If you are a publisher or literary agent, or know one, please contact me.There is a worldwide surge in interest about shofar, the ram's horn mentioned more than 70 times in the Old Testament and used in the central ritual of the Jewish New Year observance. Yet there has never been a definitive book on the topic. To fill this void, I have written a manuscript on the topic and would like you to consider taking on the project.
Working Title: Shofar: The Still, Small Voice of the Ram’s Horn
Author: Michael Chusid
Genre: Non-fiction, Jewish religion and spirituality with crossover appeal to Christians, students of religion, and other spiritual seekers.
Subject: The book explains the meanings of and traditions behind shofar from a wide variety of perspectives including: religion, ritual, spirituality, mysticism, liturgy, history, anthropology, gender studies, psychology, mythology, music, Biblical exegesis, and related topics.
Background: Hearing shofar is the central ritual of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The symbolism and meaning of the primitive instrument is woven into the fabric of Jewish tribal identity and spiritual life. Increasingly, people of all faiths are embracing shofar as a way to express their deepest yearnings.
Yet surprisingly, there had never been a book-length exploration into the shofar’s many meanings. This project fills that void in enough depth to satisfy serious students of religion while remaining accessible to the spiritually curious lay reader.
Author’s Qualifications: Michael Chusid is author of more than two hundred magazine articles and the recipient of several journalism awards. He is recognized as a
ba'al tekiah (shofar master blaster) and has taught shofar studies at the Hebrew Union College, American Jewish University, and at congregations in the US and Canada.
Testimonials:
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Well-known spiritual leader and author): “Michael Chusid is the mouthpiece of the shofar.”
The Los Angeles Times: “Chusid…has taught hundreds of people since he discovered…that sharing the sacred horn’s joys and mysteries was his calling… Although he emphasizes that blowing the shofar is a religious practice, not a performance, Chusid has the skill, the control and the soul of an artist.”
The Jewish Journal: “Chusid…the Master Blaster has a gentle, authoritative air.”
Manuscript: The result of a decade of research and writing, the nearly complete manuscript is organized into three parts that can be combined into a single volume or issued separately:
Part 1: Hearing Shofar – Delves into the meaning of shofar in relation to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish High Holy Days, including daily meditations for Elul – the month of spiritual preparation before Rosh Hashanah.
Part 2: Blowing Shofar – Provides guidance to individuals who want to blow the shofar for religious and creative rituals. It is the essential owner’s manual.
Part 3: Knowing Shofar – Explores other fascinating aspects of shofar, advancing the understanding of shofar in both traditional practice and contemporary culture.
Marketing Considerations: The timeless subject of the book ensures enduring sales as booksellers will want to feature the book every year for the Jewish Holidays.
The author is a professional speaker and anticipates an active schedule of lecturing and workshops for synagogues and cultural groups in the months leading up the Jewish New Year. Established by the book as the expert on shofar, he will position himself as the source for news media looking for seasonal coverage of the Jewish New Year – especially since shofar blasts are the ultimate sound bite.
To maximize exposure of the book, one volume can be published annually for three years, then a compendium or box set the fourth year – enabling the work to continue to earn new book exposure over an extended period.
While most sales will be seasonal, the shofar is increasingly used in a wide variety of settings (weddings, political demonstrations, church services, etc.), creating year-round interest. This is strengthened by chapters in the book discussing shofar in life cycle events, at Passover (the “Cup of Elijah” was a shofar!), and other Jewish holidays.
While the book is written from a Jewish vantage, the author welcomes inter-faith outreach and hopes to address the many Christian denominations that want a better understanding of the roots of their faith. There has been an explosion of interest in shofar among Christians; pastors are sounding shofar from their pulpits, preachers take it out into the streets to spread the Word, and the sounding of 300 shofarot was the high point of a recent large Christian convocation.
As further evidence of the growing interest in shofar, the instrument is increasingly being used in a variety of musical genres, including fine art music, world music, and popular music. Madonna, for instance, began a recent world tour with shofar blasts.
In addition to normal trade book outlets, the book will be an add-on sale at the many religious gift stores and online stores that sell shofarot.
While respectful of traditional halacha (Jewish law) and teachings, the book advances several original discoveries about shofar that will provide meat for reviewers and critics and help raise the book’s profile.
Table of Contents:
Forward by Rabbi Dr. Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, Professor Emeritus and Past Holder of the World Wisdom Chair at Naropa University, Rabbinic Chair of ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Founder of the Spiritual Eldering Institute, and well-known author and spiritual leader.
PART 1: HEARING SHOFAR
The Call of Shofar
1. An Awakening: A personal account of how shofar awakens spirituality.
2. Five Translation Challenges: Biblical and rabbinic basis for shofar.
The Shofar of Elul
3. My Shofar is My Beloved’s: Teshuvah and preparation for the Days of Awe.
4. Meditations for each Day of Elul: Warm-up exercises for the spirit.
The Shofar of Rosh Hashanah
5. Blast, Break, Shatter, Blast: The blessings, the calls, and the code.
6. The Ram’s Midrash: What the Akedah teaches about listening to shofar.
7. The Ewe’s Horn: Shofar speaks in both masculine and feminine voices.
8. Our Father, Our King: Stories about kings, children and shofarot.
9. Remembering Shofar: To blow, or not to blow, that is the Shabbat question.
The Shofar of Yom Kippur
10. The Dinner Bell and One Last Blast: An encore.
11. Azazel and the Goat that is Set Free: Two goats and two paths.
12. The Jubilee and the Prophet’s Words: The call for justice.
13. From the Belly of a Wail: Jonah revisited.
PART 2: BLOWING SHOFAR
1. Why Shofar: Overview of shofar and the High Holy Days
2. Kavanah for Sounding Shofar: Whatever moves you.
3. Buying, Making, and Caring for a Shofar: A horn of one’s own.
4. Hearing Shofar: The reason for blowing.
5. Preliminary Exercises: First, make funny sounds.
6. Getting Sound from a Shofar: Giving lip service to the horn.
7. Sounding the Four Blasts: Uniting heaven and earth.
8. Tips for Common Problems: I’m sure you won’t need this, but…
9. Staging Shofar: Tooting al tutti or alone.
10. Blowing Shofar for the Sick and Confined: A double mitzvah.
11. Secrets of an Awesome Tekiah Gedolah: How to get to Carnegie Hall.
PART 3: KNOWING SHOFAR
1. Shepherd Nation: Shofar is a legacy of our ancestor’s vocation.
2. The Still Small Voice: Shofar as a call to silence.
3. Sometimes a Ram’s Horn is Just a Ram’s Horn: Psychological perspectives.
4. The Shaman’s Shofar: Tikkun olam and the healing of our souls and world.
5. Beyond the Days of Awe: Shofar for other holidays and rituals.
6. The Ram’s Horn of Passover: A proposal for a shofar on a seder table.
7. The Silent Shofar: Including the deaf in shofar.
8. Iconography and Iconolatry: The visual symbolism of horns in Judaism.
9. More Teachings from the Ram: Grazing among the writings of the Sages.
10. Shalshelet and Shofar: A trope and the chain of tradition.
11. After Jericho, Shevarim: Shofar insight from The Book of Joshua.
12. Would a Shofar by Any Other Name Smell So Sweet? Insights from etymology.
13. Spirituality and “Spirality”: Shofar’s spiral shape as a map for spiritual growth.
14. Blow it as it Grows: Can a side-blown horn be a shofar?
15. Shofar, So Good: Teachings too good to ignore.
Epilogue – Elul Story
Scriptural References to Shofar
Bibliography
Index
Removable Quick Reference Sheet for Shofar Blower
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