Shofar

A shofar (

The shofar is mentioned frequently in the

Otherwise, for all other special days, the Shofar is sounded shorter and two special silver Trumpets announced the sacrifice. When the trumpets sound the signal, all the people who were within the sacrifice prostrate themselves, stretching out flat, face down, and on the ground.^[citation needed]

The shofar was blown in the times of Joshua to help him capture Jericho. As they surrounded the walls, the shofar was blown and the Jews were able to capture the city.^[13] The shofar was commonly taken out to war so the troops would know when a battle would begin. The person who would blow the shofar would call out to the troops from atop a hill. All of the troops were able to hear the call of the shofar from their position because of its distinct sound.^{[citation needed]}

Post-Biblical times

Halakha (Jewish law) rules that the Rosh Hashana shofar blasts may not be sounded on Shabbat, due to the potential that the ba'al tekiah (shofar sounder) may inadvertently carry it, which is in a class of forbidden Shabbat work.^[19] Originally, the shofar was sounded on Shabbat in the Temple in Jerusalem. After the temple's destruction, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was restricted to the place where the great Sanhedrin was located. However, when the Sanhedrin ceased to exist, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was discontinued.^[20]

Mitzvah

The Sages indicated that the mitzvah was to hear the sounds of the shofar. If a shofar was blown into a pit or cave, one fulfilled the mitzvah if they heard the original sound, but not if they heard the echo.^[21] Thus, most modern halakhic authorities hold that hearing a shofar on the radio or the Internet would not be valid to satisfy the mitzvah because "electronically reproduced sounds do not suffice for mitzvot that require hearing a specific natural sound.... However, one should consult a competent rabbi if an unusually pressing situation arises, as some authorities believe that performing mitzvot through electronically reproduced sound is preferable to not performing them at all."^[22]

According to Jewish law women and minors are exempt from the commandment of hearing the shofar blown (as is the case with any positive, time-bound commandment), but they are encouraged to attend the ceremony.

If the ba'al tekiah (shofar sounder) blows with the intention that all who hear will perform the mitzvah, then anyone listening—even someone passing by—who intends to hear the Shofar can perform the mitzvah because the community blower blows for everybody. If the listener stands still, it is presumed he intends to hear.^[23] If one hears the blast but with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled.

Qualifications

The expert who blows (or "blasts" or "sounds") the shofar is termed the ba'al tokeah or ba'al tekiah (lit. "master of the blast"). Being a ba'al tekiah is an honor. Every male Jew is eligible for this sacred office, providing he is acceptable to the congregation. The one who blows the shofar on Rosh Hashanah should be learned in the Torah and shall be God-fearing.

The Shulchan Aruch discusses who is fit to blow the shofar on behalf of a congregation:

• Anyone not obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of sounding the shofar cannot fulfill the commandment for (cover) another whose duty it is to perform the mitzvah.
• Although a woman (who is exempt from this mitzvah because it is time-bound) may not blow the shofar for men (whose duty it is to perform the mitzvah), a woman may intone the shofar for herself and other women. Similarly, she may say a blessing over the mitzvah even though it is not mandatory (the requisite blessing contains the words "asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu", "who sanctified us with His commandments [mitzvot] and commanded us to ...", but women are not commanded in this mitzvah).
• Only a freeman (not even a slave who will become free in the next month) can be a Ba'al Tekiah.^[24]

Shape and material

Choice of animal

According to the Talmud, a shofar may be made from the horn of any animal from the Bovidae family except that of a cow,^[25] although a ram is preferable.^[26] Bovidae horns are made of a layer of keratin (the same material as human toenails and fingernails) around a core of bone, with a layer of cartilage in between, which can be removed to leave the hollow keratin horn. An antler, on the other hand, is made of solid bone, so an antler cannot be used as a shofar because it cannot be hollowed out.

