Shofar Morse Code

In Chapter 3-5 - "Beyond the Days of Awe" of Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, I state:

"...beyond tekiah, shevarim, and teruah – the prescribed blast for Rosh Hashanah, there is an entire Morse code of shofar calls, each with the potential to transmit a unique message."

Morse code is a signaling system that translates letters into series of pulses of short and long duration, know respectively as "dit" and "dash." It was originally developed for telegraphy. While largely replaced by other forms of communication, it is still an invaluable system for signaling.

A useful and fun tool for learning to hear the rhythm of Morse code is at http://www.philtulga.com/morse.html. (It occurs to me that these rhythms would be a great basis for songs.)

This post explores two questions: 

1. How can we use Morse code to create shofar blasts that are meaningful for special occasions?

2. Can Morse code help us find messages encoded into the traditional shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah?

Google Swirl: Shofar Images

Throughout my research into shofar, I have made extensive use of Google.com's image search to find photos and illustrations. They offer a new tool called "Swirl" which tries to sort images by theme and appearance. It is fun, can be a faster way to search, and can lead to surprising discoveries.

The tool is still in a test mode; I look forward to seeing it mature. Here are results from a few searches:

Side-Blown Shofar with a Flourish

I have written about side-blown shofarot in Chapter 3-14   "Blow it as it Grows: Can a side-blown horn be a shofar?" of my book, Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn. In the side-blown instruments I have made, I have left the tip of the horn in its natural state to preserve the natural form of the horn. I am delighted to see, however, that another horner has taken a different approach:

As shown at http://shofars.us/, the tip of the horn has been carved to form the Hebrew letter ש, "shin" or "sheen".

Shin is often used in Jewish symbolism, such as on a mezuzah case, to represent the word Shaddai, a name for God. During the priestly blessings, the priest would hold his hands in a form representative of shin. It can also stand for "shema," the word for "listen," an especially significant act when it comes to shofar.

While the simpleness of an un-adorn shofar has symbolic meaning, decorating a horn can be an expression of hiddur mitzvah, the mitzvah of making a mitzvah-object beautiful.

Shofar "Sure Fun" Contest

Shofar is much to important to be taken seriously. Here is a good approach to "Shofar. Sure Fun."

Horning In with 'Taps,' Jeopardy & Queen

All was calm and quiet on Maple Avenue in Red Bank [New Jersey] Saturday night until about 8:15p, when visitors wielding giant rams’ horns started filing into Congregation Beth Shalom.

That’s when a half-dozen children and adults started wailing into the horns, creating a cacophony of deep, hollow blasts and high-pitched squeals, warming up for the annual shofar-blowing contest ahead.

Vibration and Harmony

“Surrounding and permeating 
oneself with 

the vibration of 
harmonic melody 

attracts God to you 

and you to God.” 

We usually think of "harmony" as requiring multiple voices. Yet every blast of shofar contains the potential to create resonant frequencies that harmonize.

This statement is said to have been made by Reb Nachman of Bratslav. If you know a written source for it, please let me know.

Seeing Sound of Shofar

The theophany at Sinai still resonates through the world today. Here is an attempt to explain one of its mysteries through physics and kabbalah:

‘…they saw the sounds of the shofar’
A preliminary understanding of the physics of the shofar as it relates to sound and light using the principles of ‘the blue shift, harmonic overtone series and sympathetic vibrations’.

It would seem paradoxical for the Torah to say ‘ they saw the sounds’ , either as a statement referring to the shofar , or as similarly stated, when G-d spoke at the receiving of the Torah at Sinai , where again the Torah says, ‘they saw the sounds’. How is it possible to ‘see the sounds’? This article will try to explain through the science of physics what this means;

Sounds from Heaven

I love this story about how shofar can change spiritual energy. It is from Pastor Beni Johnson, who also displays this image of the shofar on her website.

...I believe that the shofar, used the right way, can be a powerful weapon in prophetic intercession. The sound that the shofar produces can cause a change in the spirit realm, which in turn changes our physical realm...

Several years ago, I was talking with one of our seers. (A seer is one who has the ability or gift of seeing into the spirit realm.) We were talking about the prayer house. There had been some strange ungodly happenings going on around the house. She told me that there was an illegal communication line going into the prayer house. Obviously, this was something that was not legal and needed to be taken care of. I knew I needed to pray and get God’s solution to this intrusion. As I asked God, I felt like I was to take the shofar to the prayer house and blow it there. 

