Happy Shofar Sounds

I can worship in God's Tent with happy shofar sounds.

I like this translation of Psalms 27:6. Happy shofar sounds to all of us.

Translation appears in Rediscovering Judaism: Bar and Bat Mitzvah for Adults by Rabbis Kerry M. Olitzkey and Ronald H. Isaacs, KTAV Publishing House, 1997, page 139.  (http://books.google.com/books?id=a2fQdRQaSQcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Rediscovering+Judaism%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iuUiT_28H6SkiQL9xNzpBw&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Rediscovering%20Judaism%22&f=false)

Das Neue Jahrs Fest - Two Etchings

http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/zoom/670386

www.flickr.com/photos/magnesmuseum/6513458841/

Not Knowing how to Sound Shofar

Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Tanya

When the Baal HaTanya was young and newly married, he spent Rosh Hashana with one of the leading Chassidic Rebbes of the time. The Rebbe’s custom was that before the blowing of the shofar, all of those who knew how to blow would draw close to the Rebbe, who would teach them the mystical secrets and intentions to have in mind while blowing the shofar. At that point, the Rebbe would choose one of the assembled to blow the shofar for the congregation that year.

The Baal HaTanya joined the group, and to his surprise, the Rebbe selected him to blow the shofar. At that point, he was forced to sheepishly confess that he didn’t actually know how to blow the shofar. The confused and disappointed Rebbe asked him why he had falsely claimed to be capable in order to join the group. The Baal HaTanya answered that when Hashem initially revealed Himself to Moshe at the burning bush, Moshe asked for His secret name so that he could share it with the Jews to validate his mission. Yet shortly thereafter, Moshe declared himself unfit for the role due to his speaking difficulties. The Baal HaTanya used this episode as a source to similarly learn the Kabbalistic secrets of the shofar even though he would later have to declare himself incapable of using them to blow it.

From: Parsha Potpourri: Parshas Shemos (Friday, January 13th, 2012) at http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/Torah+Corner/114642/Parsha-Potpourri%3A-Parshas-Shemos.html

Silent in Hebrew

Eliezer ben Yehuda pioneered the revival of Hebrew as a living language. We are told that, upon moving to Eretz Yisrael, he instructed his wife, "From this day forward, we will speak only Hebrew. His wife protested, in Russian, "But I do not speak Hebrew." Replied ben Yehuda, "Then we will be silent in Hebrew."

Silent in Hebrew. Silent in English. How good it is, when we do not know how to speak, to be silent and listen to shofar.

The Still Small Voice

"But indeed, any greatness requires prior smallness, and there is no great voice if it is not preceded by a soft sound, for this is the way of the Shofar, that it progressively grows." 

Michael Laitman, Kabbalah for the Student, 2008, Laitman Kabbalah Publishers, Page 109, www.scribd.com/doc/15505401/Kabbalah-for-Students

The Mystic Trumpeter

The Mystic Trumpeter
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

1 HARK! some wild trumpeter—some strange musician,
Hovering unseen in air, vibrates capricious tunes to-night.
I hear thee, trumpeter—listening, alert, I catch thy notes,
Now pouring, whirling like a tempest round me,
Now low, subdued—now in the distance lost.	5
2 Come nearer, bodiless one—haply, in thee resounds
Some dead composer—haply thy pensive life
Was fill’d with aspirations high—unform’d ideals,
Waves, oceans musical, chaotically surging,
That now, ecstatic ghost, close to me bending, thy cornet echoing, pealing,	10
Gives out to no one’s ears but mine—but freely gives to mine,
That I may thee translate.
3 Blow, trumpeter, free and clear—I follow thee,
While at thy liquid prelude, glad, serene,
The fretting world, the streets, the noisy hours of day, withdraw;	15
A holy calm descends, like dew, upon me,
I walk, in cool refreshing night, the walks of Paradise,
I scent the grass, the moist air, and the roses;
Thy song expands my numb’d, imbonded spirit—thou freest, launchest me,
Floating and basking upon Heaven’s lake.	20
4 Blow again, trumpeter! and for my sensuous eyes,
Bring the old pageants—show the feudal world.
What charm thy music works!—thou makest pass before me,
Ladies and cavaliers long dead—barons are in their castle halls—the troubadours are singing;
Arm’d knights go forth to redress wrongs—some in quest of the Holy Grail:	25
I see the tournament—I see the contestants, encased in heavy armor, seated on stately, champing horses;
I hear the shouts—the sounds of blows and smiting steel:
I see the Crusaders’ tumultuous armies—Hark! how the cymbals clang!
Lo! where the monks walk in advance, bearing the cross on high!
5 Blow again, trumpeter! and for thy theme,	30
Take now the enclosing theme of all—the solvent and the setting;
Love, that is pulse of all—the sustenace and the pang;
The heart of man and woman all for love;
No other theme but love—knitting, enclosing, all-diffusing love.
O, how the immortal phantoms crowd around me!	35
I see the vast alembic ever working—I see and know the flames that heat the world;
The glow, the blush, the beating hearts of lovers,
So blissful happy some—and some so silent, dark, and nigh to death:
Love, that is all the earth to lovers—Love, that mocks time and space;
Love, that is day and night—Love, that is sun and moon and stars;	40
Love, that is crimson, sumptuous, sick with perfume;
No other words, but words of love—no other thought but Love.
6 Blow again, trumpeter—conjure war’s Wild alarums.
Swift to thy spell, a shuddering hum like distant thunder rolls;
Lo! where the arm’d men hasten—Lo! mid the clouds of dust, the glint of bayonets;	45
I see the grime-faced cannoniers—I mark the rosy flash amid the smoke—I hear the cracking of the guns:
—Nor war alone—thy fearful music-song, wild player, brings every sight of fear,
The deeds of ruthless brigands—rapine, murder—I hear the cries for help!
I see ships foundering at sea—I behold on deck, and below deck, the terrible tableaux.
7 O trumpeter! methinks I am myself the instrument thou playest!	50
Thou melt’st my heart, my brain—thou movest, drawest, changest them, at will:
And now thy sullen notes send darkness through me;
Thou takest away all cheering light—all hope:
I see the enslaved, the overthrown, the hurt, the opprest of the whole earth;
I feel the measureless shame and humiliation of my race—it becomes all mine;	55
Mine too the revenges of humanity—the wrongs of ages—baffled feuds and hatreds;
Utter defeat upon me weighs—all lost! the foe victorious!
(Yet ’mid the ruins Pride colossal stands, unshaken to the last;
Endurance, resolution, to the last.)
8 Now, trumpeter, for thy close,	60
Vouchsafe a higher strain than any yet;
Sing to my soul—renew its languishing faith and hope;
Rouse up my slow belief—give me some vision of the future;
Give me, for once, its prophecy and joy.
O glad, exulting, culminating song!	65
A vigor more than earth’s is in thy notes!
Marches of victory—man disenthrall’d—the conqueror at last!
Hymns to the universal God, from universal Man—all joy!
A reborn race appears—a perfect World, all joy!
Women and Men, in wisdom, innocence and health—all joy!	70
Riotous, laughing bacchanals, fill’d with joy!
War, sorrow, suffering gone—The rank earth purged—nothing but joy left!
The ocean fill’d with joy—the atmosphere all joy!
Joy! Joy! in freedom, worship, love! Joy in the ecstacy of life!
Enough to merely be! Enough to breathe!	75
Joy! Joy! all over Joy! http://www.bartleby.com/142/249.html