There is no requirement for ritual slaughter (shechita). Theoretically, the horn can come from a non-kosher animal, because under most (but not all) interpretations of Jewish law, the shofar is not required to be muttar be-fikha ('permissible in your mouth'); the mitzvah is hearing the shofar, not eating the animal it came from.^[27] The shofar falls into the category of tashmishei mitzvah – objects used to perform a mitzvah that do not themselves have inherent holiness.^[28] Moreover, because horn is always inedible, it is considered afra be-alma ('mere dust') and not a non-kosher substance.^[29]

The Elef Hamagen (586:5) delineates the order of preference: 1) curved ram; 2) curved other sheep; 3) curved other animal; 4) straight—ram or otherwise; 5) non-kosher animal; 6) cow. The first four categories are used with a bracha (blessing), the fifth without a bracha, and the last, not at all.^[30]

• 
  A Dall sheep with horns.
• 
  Greater kudu, Namibia.

Construction

In practice, two species are generally used: the

The horn is flattened and shaped by the application of heat, which softens it. A hole is made from the tip of the horn to the natural hollow inside. It is played much like a European

Because the hollow of the shofar is irregular in shape, the harmonics obtained when playing the instrument can vary: rather than a pure perfect fifth, intervals as narrow as a fourth, or as wide as a sixth may be produced.

• 
  A small shofar made from a ram's horn.
• 
  A shofar made from the horn of a greater kudu.
• 
  A small shofar made from a ram's horn.

Use in modern Jewish prayer

The shofar is used mainly on Rosh Hashanah. It is customary to blow the shofar 100 or 101 times on each day of Rosh Hashanah; however, halakha only requires that it be blown 30 times. The various types of blast are known as tekiah, shevarim, and teruah. The 30 required blasts consist of the sequences tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, tekiah-teruah-tekiah, each sequence repeated three times.

The shofar is also blown in synagogue at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Some only blow a tekiah gedolah; others blow tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah.

Because of its inherent ties to the Days of Repentance and the inspiration that comes along with hearing its piercing blasts, the shofar is also blown after weekday morning services (in some communities, also at weekday afternoon services) for the entire month of Elul, the last month of the Jewish civil year, preceding Rosh Hashana. It is not blown on the last day of Elul (in some communities, the last 3 days of Elul), however, to mark the difference between the voluntary blasts of the month and the mandatory blasts of Rosh Hashana. Shofar blasts are also used in some communities during penitential rituals such as Yom Kippur Katan and optional prayer services called during times of communal distress. The exact modes of sounding can vary from location to location.

In an effort to improve the skills of shofar blowers, an International Day of Shofar Study is observed on

• 
  A Jewish

  Haredi

  man blowing a Shofar, 2012.
• 
  Hasidic Jew, blowing the kudu shofar in Uman, Ukraine, 2010.
• 
  A Jewish Israeli man blows the shofar at the Western Wall, Jerusalem.
• 
  Linen schofar cover from the 20th century, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland.  

Non-religious usage

National liberation

During the Ottoman and the British rule of Jerusalem, Jews were not allowed to sound the shofar at the Western Wall. After the Six-Day War, Rabbi Shlomo Goren famously approached the Wall and sounded the shofar. This fact inspired Naomi Shemer to add an additional line to her song "Jerusalem of Gold", saying, "a shofar calls out from the Temple Mount in the Old City."^[33]

The Shofar has been sounded as a sign of victory and celebration. Jewish elders were photographed blowing multiple shofars after hearing that the Nazis surrendered on May 8, 1945. The shofar has played a major role in the pro-Israel movement and often played in the

In the inauguration ceremony of the President of Israel, a shofar is blown once the President has been sworn in, followed by a call of "Long live the President".^[34][35]

American political use

An American group called Shofar Army, described by outsiders as Christian nationalists, have adopted the use of the shofar into their activities.^[36]

Non-religious musical usage

In pop music, the shofar is used by the Israeli

The shofar has been used in a number of films, both as a sound effect and as part of musical underscores. Elmer Bernstein incorporated the shofar into several cues for his score for Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments; one of the shofar calls recorded by Bernstein was later reused by the sound editors for Return of the Jedi for the Ewoks' horn calls.^{[citation needed]} Jerry Goldsmith's scores to the films Alien and Planet of the Apes also incorporate the shofar in their orchestration.

See also

• Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer.
• Church bells
• Conch (instrument)
• Erkencho
• Shankha
• Shofar blowing
• Bukkehorn

Notes