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: 

www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/3388183484/

Some rights reserved by quinn.anya, downloaded under a Creative Commons license.

Global Listening

The following, by Rabbi Elliot Rose Kukla, is from a Dvar Torah was originally published as a part of the American Jewish World Service Dvar Tzedek series, and can be found at on1foot.org.

What would global listening sound like? How might we live differently in the coming year if we truly stopped in this season and listened to the stories of pain and survival around the globe that surround us each day? What if we took the time and space to listen to the voices behind the news stories when we hear reports of famine or genocide? What if we stopped on the street corner to hear how poverty and a global imbalance of wealth impact the homeless man who just asked us for spare change?

During the High Holidays, the mitzvah, the sacred activity, connected to the shofar is not to blow it as we might have expected, but "lishmoa kol shofar," literally to listen to its voice. The pattern of shofar blasts that we sound is designed to mimic human tears.

     Deep moans…tekiah.
     Broken cries…shevarim.
     Staccato sobs…teruah.
     A long bellow…tekiah gedolah.

Listening with our whole selves to the shofar crying on Rosh Hashanah teaches us how to be attentive to human stories of struggle all year round.

If we stop and listen, we might hear surprising things. On one level, the shofar sounds like tears, but it also sounds like laughter.

     Whole chuckles…tekiah.
     Broken giggles…shevarim.
     Sharp shrieks of merriment…teruah.
     A deep belly laugh…tekiah gedolah.

There are moments of surprising hope and humor in even the saddest stories. There is survival in Darfur in the midst of genocide. There is hope in Burma in the midst of rebuilding after the cyclone...

...In the coming year may we pause within the hectic rush of our lives and create the space to listen —to the voices of suffering and the voices of joy in our own families, our communities and our planet. May the words of the parshah [Parshat Ha'azinu] inspire us to "give our ears" to the earth and fill up our days and our hearts with listening and caring for each other.

The Problem with Yom Kippur

"I was just getting into the swing of things on [Yom Kippur], the spirit of the day was beginning to induce what conceivably could have turned into prayerfulness when - blast it - somebody blew the shofar and we all had to go home and eat. That's one of the things wrong with Yom Kippur - not long enough!"

From essay by David Robson, October 17, 2011www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/56452/praying-surely-not-shul

Meditation for shofar blowing

Chatam Sofer

"Someone once came to the Chatam Sofer in Pressburg, just before the blowing of the shofar and asked him to teach him all the Kavanot for blowing the shofar.  I read in the Magen Avraham, who quotes the Shelah HaKodesh that you are supposed to think about all these matters when blowing the shofar. Please teach them to me. So I can blow the shofar, as I should. So the Chatam Sofer agreed and said that I will teach you all the symbolism, all the Kavanot you need to have when blowing the shofar. He took out an old book from a special bookcase and it was a Chumash, and he pointed to the verse that says, 'It shall be a day of shofar blowing for you.' This is the meditation you should have!"


www.thefoundationstone.org/holidays/succot/1538-hallelsuccotmodesmovement.html  2011-Oct-17

Sukkot - Shofar Connection: No Vav

The word "shofar" appears over 70 times in the five books of Torah. In most instances, it is spelled shin-vav-peh-resh. However the first use of the word, at Sinai, is spelled without the vav, shin-peh-resh. I intuitively know there must be teachings we can learn from this variation in spelling; I have written about some teachings, and continue to look for more.

A shofar, in the shape of vav, on wall of sukkah.

Sitting in a sukkah, today, I learned that "sukkah" also appears in Torah with and without vav:

Leviticus 23:42

For a seven day period you shall live in booths. Every resident among the Israelites shall live in booths,

בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים; כָּל-הָאֶזְרָח, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, יֵשְׁבוּ, בַּסֻּכֹּת

Leviticus 23:43

in order that your [ensuing] generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt.

 לְמַעַן, יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם, כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַׁבְתִּי אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם

In the same Chapter, the word for palms is also spelled without vav.