200 year old shofar

< This is one of the best sets of shofar calls online. I can feel Mr. Joseph's surrender to the call and his connection to a family tradition. Watch the way he moves while he sounds.

Shofar Smiley Face

E-Card from babaganewz.com

A sign upon your hand

We are told that Torah should be "a sign upon our hands." (Deuteronomy 6:8).

Rabbi Yael Buechler (midrashmanicures.com) is inspired by this mitzvah to paint fingernails with image that relate to the weekly parsha or Jewish holy days. Her nails, above, for Rosh Hashanah show a shofar along with apple, honey, and pomagranate - foods associated with the holy day.

"The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul"

In Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, Chapter 3-13, "I invoke the concept of 'spirality' in our study of spirituality because the mathematics expressed by the curve of a horn can serve us as a diagram than can help us visualize the nature of teshuvah."

Anyone wanting to go further into the topic should find The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purce (Thames and Hudson, 1974 - 128 pages). The book's back cover text says,

The spiral is the natural form of growth, and has become, in every culture and in every age, man's symbol of progress of the soul towards eternal life. As the inward-winding labyrinth, it constitutes the hero's journey to the still center where the secret of life is found. As the spherical vortex, spiraling through its own center, it combines the inward and outward directions of movement. In this book, Jill Purce traces the significance of one of mankind's central symbols, from the double spirals of Stone Age art and the interlocking spirals of the Chinese Yin Yang symbol, to the whorls of Celtic crosses, Maori tattoos and the Islamic arabesque.

It does not deal with animal horns, and the only specifically Jewish theme discussed is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Still, it is a fascinating read, and worth studying for the illustrations alone.

Horn Morphology

"Horns of bovids are remarkably diverse. This diversity may reflect functional differences associated with the use of horns as intraspecific weapons. I use measurements from museum specimens and behavioral data from the literature to examine the relationship between morphology of horns of males and fighting behavior in 21 species of bovids, representing 11 of the 12 bovid tribes. A high correlation between morphology of horns and fighting behavior was found. In particular, a short horn reach and undeveloped catching arch is associated with stabbing behavior; a long horn reach, with wrestling and fencing behavior; a well-developed catching arch, with wrestling behavior; and robust, recurved horns, with ramming behavior. A phylogeny of bovid tribes suggests that these features of morphology of horns and fighting behavior are rapidly evolving and frequently convergent."

Morphology of Horns and Fighting Behavior in the Family Bovidae

Barbara Lundrigan

Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 77, No. 2 (May, 1996), pp. 462-475

Published by: American Society of Mammalogists

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1382822

Shofar + Hanukiah = Shofarkiah

Maurice Kamins, a San Francisco, CA-based master shofar crafter, sent me this photo and explained it is "What I do with horns that just do not make it. And by the way, you can blow it and get a sound."

Shofar and Brit Milah (Circumcision)

"Our sages teach us that at the time of the Brit Milah, prayers can reach a place higher than the Shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah..." (Original source unknown.)

From Minhagim, Amsterdam, 1707

In the days prior to my grandson's brit milah, I have been thinking about using shofar blasts as part of the ritual. Here are some observations and thoughts:

1. The shofar is likened to the cries of a newborn child, one of the reasons it is sounded to mark a newborn year.

2. We are commanded to sound shofar in our times of joy, and what could be more joyous than welcoming a child to the covenant?

3. Shofar awakens us to the moment. Here is how one mother describes the brit bat of her twin daughters:

"After shacharit, the morning prayer service, we blasted the Shofar to announce the babies’ arrival and the brit they were about to enter, like the Israelites sounded* the Shofar before receiving the Torah. The sound of the shofar brought the crowd to attention, focusing them on the spiritual task of the day, just as it calls us to attention on the High Holidays.   The call of the shofar was spine-tingling, adding some of the primal excitement felt at a brit milah into our brit bat."

4. Brit milah and shofar are both psychically linked to the Akedah.

Our prayers say, “Z’chor bris Avraham v’ Akeidas Yitzchak”, remember the bris of Abraham and the binding of Isaac," - the bris milah corresponds to the bris of Avraham; the shofar to Akeidas Yitzchak - the binding of Isaac. Here is how another mother describes the commitment it takes, as a modern Jew, to fulfil the mitzvah of circumcision:

"I stood in our shul, weak winter sunlight coming through the stained glass windows, the front pews filled with our friends and family members, and suddenly felt my knees buckle as the mohel started his work on my brand-new boy... For me, it was a moment of unanticipated reckoning as a Jew. I suddenly felt like Abraham, exposing the tenderest parts of my treasure, my first born, to a knife — all because God had required it of me. His bris felt like the Akedah."

5. Sounding shofar at a brit milah reminds us of the covenants into which we bring the child.

The covenant at Sinai was made manifest as the voice of shofar grew louder and louder. As I have described in Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn," shofar can also be linked to other covenants, such as the one signified by the Rainbow and that made after the Akedah.

6. Shofar is symbolic of a circumcised penis.

The phallic nature of horns is frequently noted. Yet there is an additional similarity between a circumcised penis and a horn that has been transformed into a shofar. In both instances, it is a covering that is trimmed: the foreskin of the penis and the sheath that covers the bone core of a horn.