So I went early one morning with a friend, and when the sun came up, I blew the shofar. That is all I did. I didn’t pray. This was the first time I had ever used the shofar. I really have no idea why. I had never been a fan of blowing the shofar. Someone had given me one and I thought they were cool, but didn’t think I would use it for anything. But little did I know?. Because of the strange happenings going on and our prayer house being open 24/7, we had brought on security staff to watch over the place. 

So, after I blew the shofar that day, I waited a week and went to our security guy and asked him how the week had gone at the house. He did not know that we had blown the shofar the week before. His response to me was, “You know, the strangest thing happened this week. There was no weirdness. It all has left.” 

I was so excited and I knew that the sound of the shofar had released the sound of heaven that displaced the evil intent. Since then, we have used the shofar from time to time to release a sound into the atmosphere. Just like in the declarations that we pray, the same power that is released when we declare is the same power that is released in sound. God’s first language is not English, nor does he just use words to fulfill His will. That is the adventure of serving Him. Listen for His voice and be a releaser of the sounds of heaven!

Crying for just one blast.

The following was posted by Rabbi Avi Rapoport, Sep. 20, 2009, on his blog, The Rabbi Candy Box:

In the final year of his life the Minchas Elozor took the shofar on Rosh Chodesh Elul and tried the horn to see if it was in OK condition. Hershelle was in the room then and was very visibly excited with the shofar and its sounds; he asked his zeide for "noch ein blooz," one more blast, which his zeide gladly obliged. From then on, for the next month, this became a ritual; the Rov blowing once for little Hershelle. On Erev Rosh Hashonoh Hershelle was there awaiting his daily blast, but he was disappointed. "Haynt iz Erev Rosh Hashoone, Haynt bloozt men nisht, morgen vet men bloozen asach mool in shil," his zeide told him. The child knew no Chochmes. He kicked and screamed, telling his zeide "Nor Ein Blooz! Nor Ein Blooz!" After a while his zeide had rachmones on his favorite eynikel and took the shofar and blew one blooz.

On Rosh Hashoneh before Tekios the minhag in Munkacs was that the Rov spoke. That year the Rov went up before the aron kodesh, opened the ark and said: "Ribono Shel Olam, Ich darf tshiveh tuhn, ich hub over geven af an halochoh. It's written that on Erev Rosh Hashanah one mustn't blow shofar, yet I did. He began to sob uncontrollably and called out: "Ribono shel olam, do you know why I transgressed that halochoh? it was because my young (grand)child lay on the floor and begged me and cried that I should only blow one blooz for him. My heart melted, I couldn't bear to watch him cry like that, so I blew once for him, despite the fact that I shouldn't have. Tatte, how can you stand by and see how millions of your children are down on the floor and cry out to you, Tatte eyn blooz - TeKa BeShofar Godol LeChayruseynu, Even if the time is not right for it yet, the time for Moshiach has yet to arrive, but your children cry out to you, how can you stand idly by?!"

When Reb Baruch told the story he cried, and recounted how at that time the crowd cried along with the Rov, the Tekios were delayed, and for a long time they could not "come to themselves, loud wailing was heard throughout the shul."

Tosher Rebbe

A follower of the Tosher Rebbe has a website of photos of the Rebbe. Stating, "Our Sages taught: It is good to look at the image of a holy person, as the image itself inspires us to follow in his ways."

September 2008

(c) מגזין תמונות "כל העולם כולו" נצבים תשס"ח kol Hoilem Kilo 

 Sukkot 5768

DIY Shofarot for Kids

The internet offers several ideas for making play shofarot for children. The first two use paper mache; one has a party noisemaker mouthpiece inserted to make a buzzing noise, and the second is just for looks (presumably with sound effects provided by the voice.

I like the third idea best as it actually allows kids to buzz their lips to make sound as they would with an actual shofar. With creativity, there are all sorts of tubes laying around that can be blown, including short lengths of pipe.

Still, I ask the question. Why not let a child blow on an actual shofar? Children as young as five learn quickly to blow a shofar. Horns are pretty durable things and can handle rough handling from a child. (Keep away from dogs, however, as they will think it is a chew toy.) 

