Yell Out

We say in the berachot of shofrot, כִּי אַתָּה שׁוֹמֵֽעַ קוֹל שׁוֹפָר וּמַאֲזִין תְּרוּעָה וְאֵין דּֽוֹמֶה לָּךְ.  What is the special praise that Hashem listens to the shofar?  As discussed previously,  The Briskor Rav explains that the shofar is a form of prayer.  What is so unique and special about the shofar prayer?   

We say in the parsha of reading bikkurim, וַנִּצְעַ֕ק אֶל־ה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע ה' אֶת־קֹלֵ֔נוּ וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־עׇנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ וְאֶֽת־לַחֲצֵֽנוּ.  What is a צעקה?  The Netziv says, את קולנו. כבר ביארנו לעיל א׳ מ״ה וה׳ כ״ה משמעות קולנו. בלי דברי תפלה זכה. רק צעקה מעומק הלב. זהו פשטא דקרא.  The prayer of Klal Yisrael was a mere cry, without any clear structure.  The Chafetz Chayim comments on this verse that if one yells at a time of hardship, Hashem will answer immediately.  Why is such a prayer readily accepted?    

The Mabit questions that there are pessukim which describes how people's prayers were answered when they cried out loud but on the other hand the Gemarah Berachot (24b) says  הַמַּשְׁמִיעַ קוֹלוֹ בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ — הֲרֵי זֶה מִקְּטַנֵּי אֲמָנָה?  The answer maybe that when one is praying in a normal format then one should pray silently.  However, when one is in a situation of pain, then one's natural reaction is to yell.  It such a situation, yelling is the expected form of prayer.  Such a prayer, where one just cries out undiluted by words, is a cry from the depth of one's heart and such a prayer is readily accepted.   

The Shulchan Aruch (101:3) says י"א שבר"ה וי"ה מותר להשמיע קולו בתפלתו אפי' בציבור.  Why is there this custom?  See the M.B.  In light of this difference, we can say that on the High Holy Days one is considered to be in a situation of danger (see Beit Yosef 602, Or Yisrael siman 7) and hence one screams because of the difficult situation.  

That is the prayer of the shofar.  It is a cry which comes from the soul of the individual.  The beracha of shofrot reflects that Hashem perceives the feelings of the person expressed via the shofar and listens to the deep cry of the soul (based upon Yareach L'moadim maamer 37-38 and source sheets of Rabbi Yehuda Gutman.)  

The possuk in Tehillim (107:6) וַיִּצְעֲק֣וּ אֶל⁠־י֭״י בַּצַּ֣ר לָהֶ֑ם מִ֝מְּצ֥וּקוֹתֵיהֶ֗ם יַצִּילֵֽם.  The Alter Rebbe (Likutay Torah Nitzavim 45b) relates the word ויצעקו to the word ויצעק found in Shoftim (12:1) ויצעק איש אפרים which means to gather for in a צעקה one summons and gathers together all of one's feelings to pour them out to Hashem.  That it the prayer of the shofar.  It is the depths of the soul which are brought out through the cry of the shofar.