7. Shofar links circumcision to the annual blowing of shofar in the final moments of Yom Kippur.

Marking the covenant upon a man's genitals is a reminder that sexuality, too, is part of holiness. Verses about sexual morality are among the traditional afternoon readings during Yom Kippur (Leviticus 18), and Kabbalists explain that Tikkun Brit - the repair  of sexual immorality - is central to the the Day of Atonement. Blowing shofar during a brit milah links a boy to the annual reminders about sexuality that he will, we trust, hear as a man during a lifetime of Yom Kippurim.

* I believe the author meant to say before "hearing" shofar.

Bar Yovel: A Retirement Ritual

Shofar is a wonderful tool to use in life-cycle rituals, especially as social conditions create life-cycle phases that did not exist in the past. Retirement, for example, did not exist in pre-industrial times. Shofar is a fitting symbol for retirement, since shofar is sounded to announce yovel, the fifty year cycle in which the land is allowed to rest, slaves are released, and debts forgiven. Indeed, yovel can be used as a synonym for shofar.

Shofar is used in wonderful new rituals for call Bar/Bat Yovel, son/daughter of yovel. Here are several examples:

From a ritual prepared by the "Life Cycle Passages" class of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Institute for Adult Jewish Studies, December 1983, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, Instructor.  

After initial blessings and meaningful rituals, the shofar is used as follows:

Rabbi: Even in joy there are doubts, apprehensions, questions concerning what will be. As the bar yovel symbolically puts down and releases the tool of his trade, he asks four questions. 

Hy (setting down his briefcase): As I enter the years of retirement and aging: Will I be bored or stimulated? Will I feel useless or valuable? Will I be lonely or involved with others? Will I feel despair or hope? 

Rabbi: Only the years to come can answer those questions, but tonight we can do several things to help Hy through his transition.

First, we have brought seven gifts. (Bestowal of symbolic gifts by seven friends.)

Second, we can follow the traditional Jewish custom of offering tzedakah in Hy's honor. The money will be given to the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. (Each person present gives to a common bowl.)

Third, we can scare away the demons as our ancestors did with the blast of the shofar.

Reader 1:

The demon of boredom! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 2:

The demon of uselessness! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 3:

The demon of loneliness! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 4:

The demon of despair! (Shofar is sounded.)

Rabbi:

The shofar is not only heard to scare away evil. It was also used by our ancestors to proclaim the Jubilee Year.

Reader 5:

"And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years. Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; be shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am the LORD your God. Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land" (Lev. 25).

Reader 6:

So do we tonight declare Hy a bar yovel sounding the shofar to proclaim his new status. (Shofar is sounded.)

Don Benjamin:

We proudly present you with this certificate, testifying to your new place in the covenant community. Welcome and Mazal Tov! (Shofar is sounded.)

The ritual concludes with additional blessings. I suggest the final shofar blast should be a tekiah gedolah, a long blast, and that it should be sounded by the bar/bat yovel to show their vitality (God willing).
 
From A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven: The Jewish Life-Spiral as a Spiritual Path, by Arthur Ocean Waskow and Phyllis Ocean Berman.

There are four moments of the inward-turning that would seem especially appropriate as focus-points for ceremony. One is retiring from a job or a career. Another is shifting to a smaller home. The third is learning to 'share' the dying of the growing number of one's friends who are walking the last steps of life. The forth is a conscious gathering to bless the next generation and plan one's own death.

The first strikes some interesting resonances with the Jubilee tradition of the Hebrew Bible. In that tradition (Lev. 25), every fiftieth year was a year of social and individual transformation. One crucial aspect of that transformation was that working paused, for a long Shabbat. Indeed, the count of fifty for the Jubilee was based in a sabbatical count of seven sevens, seven weeks of years in which each week had seven years: forty-nine years plus one.

In that year, there was no organized agriculture. No sowing, no harvesting, no pruning of the grapevines. Whatever grew could casually be plucked. Whatever had been stored before could be drawn on to meet whatever needs arose. A whole society made itself into the nomadic hunter-gatherers of its early days.

Even more astonishing, every family returned to its earliest holding. Those who had come to own more land, gave up the burden of their wealth. Those who had lost the land their family knew, gave up the burden of their poverty.

The Hebrew word for this momentous event, Yovel, has entered many languages not intranslation but in rough transliteration — thus, 'Jubilee.' But some modern scholars, probing into the origins of this odd word, have concluded it was originally the term for a special note blown on the shofar (ram's horn) by shepherds — the special note to call home the flock at the end of a day of wandering in meadows, responding to the shepherd's crook, fearing wolves and lions.

'Home-bringing' is the way Everett Fox's translation of the Torah renders yovel.

"Home-bringing. An apt metaphor for the moment of retirement.

Bar Yovel, Bat Yovel. One who has become a child of the Home-bringing.

The essay continues with suggestions for rituals to mark the four inward turnings. The suggestion that the original meaning of yovel may have been a special note or a note used for a special call is new to me.

If you have used shofar in a bar/bat yovel, or other creative ritual, please write me to describe it. 

Blow the Great Shofar, a high energy song

"Blow the great shofar for our freedom, and raise the banner to gather our exiles." from Amidah (Shmoneh Esreh)

By David Flug, Deemyon Orchestra and One Man Band, www.deemyon.com

Get up and dance!

Break Blast Shatter, then Shatter even More

Shofar Madness by Sid Yiddish, an original Jewish punk composition/instrumental recorded with Atomic Theory Dance Band.

A future shofar blower?

Isaac Chusid, 2011-DEC-12

Curatorial Conservation of Horn

While the following criteria may not be necessary for most shofarot, they should be considered if you are responsible for the care of an antique or historical shofar. Note, especially, the warning against moth larvae (emphasis added). I had heard about this threat, but this is the first reference I have found from an authoritative source. If you have more information about this, please contact me.

Excerpts from:
Canadian Conservation Institute Notes 6/1
Care of Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Antler

Introduction
Many museums have objects that are made from ivory, bone, horn, or antler. Proper identification of these materials is important, as it may determine the type of care required for the object’s continued well-being.

Identification
Horn consists of the same material as hair, hooves, and fingernails. If examined closely, it resembles a mass of very hard, hair-like filaments cemented together. Horn grows around a spongy core. If the core is removed from the horn, a hollow object, such as a powder horn, can be made. Horn can also be boiled, cut, and moulded to other shapes, or used in flat sheets.

