Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Shofar
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== Bible and rabbinic literature == [[File:AlphonseLévy Shofar.jpg|left|thumb|Shofar (by {{ill|Alphonse Lévy|fr}} Caption says: "To a good year".]] The shofar is mentioned frequently in the [[Hebrew Bible]], the [[Talmud]] and [[rabbinic literature]]. In the first instance, in {{bibleverse|Exodus|19|16}}, the blast of a shofar emanating from the thick cloud on [[Biblical Mount Sinai|Mount Sinai]] makes the [[Israelites]] tremble in awe. The shofar was used to announce the new moon<ref>Psalm 81:3 (4)</ref> and the [[Jubilee (biblical)|Jubilee year]].<ref>Leviticus 25:9</ref> The first day of [[Tishrei]] (now known as [[Rosh Hashana]]) is termed a "memorial of blowing",<ref>{{langx|he|זכרון תרועה||zikron teruˁah}}, Leviticus 23:24</ref> or "day of blowing",<ref>{{langx|he|יום תרועה||yom teruˁah}}, Numbers 29:1</ref> the shofar. Shofars were used for signifying the start of a war.<ref>Joshua 6:4; Judges 3:27; 7:16, 20</ref> They were also employed in processions<ref>2 Samuel 6:15; 1 Chronicles 15:28</ref> as musical accompaniment,<ref>Psalm 98:6; compare Psalm 47:5</ref> and were inserted into the temple orchestra by [[David]].<ref>Psalm 150:3</ref> Note that the "trumpets" described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word for 'trumpet' ({{langx|he|חצוצרה|[[Chazozra|ḥaṣoṣrah]]}}), not {{transliteration|he|shofar}} ({{langx|he|שופר}}).<ref>Sidney B. Hoenig, "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1453499 Origins of the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy]", ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'', New Series, Vol. 57, ''The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Volume of the Jewish Quarterly Review'' (1967), pp. 312–331. • Published by University of Pennsylvania Press. Accessed 31 December 2009</ref> In the [[Temple in Jerusalem]], the shofar was sometimes used together with the [[trumpet]]. On Rosh Hashana, the principal ceremony was conducted with the shofar, with the instrument placed in the center with a trumpet on either side; it was the horn of a [[Nubian ibex|ibex]] (a type of wild goat) and straight in shape, being ornamented with gold at the [[mouthpiece (brass)|mouthpiece]]. On fast days, the principal ceremony was conducted with the trumpets in the center and with a shofar on either side. On those occasions, the shofarot were [[Domestic Sheep|rams']] horns curved in shape and ornamented with silver at the mouthpieces.<ref>Mishnah Rosh Hashana 3:3</ref> On Yom Kippur of the [[Jubilee (Biblical)|jubilee year]], the ceremony was performed with the shofar as on New Year's Day.<ref>Mishnah Rosh Hashana 3:4</ref> Shofar first indicated in Yovel (Jubilee Year—Lev. 25:8–13). Indeed, in Rosh Hashanah 33b, the sages ask why the Shofar sounded in Jubilee year. Rosh Hashanah 29a indicates that in ordinary years both Shofars and trumpets are sounded but in the Jubilee Year only the Shofar blasts. The Rabbis created the practice of the Shofar's sounding every Yom Kippur rather than just on the Jubilee Year (once in 50 years). 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 Temple complex prostrate themselves, stretching out flat, face down, and on the ground.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} 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.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|6|HE}}</ref> 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|date=February 2012}} === Post-Biblical times === [[File:Old Jerusalem Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue Oil and Shofar for the Messiah.jpg|thumb|At Old Jerusalem's [[Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue]], a flask of oil and a shofar await the [[Mashiach]].<ref>It has been said that when the Mashiach comes, the Sephardic community will be ready to anoint him and blow the shofar to announce his arrival. Legend has it there is a tunnel from under the Yohanan Ben Zakkai synagogue that leads directly to the [[Temple Mount]].</ref>]] While the shofar is best known nowadays for its use on [[Rosh Hashana]], it also has a number of other ritual uses. It is blown each morning (and in some communities in the afternoon as well) during the month of [[Elul]],<ref>Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:2</ref> and to mark the end of the day of fasting on Yom Kippur, once the services have been completed in the evening.<ref>Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 133:26</ref> In Talmudic times the shofar was also blown to introduce [[Shabbat]].<ref>[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Shabbat.35b.8?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Shabbat 35b]</ref> It was also used both to initiate and dissolve a [[Herem (censure)|Herem]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brand |first1=Ezra |title=From Admonishment to Excommunication: The Talmudic Laws of Ostracism (Moed Katan 16a-b) - Pt.2 |url=https://www.ezrabrand.com/p/from-admonishment-to-excommunication-563 |website=ezrabrand.com/ |access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref> At the inception of the [[Jewish diaspora|diaspora]], during the short-lived ban on playing musical instruments, the shofar was enhanced in its use, as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the temple. The declaration of the ban's source was in fact set to the music itself as the lamentation "Al Naharoth Bavel" within a few centuries of the ban. (A full orchestra played in the temple. The ban was so that this would not be taken for granted, hence the wording of the ban, "if I forget thee, O Jerusalem, over my chiefest joy...".){{citation needed|date=January 2020}} The shofar is generally no longer used for secular purposes (see a notable exception in a section [[#National liberation|further down]]).<ref>[[Judith Kaplan Eisenstein]], ''Heritage of Music'', New York: UAHC, 1972, pp. 44–45.</ref> [[Halakha]] (Jewish law) rules that the Rosh Hashana shofar blasts may not be sounded on Shabbat, due to the potential that the {{transliteration|he|ba'al tekiah}} (shofar sounder) may inadvertently carry it, which is in a [[39 Melakhot|class of forbidden Shabbat work]].<ref>Rosh Hashanah 29b</ref> 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.<ref>Kieval, ''The High Holy Days'', p. 114</ref> === Mitzvah === [[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - “Slichot” Prayer (2).jpg|thumb|right|Jewish "[[Slichot]]" prayer service with shofar during the Days of Repentance preceding [[Yom Kippur]] at the [[Western Wall]] in Jerusalem's Old City, 2008.]] 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.<ref>[[Mishnah]] Rosh Hashanah 3:5; [[Mishnah Berurah]] 587:1–3</ref> 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."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511204358/http://www.yasharbooks.com/grayexcerpt2.pdf "Fulfilling Mitzvot Through Electronic Hearing Devices"], Chaim Jachter and Ezra Frazer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927155806/http://www.yasharbooks.com/Gray.html Gray Matter volume 2] pp. 237–244. {{ISBN|1-933143-10-X}}</ref> According to [[halakha|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 {{transliteration|he|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.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 590:9</ref> If one hears the blast but with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled. === Qualifications === [[File:Shofar for the Sabbath from the Matson Collection, ca. 1934-39 (LOC).jpg|thumbnail|Yemenite Jew blowing the shofar, late 1930s.]] The expert who blows (or "blasts" or "sounds") the shofar is termed the {{transliteration|he|ba'al tokeah}} or {{transliteration|he|ba'al tekiah}} (lit. "master of the blast"). Being a {{transliteration|he|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.<ref name=SAWomen>Shulchan Aruch 589:6.</ref> The Halakhic authorities debate whether a woman may recite a blessing on commandments that they are not commanded to perform; generally, Ashkenazic women recite a blessing and Sephardic women do not.<ref name=SAWomen /> * Only a freeman (not even a slave who will become free in the next month) can be a Ba'al Tekiah.<ref>Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 589:1–6</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)