Poem by Stehanie Liss

Shofar
By Stephanie Liss
Yom Kippur Day 5770

In the sound of shofar is the beginning of time.

It is the wind of the east and the call of the sun as it rises.

Where lies the heart, so is tekiah.

Where flows the blood, so is teruah.

At the end of days in darkness, it calls to the light,

In the first breath of morning, it sounds the coming of day’s-Messenger

Flying his chariot afire,

Swirling in flames,

Burning Holy in the pressing dawn.

It is the laughter of angels, and the dance of the maiden.

It is the cry of the mourning, searching for peace at the mother’s breast.

It is the turning of the earth, and the soar of the mountain,

And in the whisper of the night, it is the weep of prayer.

In the harvest, there is bounty,

And in the famine, there is faith,

as the world is called into blessing on Gadol Hayom.

It is the horn of the ram – hollow, bending,

its chambers now the echo of the voice of G-d.

Opening, it finds its way home through the hills of Judea, and into the sea.

It is the turn of the earth at the water’s rise.

It is the hand of G-d sweeping holiness from life into life.

This life into life is the memory of song.

This power of one, is the horn of the ram.

This horn of the ram – is the sound of G-d

And in the sound of G-d,

Is the power of One.

© Stephanie Liss 2009

Shlomo Carlebach Quoting the Sochachover

Joy Krauthammer has sent me the following message written by Reb Shlomo Carlebach:

"...Friends! Let this year be a real beginning, not the same beginning we go through every year. Let's not begin the old record over again -- let there be a new record. New teachings. New words. New thoughts.

"Let every breath we take feel like we never breathed before. The holy Sochachover says when we blow shofar, G-d absolutely blows a new soul into us. Lets keep this new soul so holy & so beautiful & let's inscribe each other into the book of life."

Press Release: Book on Shofar is Published

For Release September 12, 2009

First Book-Length Study of Shofar History, Symbolism, and Traditions

Now Available for Free Download

Publication of Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram’s Horn, was announced today by the author, Michael T. Chusid. Hearing shofar, the ram’s horn, is the primary ritual of the Jewish High Holy Days including Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement. While shofar has been used for at least three thousand years, the author believes this is the first full-length book on the subject. In addition to an in-depth discussion of shofar’s religious significance, the book explores the ram’s horn in the context of its history, anthropology, mythology, mysticism, psychology and cultural dimensions. The book, available online as a free download, is presented in three volumes and includes an “owner’s manual” for the shofar blower.

“When I began blowing shofar 16 years ago,” explains Chusid, “its call had a profound effect on me spiritually and emotionally. As I researched the instrument, I discovered that good information on the topic is scattered and hard to find. The book was a natural outgrowth of my enthusiasm for shofar and my gratitude for what it has given me.” The book is available for free download from www.HearingShofar.com.

The website is also home to Shofar Corps, a network of volunteers that blow shofar for people that are unable to attend synagogue services during the High Holy Days. Chusid explains, “We blow shofar in hospitals, prisons, and nursing homes and for homebound individuals. Hearing shofar can be especially meaningful to people who are in poor health or isolated from their communities.” Chusid will be bringing his shofar to three nursing homes and a state prison during this year’s High Holy Days. Chusid’s website contains a link where donations can be made to help support the work of Shofar Corps.

Recognized as a “ba’al tekiah”, Hebrew for “shofar master blaster,” Chusid claims to have taught more than a thousand people to blow shofar. He has presented lectures and classes about shofar at the American Jewish University, Hebrew Union College, and at synagogues throughout North America.

Chusid is an architect and president of Chusid Associates, Tarzana CA, a technical and marketing consulting firm serving building products manufacturers. He is the shofar blower for Makom Ohr Shalom, a Jewish congregation in Los Angeles.

Shofar and the Media

When the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles called a press conference to announce a food drive in time for the High Holy Days, they knew exactly what images would get the attention of the media. The photo did not make it into the print edition, but was on the LA Times website for about twenty minutes before being bumped for other news.

Shofar and Dog

I admit; I am jealous. I spend ten years working on a book about shofar. Then, in the same week I post my book online, someone posts a short video of a coincidental duet between a shofar and a dog. Their post goes viral (with ten thousand or so hits in Google), and my book gets very modest attention.

Is there a lesson? What is it about dogs?

Perhaps part of the answer is in a teaching I received from an email correspondent named zoharialev:

"We hear the Shofar's sound, and pray that it penetrates our heart.

"The Supernal Shofar is related to the Sefirat Binah, the Supernal heart-mind, as it says in Petahat Eliyahu prayer: 'Binah Liba, uva HaLeiv Mavin"/ "Understanding is the heart, within which is the heart that understands.' (Tikkuney HaZohar 17a)

"Don't read KeLeiv, like a 'heart', rather like Kelev, a 'dog.'"

As a person sharing a home with two dogs, I can attest, dogs are all about heart. Perhaps I can promote my book by training one of them to actually blow shofar. God willing.

Shofar Class with Chief Rabbi of Israel

According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

"Over 100 shofar blowers gathered Wednesday at a first-of-its-kind and somewhat ear-splitting conference for men who desperately needed to practice and receive their colleagues' encouragement before the moment of truth - Sunday, when they will put the traditional ram's horn to their lips and coax from it the plaintive calls that form one of the most moving moments of the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

"The shofar blowers had another special reason to gather: They are graduates of the first shofar-blowing course ever organized by the Chief Rabbinate. The course included a meticulous study of the laws pertaining to the shofar and a lesson by Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, as well as several useful tips from experienced blowers of the ceremonial horn."

This seems to be part of a growing interest in shofar not only as a religious ritual but also as a nationalist symbol in Israel.

Videos of the presentation and some great group blowing sounds are at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KG2aJZ2S8M.

Kavanah for Shofar Blower

I am writing this just after the second day of Rosh Hashanah 5770 to record a teaching from Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi.

Paraphrasing:

"Sometimes when someone blows a long tekiah gedolah, the shofar blower's ego starts thinking, 'Wow, I'm good. This is a really long blast. I hope everybody is noticing me.'

"So there is a way when, just before falling asleep at night, that we visualize we are giving our breathe back to God. Doing this helps us prepare for when we die, and get to give our last breathe back to God.

"This is a good kavanah for the shofar blower. When you do it this way, the shofar blasts carry our prayers straight to God."

For more on the meditation before falling asleep, see: www.clalrabbis.net/jliving_unit1.htm.

Thank you to Leslie Goldman, the Enchanted Gardener, for photo of the moment.