Ari Lesser - Baal Shem Tov - Shofar Story

one year rabbi Israel Hashem too went and spoke to rabbi zev one of his senior students saying you shall blow the shofar for us all on Rosh Hashanah but first I want you to learn every single qivana each Kabbalistic secret of the shofar you should know so that you'll have the proper intention when you blow now rabbi zev was quite excited as anyone might be he was overcome by joy but also anxiety though elated he'd been designated for something so great he was nervous that he would have to carry this huge weight and so quickly he began the task he was assigned reading every writing on the shofar he could find soon he learned the Kabbalistic secrets of each sound how they penetrate the soul and affect the world around him carefully he wrote down notes about every qivana and then prepared the perfect reference sheet for russia Sharna for in the palace of the king there's many gates and doors that lead to many halls and rooms on many different floors a palace keeper must have many keys upon his ring for each one opens up a door in the palace of the king a rabbi zev was ready when it came to new year's day the morning of Rosh Hashanah the first day of Tishrei he stood up on the Bema in the center of the droves of Hassidim in the synagogue of the Baal Shem Tov in the corner of the room his master looked on knowing standing at his table with his face like fire glowing a fearful silence filled the air for they had at last reached the climax of the day when they would hear the shofar blast but when rabbi zev preached in the pocket of his coat his heart froze because he could not locate his nose he knew it he had it with him when he left his home at dawn you remembered bringing it to shul yet somehow it was gone he searched frantically in fear till it became quite clear a sheet with all the Kaabah note he wrote and disappeared his heart broke over letting down his master who had asked and trusted him to be prepared for this most sacred task for in the palace of the king there's many gates and doors they lead to many halls and rooms on many different floors a palace keeper must have many keys upon his ring for each one opens up a door in the palace of the king the rabbi searched his memory but he could not recall a single thing he learned somehow he forgot it all his eyes welled up with tears his broken heart just sank but in distress his mind was drawing up a total blank so rabbi zev blew the shofar on their russia shiner as though it were simple horn without any qivana in despair with a broken heart the rabbi blew just the basic shofar sounds he was required to do afterwards he couldn't look his master in the eye he made his way back to his seat where he began to cry but when he finished darvany he looked up from his place and hovering above him was his master smiling face good yom tov Reb's EV you blew us all away I've never heard a shofar blown as well as you blew it today he replied crabby you must not understand but the Baal Shem Tov just cut him off as soon as he began he said in the palace of the king there's many gates and doors that lead to many halls and rooms on many different floors a palace keeper should have many keys upon his ring for each one opens up a door in the palace of the king and yet there is a single key that fits in every lock and if you have that master key you never have to knock for with it you can open even the most inner part in the palace master key is a broken heart and today you had that master key that opens every lock and since you've had that master key you didn't have to knock with it you just opened even the most inner part in the palace the master key was your broken heart