Handling
Artifacts of ivory, bone, horn, or antler should be well protected from sudden changes in temperature and relative humidity (RH) whenever they are removed from the museum. This can be done by wrapping them in unbuffered, acid-free (neutral pH) tissue paper and placing them in a sealed polyethylene bag for transportation.

Be careful when handling or cleaning these artifacts...

Storage
Store artifacts in a tightly closed display case or storage drawer to buffer them against sudden changes in temperature and RH, and shield them from dust and dirt. Storage in the dark will also protect light-sensitive dyed or painted surfaces.

Bone, ivory, and antler are rarely attacked by insects, but horn is often seriously damaged by the larvae of carpet beetles and clothes moths. Inspect objects at least twice a year for insects and mould growth (see CCI Notes 3/1 Preventing Infestations: Control Strategies and Detection Methods) and 3/2 Detecting Infestations: Facility Inspection Procedure and Checklist). Immediate attention is required if an infestation is detected.

To guard against bumping and chipping, line storage drawers and shelves with a chemically stable cushioning material such as polyethylene or polypropylene sheeting (e.g. Ethafoam or Microfoam).

Avoid using rubber-based materials for storage or packing as these can produce unnatural yellowing of ivory.

Cleaning
Ivory, bone, horn, and antler are all porous materials susceptible to staining if left in contact with corroded metals (such as copper or iron) or coloured materials. Stains of this nature should be referred to an experienced conservator for treatment. However, if the objects are in good physical condition, normal surface dirt and grime can be removed safely. A light dusting with a soft brush is often all that is necessary to keep objects clean. Use the brush to dislodge dust and debris, directing it toward a gauze-covered vacuum cleaner nozzle.

Horn is somewhat more durable than bone and ivory, and the above cleaning methods can be applied to it as well, providing the surface is intact and not delaminating. However, horn in the form of thin films (as in lanterns) can be softened very quickly by contact with water and may well be deformed; do not use water on these artifacts.

Illumination
Do not place ivory, bone, horn, and antler in bright areas, such as direct sunlight or near spotlights. Illumination should be kept below 150 lux, with the ultraviolet (UV) component restricted to 75 μW/lm. Objects that are coloured with dyes are extremely light-sensitive and should be exposed to no more than 50 lux. Limiting exhibition time will help reduce light damage, which is cumulative and irreversible. More in-depth information on light is available in Light, Ultraviolet and Infrared. For information on measuring light levels and filtering UV radiation, refer to CCI Notes 2/4 Environmental Monitoring Kit and 2/1 Ultraviolet Filters, respectively.

Be careful when using tightly sealed display cases. The radiant heat from light sources can quickly produce very high temperatures and rapid fluctuations in RH within the case, which can damage sensitive materials. A bright light beam directed at an artifact can also raise its surface temperature. To reduce the risk of damage, maintain low light levels and use lights that emit less radiant heat.

RH and temperature
Of ivory, bone, horn, and antler, ivory is the most sensitive to changes in RH and horn is the least sensitive.

Ideally, ivory, bone, horn, and antler should be displayed and stored at a temperature not greater than 25°C and an RH in the range 45–55%. In practice, these conditions are often difficult to achieve in many Canadian museums, especially in winter. However, try to maintain as steady an RH and temperature as possible, and, most important, prevent exposure to extreme conditions or rapid fluctuations. Always keep objects away from direct sunlight, hot light sources, ventilation or heating ducts, fireplaces, the top of appliances (such as radios or television sets), exterior walls, or cold windows. Environmental Guidelines for Museums — Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) provides a general introduction to CCI’s current approach to controlling ambient RH and temperature in museums. More information regarding RH and temperature is available in Incorrect Relative Humidity and Incorrect Temperature.

Repair
Broken, friable, or extremely dirty objects requiring repair, consolidation, or extensive cleaning should be referred to an experienced conservator.

Bibliography
Pedersen, M.C. Gem and Ornamental Materials of Organic Origin. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004.




by Tom Stone
Originally published 1983, Revised 1988, 2010
©Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2010
Cat. No. NM 95-57/6-1-2010E
ISSN 0714-6221

Additional information is also available from Smithsonian.

More Virtuoso Shofar by Zasloff

Check out the shofar at the beginning of this video, and at 4:50 into video.

More info on David Zasloff is at www.davidzasloff.com.

Glass Shofarot and Rhyta - Part Two

One of the pleasures I get studying shofar is the opportunity to exchange views with scholars in related fields. In a previous post, I discussed glass objects shaped like shofarot and  rhyta. Here is an exchange I had on the subject with Einav Zamir, Department of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art, Brooklyn Museum

The discussion began when I wrote to the museum about this item shown on its website:

Roman. Rhyton or Drinking Horn of Molded Glass, 1st - 5th century A.D. Glass, 3 11/16 x 1 3/4 x 8 9/16 in. (9.3 x 4.4 x 21.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of R. B. Woodward, 05.35. Creative Commons-BY-NC, Image: Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

From: Michael Chusid Jul 3, 2011

Your website identifies this as a rhyton. I suspect it is, instead, a trumpet or blast horn. 

1. The flare at the narrow end would function nicely as a mouthpiece for blowing. As a rhyton, it would spread the flow of liquid and make imbibing messy. 

2. The narrow shape of the horn limits the volume of liquid that could be contained. Most rhyton I have seen have a wider body. Trumpets, on the other hand, do fine with a narrow bore and modest bell. 

3. Similar items from the same time period are identified as trumpets. See: www.archaeological-center.com/en/auctions/29-250/. 

4. Also compare to www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/7759/Trumpet/set/38cc4552fedbb6cf999158b2d23da6c7?referring-q=trumpet in your own collection. While from a different era, the mouthpiece and bore are similar. 

I have also written about it at hearingshofar.blogspot.com/2011/07/glass-shofarot.html and welcome your comments.

From: Einav Zamir, July 7, 2011

Thank you for contacting our department in regards to object 05.35 and its possible misattribution. The department has brought me in to work on their Roman Glass collection, which is one of my areas of specialization, so I was happy to look into this matter on their behalf. It is an interesting idea, and I think you make some valuable points about the shape and function of the object in question.