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From Alpha Mom:

During Rosh Hashanah a Shofar, traditionally made from a hollowed out rams horn, is blown to awake and inspire.  The Shofar is such an important part of this holiday that sometimes Rosh Hashanah is called Yom Teruah, which means “day of the Shofar blast” in Hebrew.

With a few supplies you can make your own Shofar horn. Gather 3 toilet paper rolls per horn, a party horn, masking tape, glue, paint brush, scissors and white and brown paint.

Cut all they way across one roll lengthwise.

Remove fringe or cardboard from the party horn so you are only left with the plastic noise maker.  Wrap the cut cardboard tube around the plastic noisemaker.

Fasten cardboard to plastic noisemaker securely with masking tape.

With the other two rolls fold the edge to make a pleat in the bottom side. You are  making the bottom small enough to fit inside another roll. This will give the Shofar a nice curve.

Place the tubes inside each other.

Paper mache the toilet paper rolls with long strips of paper and a mixture of equal parts water and glue (use can also use equal parts flour and water). If you want to forgo the mess, simply wrap the toilet paper rolls with masking tape.

Allow the paper mache to dry completely. Paint with white paint. While white paint is still wet, sponge on some bits of brown and mix and smudge lightly to give the horn “realistic” color and dimension.

Finished! Now you can listen to your Tokea (which literally means ‘blaster’ and is the name for person who blows the horn), celebrate.


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From: http://anna.xanga.com/711785219/item/

Note that the shofar plays a HUGE part in our celebration of this feast.  I have to admit something - we don't have a shofar.  And it's a really bad time of the year to try to procure one, too, I might add.  And I never remember to look for one until it's the wrong time of year to find one, either, dummy me!  So we get a little creative.  The first year we celebrated, we used kazoos.  ((Kinda crazy, but I had them, and it was fun and noisy and got the point across.))  The next year I found a recorder (the instrument kids play in elementary school?) and we used that, but it wasn't as fun, because the kids didn't get to blow anything.  So the next year we decorated rolled-up paper plates and made really primitive shofars.

This year, I have a recipe to make paper mache shofars that I'm hoping to try.  I told my FB friends about this, and Kim T. asked if I wouldn't share the recipe for this.  So here it is!

Start by rolling several paper towels into the shape of a horn.  Cover the horn with foil and shape into a shofar  (I've included two of the most common shapes of shofars).  Then make this Paper Mache Paste:

1/2 cup flour
2 cups cold water
2 cups boiling water
3 tbsp. sugar

Mix together the flour and cold water in a pan.  Add boiling water to the mixture, and heat to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the sugar.  The mixture will thicken as it cools.  Apply to strips of newspaper until completely dampened.

Wrap the paper mache coated newspaper strips around the foil shofar.  Before the mache is completely dry, have a grown-up cut it in half.  Remove the foil from inside.  When the shofar is dried, glue/tape the two halves back together and let them set up/dry.  Then decorate your shofar with paints!

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From: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/rosh-hashanah-crafts1.htm 

Make your own shofar with this Rosh Hashanah craft

What You'll Need:
Plastic funnel
Colored tape
30-inch length of rubber hose
Scissors
Colored cord with tassel

You need a lot of practice to be able to blow a shofar. Here's an easy way you can make those holiday sounds with a shofar of your own.

Decorate the funnel with colored tape. You might want to wind strips around the funnel to cover it entirely, or you could use little cutout shapes. Cut a 1-inch slit in one end of the hose. Push the funnel into this slit, and tape it in place.

Then make a large loop in the hose, and tape it in place -- be sure you have a few straight inches left over for the part where you hold the horn and blow. Wind strips of colored tape around the hose to decorate it. Wind a couple inches of colored tape at the mouthpiece at the straight end of the hose opposite the funnel.

Now you are ready to blow. Just hold the horn, and blow into the mouthpiece end, making your lips vibrate against it. Blow hard or softly to make different tones. Make your lips tighter, and see what sort of a shofar sound comes out now.

Shul Knocker

In the shtetls of the Old World, a shul knocker was the person that went from home to home knocking on doors or windows to get a minyan. And it is also the mallet he used to do the knocking with -- a knocker typically in the shape of a shofar. Like the shofar, the shul knocker would say, "wake up".

The Yiddish term is also spelled: schulklopffer, schul klopper, shulklapper.
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An Historical Account
The following is from Jewish Life in the Middle Ages, Israel Abrahams, 1896.