Looking at teachings about these spelling differences may shed light on the variations in shofar spelling. Here are a few teachings gleaned from a quick search on the web:

...we derive this prohibition from the the word "basuccos" written in the verse "You shall dwell in succahs for seven days". Since the letter "vav" is missing, thus indicating only one succah, our chazal have taught that we see from this that there is a prohibition to make a succah under another succah. Likewise we derive from here that there is a prohibition to make a succah under a tree or in a house. 
www.neveh.org/morgan/succah/succah02.html

The book, Talelei Oros: The Holiday Anthology, provides several teachings:

• While we can dwell in a physical sukkah, our ancestors also dwelt in the shelter of the Clouds of Glory.
• We are reminded that the covering over a sukkah should be "thin" so we can see stars and it allows rain to enter. This also teaches that the Clouds of Glory were thick and protected us in the deserts
• The "full" spelling has a gematria of 91 and is equal to yud-hay-vav-hey, the name of God.

http://books.google.com/books?id=f8vCiCwrb6EC&q=vav#v=onepage&q=vav&f=false

In a video, Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin points out that the numerical value of vav is six, and that this relates to six of the "clouds of glory" that accompanied us in the desert. Through a complicated logic, the absence of the vav is used to explain that the sukkah represents the unity of the Jewish people.
http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/1649000/jewish/Humility-Diversity-and-Unity.htm 

The verse (Leviticus 23:42) reads as follows: "In sukkot (huts) you shall dwell for seven days; all citizens of Israel shall dwell in sukkot." In this verse, the Hebrew word sukkot, which is the plural of sukkah, is spelled without the letter vav, meaning that the word can also be read as sukkat, "the sukkah [of]." Thus the verse is also saying (under the Torah's system of multi-meaning exegesis) that "all citizens of Israel shall dwell in the sukkah." Explains the Talmud: the Torah wishes to imply that "it is fitting that the entire people of Israel dwell in a single sukkah." 

www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/59723/jewish/The-Big-Sukkah.htm

SPELLING OF THE WORD FOR "PALMS"

As with all biblical verses, Jewish law derives numerous details and specifications relating to the commandments by interpreting the manner in which words are utilized, spelled and juxtaposed in the verses of the Torah. Rashi, the foremost rabbinical biblical commentator, focuses on the spelling of the words in the verse that refer to the lulav: kapot t'marim (כפת תמרים, "palms [of] dates"). The first word refers to "palms" and is written in plural form (kapot - כפת) instead of singular form (kaf - כף), in order to indicate that the commandment is not to take merely a single leaf of the entire palm. However the word is written in a deficient manner, without the letter vav, as the plural word would normally contain (כפת instead of כפות). Rashi explains that the missing letter vav is to indicate that only a single palm is to be taken, based on the Talmudic discussion on the matter. The Talmud also uses this spelling irregularity to suggest, according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Tarfon, that the lulav must be bound if its leaves spread away from the spine of the palm. This teaching is derived from the similarity between the spelling of the Hebrew words for "palm" and "binding", which would not be a viable teaching had the word for palm been written in its strictly singular form of kaf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulav

Other sources explain that the binding implies the binding of the Jewish people to God.

The Lulav, which represents, the Seven lower Sefirot, the three Hadassim should represent and help us access the merit of the three patriarchs, the two Aravot should represent and allow us to access the merit of Moshe and Aaron, the Lulav, in one hand, and the Etrog in the other, should represent and allow us to access the merit of Joseph and David, The Hadassim, the smallest of the four species, should represent the letter Yud, the smallest of the letters of the aleph bet, and the two Aravot, should represent the letter Hey, the Lulav should represent the letter Vav, as it stands in the shape of a Vav, and the Etrog represents the final Hey – so we have the four letters of God’s Name  The numerical value of Chaim Tovim – Good Life – equals the numerical value of Hadas and Lulav and that all these should be included in my shaking of the four species.   www.thefoundationstone.org/holidays/succot/1538-hallelsuccotmodesmovement.html

GEMATRIA

The word Succah (spelled Samekh Vav Kaf Hey) has the same numerical value of the two holy Names of G-d, YHVH (26) and ADONAI (65). YHVH represents G-d’s hidden supernatural power and the Name ADONAI represents the Divine natural power. The word Succah also is numerically equal to the term (HaElohim, G-d), as in the statement that we recite at the end of Yom Kippur prayers HaShem Hu HaElohim (HaShem, He is G-d). “He is G-d” is the Succah. YHVH/ADONAI is the Succah. G-d is the Succah and we are commanded to dwell within “Him” for the week. The Name of G-d used in the creation story is ELOHIM.  

www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1670878/pg1

---------
If these Sukkot teachings explain the meaning of the missing vav in shofar, it still remains hidden to me. I will wait for more to be revealed.

Photo by Joy Krauthammer. 

Shofar sound is too loud for some

Picture explains "shevarim"

Many individuals with disabilities, especially children, are sensitive to loud noises, including shofar.

According to a post entitled "The Shofar Blast As A Call To Conscience About People With Disabilities," by Arlene Remz, the excitement and hubbub created by the Jewish holidays are often overwhelming for children with special needs unless they are prepared ahead of time. Shofar can terrify such a child unless a parent or educator first introduces the concept.