Mouthpiece

Some things that I noticed that argue against your attribution however, are the edge of the mouthpiece, which is thick and flat (this cannot be seen from the photo on our website), and the opening itself, which is a bit too wide (I believe) to function as an instrument. If it is a shofar, could it have been commemorative, rather than functional?

Note "spout" at narrow end.

I would also have to disagree with your first point. The slant in the glass at the narrow end is not a flare (as it is unevenly formed), but more of a dip towards the lower portion of the mouth, which would in fact fit with a rhyton. The first image I have attached is a drawing from Isings' Roman Glass from Dated Finds which demonstrates very clearly this dip that I refer to (Isings identifies this 'pointed base' as a feature typical of type one and type three drinking horns - I believe our example falls into the first category).

Moreover, this object is comparable to other glass horn-shaped vessels (John W. Hayes makes a comparison between our 05.35 and one of the objects at the Royal Ontario Museum on page 122 of Roman and Pre-Roman Glass - items 480-482). Unfortunately, these objects are either no longer part of their collection, or perhaps just not available online, so I was unable to find an image to send you. There are some black and white plates in the Hayes volume, if you are able to find a copy.

In any case, I have attached additional images of 05.35 - whether these help solidify your conclusions or argue against them, I thought they would be helpful for you to have for your research.

From Michael Chusid, November 27, 2011

In response to your question, "If it is a shofar, could it have been commemorative, rather than functional?," I want to clarify that a shofar can only be made from a non-bovine animal horn under Jewish law dating back thousands of years in the written record. Thus my suggestion is that it was a "blast-horn" or "trumpet", but not a shofar.  For the record, shofarot are intrinsically commemorative, as Torah describes the Jewish New Year as a day to "remember" or "commemorate" the sounds of shofar heard during the theophany at Sinai.

I can see how the spout on this artifact suggests its use as a rhyton. In my limited experience drinking from rytha, the fluid spurts out under hydraulic pressure, making a pointed base or pouring spout unnecessary. Have you poured liquid through it to confirm that the spout provides an effective flow?

I suggest blowing the artifact to hear its sound. I have copied Cantor [omitted] of New York City, an accomplished shofar blower, in case you are looking for an expert opinion on its timbre, pitch, and blowability.

All said, I now agree with your cataloging it as a rython. With glass so dear during the era, I doubt anyone was using it for experimental music. However, the distinction between whether something is a rython or a blast horn may be inconsequential. Ancient shepherds drank from and sounded blasts with the same horn. And I can imagine the owner of a glass rhyton quaffing an intoxicant, then trumpeting as part of the merry making or to summon the sommelier for a refill.

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

These shofarot are in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art.

18th century (?); length (of tube): 58.2 cm (23-3/8 in.); diam. of bell: ca. 6 cm (2-3/8 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.2899

The Hebrew inscription is Tiki b'chodesh shofar, Blow shofar on new moon.
Note the small ram sculpture near the bell. I have seen this motif on other antique shofarot. If you have a theory about its origin or meaning, please let me know.

19th cent. Possibly from India; if so the horn probably came African trade as this appears to be a kudu. The shaped mouthpiece is a beauty.Length 73 cm (28-3/4 in.)-measured straight from end to end; diam. of bell 8.5 cm (3-5/16 in.)-at widest; Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.372

19th century, Length-of tube 45.5 cm (17-15/16 in.); Diam. of bell- widest 5.6 cm (2-1/4 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.373

18th or 19th century; Length of tube: ca. 70 cm (27-5/8 in.); Widest diam. of bell: 87 cm (34-1/4 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.1501

Does anyone make shofarot like this today? I admire the horner's skill to straighten such a long horn.

The Museum's online catalog lists two other shofarot without images. One is dated "1850 to 1946," suggesting the difficulty of identifying a shofar's age based on appearance alone.

It would be nice to have audio tracks demonstrating the sounds of each horn; is there a donor reading this?

Man is like a Ram's Horn

"When you speak, think that the Wold of Speech is at work within you, for without that presence, you would not be able to speak at all. Similarly, you would not think at all were it not for the wold of thought within you. Man is like a ram's horn; the only sound he makes is that which is blown through him. Were there no one blowing the horn, there would be no sound at all."

Maggid Devaraw Le-Ya'aqov

Quoted in Gateways to the Otherworld, Philip Gardiner, page 220

Book of Changes

Jewish I Ching?

The image above is a graphic representation of the Rosh Hashanah shofar blast sequence of, from top to bottom, tekiah, shevarim, teruah, tekiah. While contemplating the image, I saw a visual similarity to the trigrams in the ancient Chinese oracle, I Ching:

When I can, I will return to this page to add thoughts about how shofar and I Ching compare with regards to causality vs synchronicity, our attempt to understand our place in world, and divination of future.

The I Ching's acceptance of "chance" offers a possible answer to what sequence of blasts other than Rosh Hashanah -- Leave it to chance.  Through a die or toss a coin, and let that determine the blasts.

More on another occasion.

