Jewish Life #11 Dynamic Personality

The aim of hearing the shofar is to regain a dynamic personality. What does this mean, a dynamic personality? 
 
One can conceptualize Hashem as a nosai, a subject in the most absolute sense. This means that Hashem continually renews His creation. So, we as human beings depends on his constant involvement as Creator in this world. Hashem is subject and active [a Creator]. 
 
In Devarim 28:9 in parashah Tavo we read that Hashem will establish His holy people. A well-known ‘conditional assumption’, an ‘If… then…’ assumption has been inserted. We read: ‘He [Hashem] swore to you,if you safeguard the commandments of God, your God [by studying how to perform them properly[1]], and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of God is associated with you [as His chosen people], and they will fear you.’
 
As Hashem is per definition is active, man is challenged to be also an active subject and a partner in the work of redemption. Man is challenged to be a creator himself. That is the primary purpose of the Creator in relation to His creature. 
 
So, man is challenged to influence his surroundings in the best possible way. Man acts and is not acted upon. He controls his environment rather than being controlled by it. 
 
Whether a person is able to take on this active role depends on his perception of free will (does free will exist?). Judaism considers man as someone with free will. He can choose freely. Man is challenged to use his free will at the utmost. This gift is not given to inanimate objects because their essential nature is that they are passive. 
 
In light of this, we must determine what sin essentially means. In simple terms, sin means when man loses his ability to be active and becomes an object. He transforms, as it were, from a creator to a victim, a person who is influenced and loses the ability to exert influence. Sin transforms a person into someone who is acted upon or influenced. Sin causes a loss of dynamism, will and power.
 
Regarding sin, an often-made analogy is sleep. Sleep is an absolute passive state, a kind of mini-dead, in which a person is complete object. He is powerless. 
 
A person who wants to do teshuvah must hear the blast of the shofar to wake him up. He needs a transformation from object to subject. He needs to become dynamic again. He needs to be active and creative. He needs to use his free will [his power] to influence his surroundings. 
 
Through teshuvah man can become a creative person again. To achieve this, he needs the piercing sound of the shofar. He must heed the cry of the shofar and engage in teshuvah in order to regain his dynamic personality. 
 
Dynamic personality traits are aspect of a person that help him to change. In this case from a passive attitude to an active creative attitude, as Hashem intends: to walk in His ways. You can bet that you will need the haunting sound of the shofar from time to time!
 

[1] Steinsaltz Chumash, p.1221. 

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