Her organization, Gateways: Access to Jewish Education, has prepared a set of High Holiday Resources to maximize the experience of the holiday, including helping children "make friends" with Shofar.

Their illustrated stories are helpful for children who are anxious about attending synagogue services because it lets them know what to expect. "Blowing the Shofar" introduces a child to shofar and explains the several types of blasts. "What to Do if the Shofar Sounds Too Loud" reassures children that loud noises are safe and gives suggestions about what to do if the noise makes them feel scared or uncomfortable.

Her group also publishes a card with the blessing for hearing shofar in Hebrew transliteration and simplified English translation with visual representation. A video on

Elsewhere, I have written about helping those who cannot hear to enjoy shofar. I now realize that there are some who can hear too much, and we need to be sensitive to their needs, too.

Shofar of Rabbi Dov Baer

Rabbi Dov Baer was disciple of and successor to the Baal Shem Tov, and played a key role in building Hasidic Judaism. Here are several of his teachings about shofar:

When the Player Played
In Memory of the holy Rabbi Dov Baer (1773-1827)
by Rabbi David Zaslow

Judges 6:34 ”And the Spirit of the Holy One

came upon Gideon, and he blew a shofar.”

Rabbi Dov Baer pointed the way

for us to understand the meaning of the verse,

“And it came to pass, when the player played

that the spirit of Hashem came upon him.”

He teaches us that even though a person

may be proficient at blowing the shofar

there remains inside the mind distracting thoughts.

This is not true of the shofar itself

which is undistracted when being played.

Here is the meaning of “…and the player played.”

That is, when the player becomes the played,

when the blower becomes the blown,

when the player becomes shofar itself.

At that moment, for just a moment,

we are not distracted just as the shofar is not distracted.

And that is when “…the spirt of Hashem” comes upon us.

Here is a secret of the shofar:

As the blower becomes the blown,

so the listener must become

that which is listened to.

In this way only do we become

at-one with Hashem.

For are we not like the Holy One’s own shofar?

Does the Holy One not blow the soul of life into us,

into the bent horns of our lives?

Reb Dov Baer taught,

“That which comes from the heart enters the heart.

That which comes from the Maker

is certainly heard by the Maker.

That is why the Holy One can hear

our prayers of Teshuvah

during the Days of Awe.”

And this is the secret of atonement:

Becoming at-one with our Maker.

During the High Holidays?

“Yes, as a model for the rest of the year.”

(Posted with the kind permission of the author.)

Raise Your Voice

It is written, “Raise your voice like a Shofar” (Isaiah 58:1). I heard the following explanation in the name of the holy light, Rabbi Dov Baer [the Mezricher Magid]. You must consider yourself like nothing. You must realize that you have no merit nor good deeds to your credit. Even though you may fulfill the commandments and do good deeds, you are not the one who is actually doing this. You are only acting through the power that God gives you, and through the intelligence and goodness that He bestows upon you. It is thus written “Who will come before Me, that I may pay him?” (Job 41:3).

When you pray, you must realize that the Universe of Speech is speaking through you. When you think, you must realize that your thoughts are from the Universe of Thought.

You are therefore like a Shofar. A Shofar itself does not contain any sound. It only produces sound when someone blows through it.

It is therefore written, “Raise your voice like a Shofar.”

Rabbi Avraham Chaim of Zlatchov (Orach Lechayyim, Ha’azinu 387) by way of Institute for Jewish Spirituality.

Recall Notice

Regardless of make or year, all units known as "human beings" are being recalled by the manufacturer.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units code named "Adam" and "Eve" resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units. This defect is technically termed, "Serious Internal Non-morality," but more commonly known as "SIN"

Some of the symptoms of the SIN defect:

{a} Loss of direction

{b} Lack of peace and joy

{c} Depression

{d} Foul vocal emissions

{e} Selfishness

{f} Ingratitude

{g} Fearfulness

{h} Rebellion

{I} Jealousy

The Manufacturer, HaShem, is providing factory authorized repair service free of charge to correct the SIN defect. He has most generously offered to bear the entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. To repeat, there is no fee required. The number to call in for repair in all areas is PRAYER. Once connected, please upload the burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from HaShem into the heart component of the human unit. No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Hashem will replace it with:

{a} Love

{b} Joy

{c} Peace

{d} Kindness

{e} Goodness

{f} Faithfulness

{g} Gentleness

{h} Patience

{i} Self-control

Please see the operating manual, TORAH, for further details on the use of these fixes. As an added upgrade, the Manufacturer has made Himself available to all repaired units through a special internalization function called NESHAMAH, enabling direct monitoring and assistance. Repaired units need only make the NESHAMAH welcome and she will take up residence on the premises.

Source -- Anonymous