They have a Blast at Shofar-Blowing Class

From the Jewish Journal, September 7, 2011 By Ryan Torok

It was like the beginning of a meeting for a 12-step program. One by one, they said their names, where they live and how they became addicted ... to playing the shofar. Musician and comedian David Zasloff blows shofar during a workshop for master shofar blowers. Photo by Rico Mandel Mitch Dorf, a television sound mixer and self-described Grateful Dead fan, says he loves the opportunity to play his “ax” at The Wiltern for his congregation, Wilshire Boulevard Temple. “I’m on a stage where I’ve seen Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers and the Stones,” he said. “With the shofar, you can do it in a plain fashion or you can do it in a grand fashion,” said veteran shofar blower Alan Abelson, who led High Holy Days services for prison inmates for 30 years. “It’s all kosher.” A crowd of approximately 25 male and female ba’alei tekiah (shofar master blasters) gathered at Shalom House in Woodland Hills to network, swap stories and exchange tips on getting the right sound. The Aug. 30 event, “Shofaron for Master Blasters,” provided experienced shofar blowers, who are in their respective congregations during the High Holy Days, with the rare opportunity to listen to each other perform and learn from one another. “The idea was to get different shofar blowers from different synagogues throughout the Los Angeles area and to share techniques, to share stories and to talk about the importance of shofar,” said Michael Chusid, who organized and facilitated the workshop. “Since blowing shofar is a rite that is hand-taught from one generation to next, there really isn’t a formal study of shofar.” Between Aug. 29 and Aug. 31, meetings like these took place in 10 cities in the United States and abroad, including San Francisco, New York and London. Chusid, who has taught the shofar at American Jewish University, developed the idea for the International Day of Shofar Study along with three other skilled shofar blowers from around the country. Together they’re building Shofar Corps — a network of talented and committed shofar blowers who are willing to learn from each other and to share their passion for shofar. “We realized there were a lot of shofarists who were doing the job but not with much skill or understanding. So the responsibility of people who are experts at shofar [coming together] to mentor others quickly developed [into] the notion of an International Day of Shofar Study,” Chusid said. The shofar is traditionally made from a ram’s horn and is blown during Rosh Hashanah to mark the beginning of the High Holy Days and at the end of the Yom Kippur service. It is considered a commandment to hear the shofar blown. Chusid says that too often, people in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons don’t hear a shofar during Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. He hopes the development of Shofar Corps will eventually address this problem. The shofar workshop in Woodland Hills drew an eclectic crowd, including an oboe player who had recently taken to the shofar, a Jewish Valley resident who works as a professional Santa Claus and a comedian who can play a shofar rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Local synagogues assisted with outreach for the Aug. 30 event, and e-mails referred people to the Shofar Corps Web site, shofarcorps.org, which Chusid helped launched in June. David Cooperman, owner of Shalom House, said he was happy to host the event at his Ventura Boulevard Judaica shop. “I thought it was a great idea,” Cooperman said, “and something that, if we could be a part of, we would be.” After introductions, the floor was opened up to participants’ questions. “Are rams slaughtered solely for shofar or are they already dead?” Beth Chayim Chadashim congregant Lauren Schlau asked. The rams were slaughtered for food, Cooperman said. Sarah Fortman, a local cantorial student and one of the youngest members of the group, asked if a cracked shofar was acceptable. The shofar had to be fixed before it could be played, people responded. Melted keratin would do the trick, Abelson said. When it came to sharing tricks of the trade, Joe Guttman of Shomrei Torah Synagogue, volunteered: “You use your lips, you use your tongue and you use, believe it or not, your stomach.” “The diaphragm,” somone added. At the end of the session, after showing off their own shofars, the participants stood and blasted in unison. “The shofar is an ancient way of communication, something that is based biblically on the heritage of our people. Having the sound brings back images, Bible stories, of Torah, of coming together as a community,” Cooperman said. For some, the evening provided inspiration to improve their shofar skills. “All the stories that people were telling from our tradition about shofar, it opened my heart, opened my eyes, opened my ears,” Schlau said, “and I’m going to go home and practice.”

© Copyright 2011 Tribe Media Corp. http://www.jewishjournal.com/ los_angeles/article/they_have_a_blast_at_shofar-blowing_class_20110907/ All rights reserved. JewishJournal.com

Shofar in Theater - New DVD

The World of Sholom Aleichem and The Dybbuk

Released on DVD: September 27, 2011
Archive of American Television
$29.98 each, http://eonehomevideo.com

Review by: Marc Gottlieb

Published: October 5th, 2011Latest update: October 5th, 2011
The blast of the shofar ends one of the most dramatic scenes in “The Dybbuk,” directed by Sidney Lumet, in which a rabbinical court excommunicates a dybbuk, while the same sound of the shofar opens the “Sholom Aleichem” story of Bontche Schweig, announcing the Job-like character’s arrival in heaven.

“The Dybbuk,” which was broadcast in 1960 on David Susskind’s syndicated TV series “The Play of the Week,” and “Bontche Schweig,” which along with Sholom Aleichem’s “Tale of Chelm” and “The High School” aired on the same show in 1959, have recently been released on DVD on eOne Home Video, just in time for the High Holidays.

Each DVD runs about two hours, and if one purchases both, one should be forewarned that it’s so hard to tear oneself away that one might as well block out four hours to watch both. In between the static lines of the old broadcasts, which lend both DVDs an authentic and antique aura, all four tales have elements of humor intertwined with sobering messages. (Perhaps the Chelm tales touch less on serious subjects than the others, but while one laughs at the Chelmites, it’s hard not to feel protective of them too.)

At the core of “The Dybbuk” is the often blurry boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. Particularly in the High Holiday period leading up to the Yizkor memorial service for loved ones who have passed away, it’s easy to identify with Leah, daughter of the wealthy Sender, who flees from her bridegroom (who might just have wandered off the Chelm set) to the cemetery to conjure her lost love, the kabbalist and recently deceased Channon.

Whether it is Channon’s dybbuk which enters Leah or whether she herself invites her beloved’s memory into herself, Leah causes such a disturbance shunning her bridegroom that she is marched to the rabbi of a neighboring village to be exorcised. William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” (1973) has Georgetown as its backdrop-particularly that ominous flight of stairs, which has become such a pilgrimage site to fans-but the Dybbuk’s setting is far less glamorous. This is the shtetl, where old wives share bubba meises galore. But the rabbinic court is serious business, and the consulted rabbi even enlists the help of his own rabbi.

Many tallitot, black candles, white shrouds and Torah scrolls later, Channon is ordered to depart.  As the shofar is blown several times, Channon-possessed-Leah squirms and then seems to have a full-blown seizure. This shofar blowing has nothing to do with calling anyone to repentance; it’s an all-out battle cry summoning the angels of the heavens to lay siege to the dybbuk threatening Leah.

The shofars that herald the arrival of Bontche Schweig in heaven-in grand Shakespearean fashion, we are told early and often about the grand hero long before he actually arrives on set-are far more celebratory than those in dybbuk. (Though, it’s worth noting, both have at least one tekiyah gedola, as well as the other usual notes.)

Although the word on the heavenly street is that Bontche is so grand that even the forefather Avraham needs to be summoned to greet him, the recently deceased Bontche (we never know what brought about his end) turns out to be a kopek-a-dozen kind of guy, rather than the larger than life hero who had been announced. Bontche is dressed like a beggar, but the defending angel soon reveals that he has not said a word in his entire life, despite having suffered far greater troubles than even Iyov.

From: jewishpress.com http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/arts/the-blowing-of-the-shofar-in-sholom-aleichem-and-the-dybbuk/2011/10/05/

Sonoluminescense at Sinai

Sonoluminescense is the conversion of sound energy into light energy. Seth Putterman, a professor at University of California - Los Angeles, is a leading investigator of this phenomena. While it was first described in the scientific literature in 1934, Putterman suggests that an earlier account can be inferred in Torah. Exodus 20:18 where we are told that we saw the voice of shofar.

