זוהר ויקרא — דף יח ע”ב

At the opening of this passage, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to Israel: "My children, do not fear — behold, I stand at the threshold" — yet they must hasten, on this day, to give Him strength, through the sound of the shofar. When the shofar's sound is produced properly and directed from below, that sound ascends, the Patriarchs are crowned by it, and stand in Yaakov's dwelling. One must therefore be careful with the shofar, know that sound, and know how to direct it.<br />
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There is no sound of the shofar that does not rise to a firmament, and all the hosts of that firmament make way for it, as it is written, "And the Lord gave forth His voice before His army" (Joel 2). That sound remains there until another sound joins it; together they unite and ascend, paired, to another firmament — this is the secret of "a sound that raises [another] sound," the sound of Israel's shofar-blowing below.<br />
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When all these sounds from below unite and ascend to the supreme firmament where the Holy King dwells, they all crown themselves before Him, the thrones rise, and Yaakov's throne is established. In the book of Rav Hamnuna Saba, concerning the Rosh Hashanah prayers, it is taught that the prayer and the shofar's sound produced by the tzadik — whose spirit and soul are found within that shofar — rise above; then the accusers are pushed aside and cannot stand. Fortunate is the portion of the tzadikim who know how to direct their will before their Master and to repair the world, on this day, through the sound of the shofar — "Fortunate is the people who KNOW the teru'ah" — who know it, not merely those who sound it.<br />
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On this day the people must look to a person who is wholly complete, who knows the ways of the Holy King, who knows how to plead on their behalf with intention of heart, wisdom, will and completeness, so that judgment be removed from the world through him. Woe to those whose emissary is not fit, for the people's sins come to be recalled because of him — this is the meaning of "If the anointed priest sins... it is the guilt of the people," since he is the emissary of all Israel and judgment rests upon them. But when the emissary is a worthy tzadik, fortunate is the people, for all judgments are removed through him — all the more so the priest, through whom the upper and lower worlds are blessed.<br />
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Rabbi Elazar adds: before a priest or a Levite ascends to serve, he is examined, and his ways and deeds are known; if he is not found fit, he does not ascend to serve — and likewise in the Sanhedrin, for rendering judgment. If he is found fit, the stringencies of the Temple are placed upon him. The verse "And of Levi he said: Your Tumim and Urim belong to Your pious one" explains why Aharon merited the Urim and Tumim: "whom You tested," "who said of his father and mother, I have not seen him" — for he placed sacred service above his personal ties. Once he has attained these levels: "they shall teach Your judgments to Yaakov," "they shall place incense" to still wrath and summon peace, "and a whole burnt-offering upon Your altar," so that everything is sweetened and blessings are found in all the worlds.<br />
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Rabbi Shimon opens with the verse "Complacent women, arise, hear my voice" (Isaiah 32), and expounds on how much a person must contemplate his Master's honor, in order to be found a complete creature before the Holy One, blessed be He. For when the Holy One, blessed be He, created man, He created him complete, as it is written, "God made man upright" — "man" meaning male and female, the female included within the male, and only then is it said "upright." Afterward — "they sought many reckonings."