For many who are celebrating the Jewish new year today, the most powerful experience is hearing the sound of the shofar (the ram's horn trumpet), which is blown during the Rosh Hashanah synagogue service. Why? "While the rabbis have many explanations for the meaning of the shofar, for me, it touches on what I don’t fully understand and what I can’t fully articulate," says Barry Shrage, president of Combined Jewish Philanthropies in Boston. "The sound of the shofar represents a truth beyond words, a hope for a new beginning, the deep mystery of life, and the opportunity for meaning and purpose." —Heather Wax