Is Putterman offering this as serious exegesis? You can put this claim into perspective when you realize his website also cites a comic book as another example of early research on the topic.

I heard him describe his research in a televised lecture. Paraphrasing him, he said his colleagues had difficulty accepting the findings in Torah. "After all, no data is given, the research was published in a non-peer reviewed book, and the results have not been replicated in another lab." To this last point, Putterman suggests that even God may have had funding limitations.

Carry on, Professor.

Medical Ethics and Shofar

While Jewish law may appear rigid, it is actually quite sensitive to the needs of individuals. Consider these points of medical ethics. On Rosh Hashanah:

It is prohibited to eat before the blowing of the shofar. (177)  However, if someone feels weak, he is allowed to recite the kiddush prayer and to eat a little food and drink coffee or tea; however, he should do so privately. (178)

Enjoy your breakfast before going to shul. This refers to eating lunch, which may be delayed while morning prayers and the musaf service drag on past noon.

If a sick patient is unable to go to the synagogue, one can blow the shofar at the bedside and one need not assemble a quorum of ten men. (180)

A minyan is never required to hear shofar; this teaching emphases that this applies especially to one that cannot attend communal worship.

If a hospitalized patient is unable to hear the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, he is excused. (181)

The person who blows shofar in the synagogue for the congregation can blow again later for an individual sick patient... (183)

I urge shofar blowers everywhere to visit the confined to sound shofar for the.

And my favorite:

If a cardiac patient who is forbidden by his physician to blow the shofar nevertheless does so, he has committed a transgression and has not fulfilled the commandment. (187)

The protection of life takes precedence. If there is ever a question about whether one is fit for blowing shofar, err on the side of caution and refrain from blowing.

Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics, Avraham Steinberg, Fred Rosner, Feldheim Publishers, 2003, page 480

Notes:
177. Tosefta Shabbat 1:4; Magen Avraham 692:7.
178. Mateh Ephraim 588:2; Responsa Chatam Sofer, Orach Chayim, end of #7.
180. Mikra'ei Kodesh, Yamim Nora'im #16.
181. Responsa Iggrot Moshe, Orach Chayim, Part 1 #172.
183. Dagul Mervavah, Orach Chayim 589:5.
187. Responsa Minchat Yitzchak, Part 4 #102:2

Loving Kindness

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz tells the following in the name of Rav Gedaliah Sheinen, a rosh yeshiva of a yeshiva in Yerushalayim:

Rav Sheinen has been blowing shofar for many years at the minyan at which Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv davens. After davening, Rav Sheinen goes with Rav Elyashiv to his two-room apartment and blows shofar again according the shitos of certain Rishonim whose opinions regarding the tekios are not codified in Shulchan Aruch. Those who wish to fulfill these opinions have additional sounds of the shofar blown according to all the different interpretations.

Twenty one years ago, on Rosh Hashanah, Rebbetzin Elyashiv was ill and unable to go to shul to hear the shofar. When Rav Sheinen finished blowing the extra tekios for Rav Elyashiv, he asked the gadol if he should go into the Rebbetzin’s room and blow the sounds according to the Shulchan Aruch so that the Rebbetzin could fulfill the mitzvah.

To his amazement, Rav Elyashiv told him not to. “Today is Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, so the obligation to hear shofar is only miderabonon. Women were not obligated to hear shofar, but they accepted the obligation upon themselves.” ‘Kiblu aleiyhu’ is the terminology in halacha. “Since it is a tirchah for you to blow more kolos, you should rather go home than blow.”

Rav Sheinen left the small apartment and was headed down the steps when he heard Rav Elyashiv coming after him. “Kumpt tzurik - Come back,” said Rav Elyashiv. “It’s true that the obligation to hear shofar today is only miderabonon, and for women it is an even lesser obligation, and that’s why I sent you away. But my wife will be so happy to hear the kol shofar, and by blowing for her, you will be doing a chesed, and chesed is a mide’oraisah. Therefore, I am asking you to come back. For a de’oraisah I can be matri’ach you.”

Rabbi Lipshultz explains, "There are many lessons that can be learned from this story. First and foremost, we see how all of our actions should be dictated by halacha and how, before accepting a favor from someone, we must weigh whether it is absolutely necessary to inconvenience that person. We see how we must be considerate about a person’s feelings. We learn that we must prioritize our obligations and understand how important chesed is."

The story is also a wonderful example of why we need to bring shofar to those who are unable to hear it in congregational worship. If not for halacha, do it for chesed, loving kindness.

The Economics of Shofar

The following, "An Economics Lesson from Rosh Hashanah" by Daniel Hamermesh appears on Freakonomics.com (10/26/2011):

The Jewish New Year is announced by blasts on a ram’s horn (shofar). Many people use much larger horns instead (a kudu, for example). This year, as part of the religious service, a woman picked up the ram’s horn to blow a few sounds, and not much came out—a few feeble toots. After squeaking out half the required notes, she switched to the kudu horn—she switched to additional capital. With the larger horn she blasted the entire congregation out of their seats—truly wonderful sounds.

Even in a religious service we can observe that the marginal product of labor is enhanced by additional capital—even in this context labor and capital are complements in production.

I have sent the author the following comment:

I fabricate shofarot and have taught thousands of people to blow shofar, and have published a three volume compendium of shofar information, so I believe I can address your comment with some authority.

1.  The size (length) of a shofar is not related to the ease of blowing nor the intensity (volume) of its sound output. Each instrument is unique, and the results produced will vary depending upon the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual condition of the blower in the moment.

2. A long kudu can cost less than a medium to large ram horn. This is related to supply more than demand; modern animal husbandry practices favor polled (hornless) breeds [of rams], and most males are slaughtered while still lambs.

Sounding shofar is a spiritual practice that may respond to rules outside of typical marketplace economics. Perhaps "Not by might and not by power, but by spirit alone." (Zechariah 4:6) is the operable rule.

Yet, even by marketplace rules, your interpretation may be flawed depending upon the criteria for value used to measure the production.  According to the laws of Jewish spiritual commerce, as codified in Talmud, the value is not in the production of sound but in the activity of hearing. When effective, the hearing provides a stimulus that can move a listener to undergo a transformation, such as a commitment to improve his or her behavior.

