Editing Shofar (section)

== Shape and material ==
[[File:Anatomy and physiology of animals A horn.jpg|thumb|Cross section of an animal's horn. To make a shofar, the bone (crosshatches) and fleshy sheath (white) are removed, leaving the actual horn.]]

=== 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,<ref>Rosh Hashanah, 26a. Although [[Maimonides]] ruled differently ([[Mishneh Torah]] ''Hilchot Shofar'' 1:1: "…the ''shofar'' with which they make the blast, whether on [[Rosh Hashanah]] or the [[Yovel]], is the curved horn of sheep. Now all [other] horns are invalid, except the horn of a sheep…"), the custom of Israel was to make use of other horns, and not only that of the ram (the male sheep). Some would use the horn of the wild goat (''Walia ibex'') on [[Rosh Hashanah]], while others made use of the long, spiraling horn of the [[Greater kudu|kudu antelope]] because of its deep, reverberating sound. Compare the teaching of Rabbi Isaac b. Judah ibn Giat, who wrote: "All shofars are valid, excepting that of a cow since it is a [solid] horn. Said Rabbi Levi: 'The shofar of ''Rosh Hashanah'' and of ''Yom Kippurim'' are curved, while those of the entire year are straight, and thus is the Halacha.' Why is it that they blow with a shofar of a ram on ''Rosh Hashanah''? Said the Holy One, blessed be He: 'Blow before me the shofar of a ram so that I might remember on your behalf the binding of Isaac the son of Abraham, and I impute it over you as if you had bound yourselves before me.'..." (Rabbi Isaac ibn Giat, ''Sefer Shaarei Simchah (Me'ah She'arim)'', vol. 1, Firta 1861, p. 32 [Hebrew])</ref> although a ram is preferable.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 586:1</ref> 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 {{transliteration|he|muttar be-fikha}} ('permissible in your mouth'); the [[mitzvah]] is hearing the shofar, not eating the animal it came from.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Navon|first1=Mois|title=The Ḥillazon and the Principle of "Muttar be-Fikha"|journal=The Torah U-Madda Journal|date=2001|volume=10/2001|pages=142–162|url=http://www.yutorah.org/_shiurim/%2FTU10_Navon.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050520051450/http://www.yutorah.org/_shiurim/%2FTU10%5FNavon%2Epdf |archive-date=2005-05-20 |url-status=live|access-date=15 June 2016}} ''see pages 147-148 ff''.</ref> The shofar falls into the category of {{transliteration|he|tashmishei mitzvah}} – objects used to perform a mitzvah that do not themselves have inherent holiness.<ref>Megillah 26b</ref> Moreover, because horn is always inedible, it is considered {{transliteration|he|afra be-alma}} ('mere dust') and not a non-kosher substance.<ref>Avot 67b</ref>

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.<ref>''Elef Hamagen'', Rabbi Shemarya Hakreti, edited by Aharon Erand, Jerusalem: Mekitzei Nirdamim, 2003</ref>
<gallery widths="250" heights="200">
File:2005 04 27 1582 Dall Sheep.jpg|A [[Dall sheep]] with horns.
File:Greater Kudu, Etosha National Park, Namibia 2.jpg|[[Greater kudu]], Namibia.
</gallery>

=== Construction ===
In practice, two species are generally used: the [[Ashkenazi]] and [[Sefardi]] shofar is made from the horn of a domestic [[sheep|ram]], while a [[Yemenite Jews|Yemeni]] shofar is made from the horn of a [[Greater kudu|kudu]]. A Moroccan shofar is flat, with a single, broad curve.
A crack or hole in the shofar affecting the sound renders it unfit for ceremonial use. A shofar may not be painted in colors, but it may be carved with artistic designs.<ref>[[Shulkhan Arukh]], [[Orach Chayim]] 586:17</ref> Shofars (especially the Sephardi shofars) are sometimes plated with silver across part of their length for display purposes, although this invalidates them for use in religious practices.

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 [[brass instrument]], with the player blowing through the hole while buzzing the lips, causing the air column inside to vibrate. [[Sephardi]] shofars do usually have a carved mouthpiece resembling that of a European [[trumpet]] or [[French horn]], but smaller. Ashkenazi shofars do not.

Because the hollow of the shofar is irregular in shape, the [[harmonic]]s obtained when playing the instrument can vary: rather than a pure perfect fifth, [[interval (music)|intervals]] as narrow as a fourth, or as wide as a sixth may be produced.
<gallery widths="250" heights="200">
File:Liten askenasisk sjofar 5380.jpg|A small shofar made from a [[Sheep|ram]]'s horn.
File:Jemenittisk sjofar av kuduhorn.jpg|A shofar made from the horn of a [[greater kudu]].
File:Shofar.JPG|A small shofar made from a ram's horn.
</gallery>