But the most powerful officer [of the Jewish community] was the Shamash or beadle... From early times the beadle was the public crier. He ascended a high roof on Friday afternoons, and with a blast of the trumpet, thrice repeated at long intervals, notified that work was to cease. This very old Jewish custom was not carried to Babylon, but was retained in Palestine. The favourite substitute for the shofar in the middle ages was a wooden mallet. A series of knocks was dealt by the Shamash or other official at the door of the synagogue and at the doors of all the Jews who worshipped thereat. These knocks were three or four in number, and the following passage from the testament of A. Susskind will indicate some of the emotions which, in course of time, these early morning summonses aroused. 'It is a common practice with Jews that when a member of the community has died during the night, the Shamash, hen he comes to summon us to synagogue, gives only two instead of the usual three knocks, as a sign of death. When he only knocked twice, I sighed; but when thrice, my heart leapt up with joy!'   (pp 55 - 57)

This official was termed Schulklopfer, called also Campanator. The title is as old as 1225, for allusion is made to the Schulklopfer in Floz's carnival play, Der Juden Messias, of that date. Schudt calls him Schulklopper as well as Schulklopfer. The office is much older than the name... On Sabbaths the mallet was not used, but the fist... On the fast of the ninth of Ab, the Schulklopfer did not make his usual rounds. (Footnote 4, Page 56)

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It is recorded: "Of course, the culture of the Judengasse...was an intensely religious culture, with the rhythm of life still dictated by the religious laws of the Halakha. Every morning and evening, men were summoned to worship at synagogue by the Schul-Klopper knocking on their doors with a hammer." (The House of Rothschild, chapter 1, Niall Ferguson, 1998)

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Schul Klopper Awakens Us to Our Duties

The following teachings are by Hazzan Bernard Savitz.The Voice, September 2008:

There are many customs on the High Holy Days that are not well known. One of them is called the Schul Klopper. This name is derived from Schul, the Judeo-German designation for synagogue, and Klopfen (to knock) that is applied to the Shammash (beadle), who summoned the congregation to services, announced the arrival of the Sabbath, awakened the congregants to the Selichot services, and made announcements for public festivities. He announced his arrival by knocking at the door or window with a fixed number of taps, using a special mallet, except for the Sabbath, when he used his fists, and a unique chant. The title of Schul Klopper, itself, dates back to the year 1225, yet the office originated in the second century, when the Chazzan Hakenesset was responsible for these duties. In certain localities, Schul Klopper was called Schulbruffer, and in larger communities he assisted the Shammash.
 
Among the exhortations chanted by the Schul Klopper included Shtet uf Kinder Leavodat Havort, which means "wake up, children, for the service of the Creator;" Shtet uf Zu Selichot which means "wake up for the Selichot Service;" and "Israel, oh holy folk awake, arouse yourselves and rise to the service of the Creator."

The announcements of the Schul Klopper disappeared from Eastern European communities by the early 1900s. However, the song phrases are recalled by present day synagogue worshippers.

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Sender the Klapper

The following images and musical links are from the website of Steve Klapper, the "Jewish Troubadour", who offers a program of music and stories about his great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Sender the Klopper, a shul knocker. His site also has recordings of chants the shul knocker sang as he went about his rounds.

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Knocking and Blasting
On a walk today, I found a stick bent in the shape of a nice 19th century askenazic shofar - so I now have a shul knocker.

I have been thinking a lot recently about shofar as a rhythm or percussion instrument. I found that I can tap on the side of my horn and get a very nice bell or drum tone, or scrape along the ridges of an unpolished horn and get a washboard effect.

So now I am visualizing a shofar and shul knocker duet. With call and response between the instruments. With the instruments blasting and pounding in time with each other. And with the two playing together to create rhythmic patterns.

Want to develop something together for Rosh Hashanah?

For more information on shofar, download Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn  at www.HearingShofar.com, and subscribe to www.HearingShofar.blogspot.com.

www.Betterfly.com

Betterfly.com is a new service to link teachers and students. My services as a shofarist and teacher is described at http://betterfly.com/profile.php?user=HearingShofar-2.

Let me know if you find this a helpful link.

Shofar and Yom Kippur War

One of the readers of this blog asked me:

As I studied further on shofars, I have a question regarding the history of Yom Kippur War. It was 1973 Yom Kippur when the war when Israel was attacked. Did it happen before Tekiah Gedolah was blown or after it was blown?

