The Story
Once the Baal Shem Tov dreamed that he was walking outside his hut, and he saw a tree, shaped like a shofar, twisting in and out of the earth, as if a giant ram's horn had taken root.
The sight of that great shofar took the Baal Shem's breath away.
In the dream the Baal Shem gathered all of his Hasidim together by that tree and told them to see who among them could sound it.
One by one, they approached the mouth of that mighty shofar, but none of them could bring forth a single sound.
At last Reb Wolf Kitzes approached it, and this time a deep and long-sustained blast came forth, like a voice from deep in the earth.
He blew only that one note, but it rose up into heaven.
When the Baal Shem awoke, he was still being borne by that long note, and he sighed because there was no such shofar in this world, only in the world of dreams.
The next day the Baal Shem called upon Wolf Kitzes and told him that he wanted to teach him the secret meanings of the blasts of the shofar so that he could serve as the ‘baal tekiah’ for the High Holy Days.
The Power Of The Shofar
So it was that Wolf Kitzes learned, over many months, that every blast of the shofar is a branch of the Tree of Life, and that there are great powers residing in the shofar.
So mighty is its blessing that a note blown with the right meaning and intensity can rise on a single breath all the way to the Throne of Glory.
Now Wolf Kitzes listened carefully to the words of the Baal Shem, and wrote down the secret meaning of each and every sound, so that he could remember it precisely as he blew on the shofar.
But it happened that on the day of Rosh Hashanah, when he was about to blow on the shofar before the Ark for the first time, the notes with all the secret meanings vanished.
He frantically searched for them everywhere, but to no avail.
Weeping bitter tears, he blew on the shofar with his broken heart, without concentrating on the secret meanings, and the sound of the shofar rose up in long and short blasts and carried all of their prayers with it into the highest heavens.
Everyone who heard him blow the shofar that day knew that for one moment heaven and earth had been brought together in the same place.
Afterwards, the Baal Shem said to Wolf Kitzes: "In the palace of the king there are many chambers, and every one has a lock of its own. But the master key is a broken heart. When a man truly breaks his heart before the Holy One, blessed be He, he can pass through each and every gate.”
From Darkness Into Light
What does it mean to have a broken heart? Leonard Cohen sings: "There's a crack in everything. That's where the light comes in." Must something break so as light can enter our being?
Many mystics report, and my own experience says the same, that the most profound experiences of connection with something great, happen when some shell of knowing shatters.
Wolf Kitzes relished the chance to delve into the sacred mysteries of the shofar with the Bal Shem Tov. He studied diligently for many months and wrote down the secret meanings of each and every sound so that he could remember them precisely when he blew. But when about to blow on the shofar for the first time, the notes with all the secret meanings vanished.
He was devastated, as can well be understood. Weeping bitter tears, he blew on the shofar with his broken heart, without concentrating on the secret meanings, and lo and behold, the sound of the shofar rose and carried all the prayers with it into the highest heavens.
The Power Of Surrendering
Could it be that only when fully surrendering all attempts to 'know' something or 'get' somewhere, only when all our efforts are suddenly uncontrollably and unintentionally shattered to shreds, leaving us broken, bleeding and helpless to continue, could it be that only then gates truly open?
Forgetting all secret meanings, not attempting to concentrate or be precise, Wolf Kitzes blew on the shofar with his broken heart and gates opened. Everyone who heard him blow the shofar that day knew that for one moment heaven and earth had been brought together in the same place.
When 'meanings' are forgotten and efforts forgone, suddenly heaven and earth become one.
The problem is we can not intentionally break our heart so as to open the gates. The processes of life are a mystery. Events flow and form independent of our immediate wants and wishes - the carpet is torn from under our feet when least expecting it, and we are, for better or worse, not in control.
And yet we can trust in the great goodness of that one who sits on the 'Throne of Glory'.
With integrity and pure intention, we can walk our path and live our story. And if our heart be broken along the way, we can remember and maybe see…that perhaps we are holding a master key.