From this standpoint, the "feeble toots" on the ram's horn may have been more effective than the "truly wonderful sounds" of the kudu. The shofarist's struggles to emit a sound expressed the "brokenness" of the spirit that is often a precursor to transformation.

Additional information on these issues can be found at www.hearingshofar.com.

Emotional and Spiritual Preparation

While a clear, clean blast of the shofar is beautiful, it can not always be reproduced on demand. Not only is the instrument itself challenging, the sound also reflects the inner workings of the blower's soul.  The following is an example:

I was honored to be allowed to blow the Shofar at Bonai Shalom on the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah. But I had a really hard time preparing for it. I have been blessed for decades with a consistent ability to blow the Shofar that my father gave me. That Shofar and I were like a machine. But this year nothing would seem to come out. The failure affected me deeply. Rabbi Marc helped me tremendously but I was so gripped by self-consciousness and anxiety that I turned to our beloved Reb Zalman [Schachter-Shalomi] for guidance and advice. I thought for sure that I would need at least 30 minutes of private time with him to deal with my “tsuris”. But in his loving, inimitable fashion, when I caught him in Shul he said “Let’s talk now, what is it?” And in about 30 seconds he told me exactly what I needed to hear and understand. I blew just fine and had what was a cathartic experience. I got into “the zone”…way into the zone…I think you could call that Kavanah.

From "The Lost Tallis" by Aron Friedman, Boulder Jewish News, ‍‍October 25, 2011

In email correspondence to me, Aron Friedman adds:

I thought you might find it interesting what Reb Zalman said to me. He simply said: "Lose the ego", and "just think: I am blowing Shofar because Hashem told me to." Simple, direct, beautiful.

I asked Rabbi Soloway if I could face the "Ahron" (ark containing Torah) rather than the congregation like my peer did on the 1st day, and further asked him to please not introduce me. I wore a Kittel, draped my father's tallis over my head and focused my Kavanah. Exactly what I needed to do.

Responsa: Water in Shofar?

Maurice Kamins asks:

My understanding is that there is a law that allow the Ba'al Teki'ah to pour water through the shofar before sounding on either Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. Something that I have done on and off over the years. Now that I have a little knowledge (a very dangerous thing)  I'm forced into a conundrum. There is a seemingly a much older and stricter law about a shofar within a shofar as well as a law about doing anything that changes the sound of the shofar. Knowing what we now know about the properties of liquids, if I run water through the shofar, I not only change the sound of the shofar I am also creating a liquid shofar within an animal horn shofar, therefore rendering any sounds I make invalid.

Any thoughts on this?

Michael Chusid responds:

Quoting from Volume 2 of my book: "Wet Your Whistle: Moist lips vibrate more easily than dry lips. More, it can help to moisten your shofar. Before blowing a conch shell, Hindu devotees make a ritual of pouring water into their “horn”; it makes the instrument easier to sound and is an act of purification. The practice is permitted in Judaism, too; the Talmud permits us to pour water, wine, or vinegar into a shofar. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Shofar, Sukkah, V’Lulav, Chapter 1, Halachah 4) If it is not a fast day, you may want to take a drink of water yourself. On fast days, however, reserve the liquid for the shofar in keeping with the ethical principal that a farmer must feed his livestock before feeding him or her self."

But your question goes even deeper. I visualize that the important surfaces to wet is the blow hole, to lubricate the fluttering of the lips. The water in the horn cavity seems less important to the production of the sound. Perhaps this is testable.

I have recently been reading about the phases of mater -- solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. If the water lining the inside of a shofar froze, that would seem to be like a coating that creates a surface inside the shofar, and would not be acceptable.

However, when I blow shofar, my breath contains much vapor, some of which condenses (or at least I imagine) on the inside of the shofar. In fact, I frequently begin silently exhaling into my shofar for some time before blowing, to make sure it is moist. This would not, then, change the state of the shofar, as condensate is a natural part of blowing the shofar. How then, is liquid water different than the condensate from my breathe?

But I now posit a different argument. The natural state of the inside of a horn is wet. I know this, since I have seen fresh horns with the boney core and soft tissue. It is the dry horn that is the unusual state of affairs. Perhaps we need to moisten the horn so it is restored to a condition closer to its life like form, more like the karbon, the sacrificial animal, that was alive when it was brought to the altar.

Cantor Daniel Pincus asks for clarification of the above position:

"Reserve" [the water] for what?

Michael Chusid explains:

"Reserve" may not be the best word choice.  Try this:

During a fast, pouring water into a shofar may be especially useful; since your mouth may be parched, this may be the most practical way to "wet your whistle" without imbibing. I also see a connection between this practice and the precept* that we must feed and give drink to a flock before satisfying his own needs; we must attend to the needs of the horn - the symbol of the ram - even while we are abstaining from drink.

* If an animal depends on you for sustenance, it is forbidden to eat anything until feeding the animal first. (Talmud - Brachot 40a, based on Deut. 11:15)

Arthur Finkle returns to the initial question and responds:

The mitzvah is... to hear a sound. There is no law of physics that a horn of keratin has to sound like the horn in its natural state. If you can get a better tone (timbre, pitch) with more humidity, then do it.

Maurice Kamins answers:

I agree that when we blow the shofar there is a layer of moisture that must settle within the horn. I also will blow hot air into the shofar and hold it to make it warm. All actions that I'm sure slightly change the sound from when the shofar is cold.  The difference  would be that the moisture from our breath would unlikely leave as "thick" a layer of liquid that exist when water is poured into the shofar. My guess would be... that there is a "purer" sound with the water coated shofar than there would be with a "spittle" covered shofar. I also believe that if frozen water would create a shofar within a shofar, so does the liquid we pour into the shofar. 

As there were very few Jewish scholars, 3000 years ago who knew much about the dynamics of liquids this is a question that can only be asked now. And... now that I raised the question in purity, I'll go back to wetting the shofar before Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur because at least to my ear, the wet shofar has a purer sound.

Michael Chusid wonders:

Is there someone that would like to put this to test? Perhaps a talmid chacham will undertake this investigation as a science fair project, measuring variations in sound quality as a function of moisture conditions within a shofar.  Let me know of your findings.

Photo: 

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