The short answer is that Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli positions during the day of Yom Kippur, before shofar was blown at the end of the day. On Yom Kippur, ordinary life in Israel comes to a stop, and most people spend the day in worship.  I have heard stories about soldiers on leave and reservists being called out of synagogue during Yom Kippur prayers to report to active duty, and about the strangeness of hearing vehicles in the streets on the Holy Day, a day when almost no one drives.

But I have never heard stories about the shofar blast of that day.

What was it like to be in shul until the end of the day, then hear the shofar blast knowing your country was at war?

What did the shofar say differently that day?
   Did the shofar reassure the people of Israel?
   Did it sound a battle cry?
   Or did it just cry?

What was it like for the soldiers that did not get to hear shofar that day?

If you were there and can share your story, or you know the stories of others on that day, please write me to share them.

Shofar builds a bridge of water

Here is a teaching based on Zohar about shofar :

...When the light started to come out of Binah as water, the sound, motion and time were created.

The sound was made out of air, fire and water.
Psalms 93:3 “The rivers have lifted up, YHVH, the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers will lift up from their low state”

The supernal rivers of Chokmah and Binah of the YHVH, created the sound on the second phase of the spread out of the Light. The third part is for the future when the water of the rivers will be elevated form their lower level.

Our thoughts of spiritual state vibrate down to our mouth with the air and water (moisture) from the lungs and flow out of us. When they are positive they go up to rise from the lower state...

When the river below ascends with the voice from Malchut through the central column, it connects with the supernal water and the light comes down to fill up the vessel.

What does it mean?
The Shofar is an instrument that gives us the ability to connect above on the highest level.

Blowing the Shofar is done when we push air and fire, which is the heat of the body in the lungs, through the horn canal. It vibrates and while it expands and goes out of the horn, it creates water.

This water, when it carries the proper consciousness, makes a connection to the water above as a bridge between the spiritual and physical.

Again, what does it mean?
Isaiah 27:13 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship the YHVH in the holy mountain at Jerusalem."

The final blowing of the Great Shofar will be made on the day of the final correction. That will elevate all the last sparks of lower waters to create the final bridge of light to bring down the continuous flow of light to this world.

The exile, which is the state of disconnection from the light, will end and all nations will gather as one in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

In the process of making children we transform consciousness to water. We create a bridge for the light to bring life into drops of water going down to Malchut. Those seeds of life are made to keep the continuation of the world.

The Shofar blowing creates water that bridges the light at the purest state. The final blowing will create the bridge that will bring the light force continuously to sustain the world.

We use Shofar blowing during the month before Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur, a period of 40 days that we connect on the highest level to the light. On Yom Kippur we avoid any contact with water in order not to corrupt the connection to the spiritual waters with physical waters.

Extracted from writings by Zion Nefesh on http://dailyzohar.com/?p=1701 and http://dailyzohar.com/?p=1702.

Shofar Class in Philadelphia

Michael Chusid will be speaking about shofar with P'nai Or - Philadelphia, on Tuesday, May 11, 2010. The program is from 7 to 9 pm at 5767 Greene St., Mt. Airy. Bring a shofar if you have one. For more information, call Michael at 818-219-4937 or visit www.pnaior-phila.org.

If you are alone on Days of Awe

This post offers a way for you to hear shofar during the High Holy Days, even if you are alone and do not have a shofar. It is excerpted from the writings of Norman R. Davies. He  is currently living a solitary contemplative lifestyle in Spain and is the founder of an online “Community of Jewish Contemplatives”  He wrote the following under the pen name, “Jewish Hermit” on his personal blog  “Jewish Contemplatives":

The Voice of the Shofar (September 2007)

If you are alone this coming Rosh Hashanah, will you be munching your honey-dipped apple with a feeling of connectedness to the world-wide Jewish Community or will you just be feeling marginalized and needlessly glum?

In the RSGB Machsor (Holiday Prayer Book) of 1985, Rabbi Jonathan Magonet wrote that on Yom Kippur we stand before God,

"All of us together, each of us alone."

This echoes the belief that, through Jewish collective responsibility, all Jews are reliant upon each other in the annual quest for community absolution. We are never truly alone on Yom Kippur.

