Malkhiot, Zikhronot and Shofarot:
Defining the Nature of Rosh HaShanah
Rabbi Dov Linzer

Look at the verses in the Torah where the day of Rosh HaShanah is designated as a Yom Tov and where the mitzvah of shofar appears (sources 1-2). Note that the nature of the day, and the purpose of the shofar, are not at all defined in these verses. [There is not even a verse that commands us to blow the shofar, and thus there is a debate what exactly the definition of the mitzvah is - to blow or to hear the blowing,] It is perhaps because of this lack of definition of the day and of the mitzvah of shofar, that the Rabbis instituted the Malkhiot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot verses in the central Musaf prayer to help give definition to the day and the shofar.

Click to download Malkhiot, Zikhronot and Shofarot: Defining the Nature of Rosh HaShanah