Every few years, we have a Rosh Hashanah like we had this year, one that begins on Shabbat.

For many communities, particularly Orthodox ones, this overlap alters the holiday, both logistically — you can’t cook on the first day — and also liturgically — the Avinu Malkeinu prayer is not recited, and other Shabbat-related clauses are added. But perhaps the most significant difference is that on the first day of the holiday, the shofar is not blown, and in the prayers, the day is not referred to as the “day of the blowing [of the shofar]” but as the “day of remembrance of the blowing [of the shofar].”

The halachic rationale for not blowing the shofar is a curious one: You may find yourself carrying it a forbidden distance on Shabbat in order to ask an expert how to blow it. (Not a particularly common situation to accidentally find yourself in.)

This is typically not the case for most Reform communities, which do not follow the same strictures regarding Shabbat observance — and also may observe only one day of Rosh Hashanah — and thus do blow the shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat.

In a dvar Torah for Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi David Stav, chair of the Tzohar rabbinical movement, reflects on the significance of a Rosh Hashanah missing half of one of its most significant features, offering a key lesson for Jewish philanthropy. 

Writing in Tzohar’s Kiddush Times, Stav notes that the halachic reason is somewhat far-fetched and considers existing explanations for why communities forego blowing the shofar before offering his own: The blast of a shofar is like a cry of pain, waking us up to the needs of others. When Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat, we have a more difficult task of remembering those cries without hearing them. 

“The truth is that most pain goes unheard, because the one in pain lacks the strength, the will, or the ability to voice it,” Stav wrote.

In philanthropy, many of the issues that funders and organizations are looking to address are like a shofar blast — overt, explicit and shocking. The needs are clear, as are the requests for help.

There are many such needs as the Jewish world enters a new year. As in years past, security is a primary concern for Diaspora Jewish communities, including the United States, where the Jewish Federations of North America estimates that $1 billion was spent on security last year. Socially and politically, many American Jews are feeling increasingly apart from or at odds with broader American society, particularly as elements within both political parties are adopting positions that are at odds with those of the American Jewish community. 

Disaffiliation and ignorance also remain critical issues as many American Jews either lose their connection to the wider Jewish community or never had such a relationship to begin with. 

The connection between American Jews and their brethren in Israel is also growing increasingly strained, accelerated in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and resulting wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, largely driven by political disagreements between more liberal American Jews and more conservative Israelis.

In Israel, in just a few weeks, Israelis will head to the polls for what are broadly seen as pivotal national elections. They do so amid mounting polarization and extremism, growing international isolation and escalating societal woes: income inequality, widespread mental health difficulties, violent crime in the Arab Israeli community and a failing education system.

And yet alongside these obvious — even if difficult to solve — problems, there are many more rumbling beneath the surface, challenging us to hear them

For the organizations and individuals looking to improve society, this year’s irregular Shabbat-Rosh Hashanah overlap instructs us not to forget these silent cries as well.

At eJewishPhilanthropy, we are also aware that some organizations and individuals prioritize their external communications, actively reaching out to us and other news outlets with the hope that such publicity will inspire others to join and support their efforts — while others do not. It is also our responsibility to identify those behind-the-scenes figures and examine their work, scrutinizing it and highlighting it, and not only focusing on their more obvious compatriots.