Isaac Luria said: “Why was the confession composed in the plural? Because all Israel is one body and each individual Jew is a limb of that body. We are all responsible for each other …” (Yesod ha-Teshuvah vi)

The High Holidays are a time when all of us stand alone before God as we examine our lives and yet we simultaneously all act as “representatives of the community” for each other.

“The contemplative is always in community, whether that be a handful of neighbours, a family, a circle of distant friends kept often in mind, or the people they meet briefly or correspond with. Even if they were in total solitude they would still be part of the community of Creation: Responsible not only for themselves but for everyone. This is not just my own reflection. It is one which permeates the liturgy of Yom Kippur.” (Part One: Tikkun Contemplative Life as Active Life)

...this year, and every year, there will be millions of Jews who are unavoidably isolated and simply unable to attend any form of communal worship over the High Holiday season. There will be many who, rightly or wrongly, also feel unwelcome at such gatherings even if they are physically able to attend them.

This month’s short posting is for all those who are “alone” on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.


...in the many years... during which I was too far away from any synagogue or havurah to attend services, I continued to blow the shofar blasts at home. That felt quite strange at first as you can probably imagine. Initially I did it simply to make possible the mitzvah “to listen” to the shofar calls. I also made it a “wordless prayer” for God’s ears alone. (The weird and eerie language of the shofar tones can often be more explicit in meaning than words ever could.) For the last four years...I have also made a point of blowing it for “all those who are alone like me or unable to attend services” as a way of including them in my prayers.

This year I am extending that sentiment.

If you are alone this Rosh Hashanah… whether by choice or circumstance… I invite you to make a “special remembrance” in your prayers over the "Ten Days" for those of us who are also “alone”. Together, may it please God, may we make a sort of minyan which meets in intention if not physically. With all this in mind I have played and recorded the separate Shofar blasts during Elul for you to hear via this website.

For this little online para-liturgy, I have recorded the “soundings” in separate files so that you can arrange your own playing order or even set them to play simultaneously if you wish. This should also speed up the downloads for people who have internet connections which are as slow as mine.

(You would be well advised to set the individual volume control sliders on low when you first play them as they are very loud!).

The... minhag for grouping the Shofar calls was as follows:

Tekiah, Shevarim-Teruah, Tekiah.
(pause)

Tekiah, Shevarim, Tekiah
(pause)

Tekiah,Teruah,Tekiah
(pause)

Tekiah, Shevarim-Teruah, Tekiah Gedolah

Here then, are the Shofar calls as I blew them for you on 14th Elul:

[Go to original posting.]

Of course, you can find the Shofar calls played online in many places on the net (at "YouTube" for example)....but the difference is that THIS BLOWING IS FOR YOU: The readers of this blog and for all those who are alone and thus would not hear the Shofar blown this year.

I hope to blow it again "live" on Rosh Hashanah and for the Tekiah Gedolah which ends the fast on Yom Kippur.......but this internet version you can hear with your ears and not just your soul’s imagination.

The Machsor says:

The first is merely the prelude to the second.
A physical sign to mark a spiritual “event”.

Yes, I’ll be blowing the shofar.
Yes, (I hope) you will be blowing it or hearing it yourselves.

But the real “work” of the Ten Days is
listening to the true “Voice of the Shofar”,
the one which the Ram’s horn merely heralds:
and that Voice often speaks clearest in the silence.

In the silence between the multiple blasts of Rosh Hashanah
and the Final Blast after Yom Kippur.
And in any silence
in which we make space for it to speak
in the midst of our busy lives.

If you are “alone” for the High Holidays this year,
I hope you will make a blessing of it,
and not give in to needless gloom.

On Yom Kippur we stand before God

“Each of us alone, ALL of us together”

Above by Norman R Davies, September 2007

While a strict ruling on halachah - traditional Jewish Law - may not find a pre-recorded, electronically transmitted shofar blast acceptable for Rosh Hashanah, I believe can meet the Talmudic requirement when both the blower and the hearer have the kavanah - intention - of fulfilling the mitzvah. 

Drawings are by Norman R. Davis; the first is based on a medieval German Machsor. 

P.S. The audio links on the original file can be "played," with a fast download, to create your audio compositions.


Creative Commons License The author of the quoted material states, "You are free to use any of my own text, artwork, images, or music if you acknowledge author and source clearly, subject to these simple conditions.