HaMikdash was completed, Ezra HaNavi, despite being a strong and charismatic leader, only led 1,500 Jews into Eretz Israel to rededicate the Beis HaMikdash.