The Sages ordained the blowing the shofar [after morning prayers] from the first of the month [of Elul], as was the case in the desert.⁶, chapter 45: “One the first of Elul, G‑d said to [Moses], ‘Come up the mountain to Me.’ They blew a shofar throughout the camp to declare that Moses was ascending the mountain, so that they should not stray after idolatry again.” That is, if the leaders of the generation seclude themselves from the first of Elul in order to improve (m’shaper⁷, שופר.) their deeds, like Moses in the desert, then they will ascend and join with the people of their generation. But if not – if they are in the exile of the evil inclination – then, the nation must work for itself. The High Holiday cantors are the generals of the army, and they should wear armor.⁸ If not, however, they cannot be relied upon, and each person must fend for himself. Tzafnah Paneach, p. 25d

footnotes: ⁶ Pirkei d’Rebbe Eliezer ⁷ משפר, a homonym of the word shofar ⁸ Possibly an allusion to sexual purity, which protects a person from the onslaught of the evil inclination, like armor.