Shul Knocker

Photo © Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Ofrit Rozenberg Ben-Menachem

Knocker for calling people to morning service (schulklopfer)
Hungary
18th century
Walnut wood, carved
Inscribed in Hebrew with the initials of the sentence “to rise in the morning in service to the creator” [Shulhan Arukh, Orhot Haim, Laws of Rising in the Morning 1:1]
L: 39.5; W: 7.7 cm
Israel Museum; The Feuchtwanger Collection, purchased and donated by Baruch and Ruth Rappaport, Geneva
Accession number: HF 0171 ; 199/032
http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/galleries/viewItemE.asp?case=35&itemNum=367037 2012-06-23

Many, but not all, shul knocker's hammers were shaped like a shofar as it had the same mission -- to wake people for prayer.

For more info, see http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13326-schulklopfer.

Inkhorn

I have elsewhere noted that a horn could be used as a k'lee (vessel) to hold ink for a scribe. This is evinced in Ezekiel 9:

2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lieth toward the north, every man with his weapon of destruction in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn on his side. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.

3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon it was, to the threshold of the house; and He called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writer's inkhorn on his side.

The bolded words are translated from קֶסֶת הַסֹּפֵר -- a term that also appears in verse 11 -- and means "simply a round vessel or cup for containing ink, which was generally worn by writers in the girdle. The word 'inkhorn' was used by the translators, because in former times in this country horns were used for containing ink." (Easton's Bible Dictionary) קֶסֶת is related to כּוֹס, the word for cup, so the phrase has the meaning of "scribe's cup".

The practice of using inkhorns survives in Ethiopia, and may provide a model for ancient Hebrew scribal arts. See http://larkvi.com/mss/eth/production/index.php 2012-06-11.* Here are images from the site:

Inkhorns, made from horns of sheep or oxen, store ink when it is being used. This one was made by Qes Felege, Bahir Dar, a scribe and craftsman. The sharp point allows it to be driven into the ground; the ring gives a visual cue to the user regarding the depth of the well. Collected 2009.

Inkstand: Scribes have no fixed place of work; inkhorns may be pressed into the ground, but many scribes use inkstands made of mud and straw, wood, or other materials, which make it easier to move around and to keep their tools in one place. In the image above, a modern bottle stores the red ink, whereas the black is in the traditional horn.

*Based upon an exhibit, Ethiopic Manuscript Production, at the John M. Kelly Library at the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto. It arose from the thesis research of Sean Winslow, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Medieval Studies, and was produced under the auspices of the Collaborative Program in Book History and Print Culture, directed by Professor David Galbraith. 

Frater Rufillus of Weissenau self-portrait in decorated initial from 12th Century manuscript shows a stand with four inkhorns.

In contrast to the simple inkhorns above, the image below shows the height of the horner's craft:

Travelling inkwell German Ink horn pennner 18th century Photo 23 February 2009 by LessayCatus licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

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I asked Benjamin Martin, an accomplished sofer stam (Torah Scribe) about horns being used in our tradition for ink pots. Here is his reply (2012-June-18):

I have never heard, or read of any Jewish use of inkhorns per se.  The oldest Jewish inkwells I am aware of were found in the Judean desert and are made of terracotta.  I suspect that the insides may have been sealed with pitch or wax to make them waterproof.  These are from around the First Century.

This appears to be the most ancient tradition. The word in Hebrew is qeset (quf, sin, tav). It is mentioned in the bible, see Sefer Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 9. 2-3: "With them was a man clothed in linen with the inkwell of a scribe at his side."

The word qeset itself seems to mean pot, or jug.  It is also the word used for the vessels in which the various drink offerings were made in the Holy Temple, see Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers), 4.7: "Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it."

I use a variety of inkwells, most of them are made of glass or stone.  I have one clay inkwell.

Most of the times the word horn, qeren, is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to a thing, an animal's, a person's, or even a country's glory.  The one instance, that I can think of, of a horn being used as a vessel, is the case of the prophet Shmuel, who stored the anointing oil for the kings of Israel in a horn.  I suspect this is because the horn is a symbol of exaltation as is the anointing.

I also asked about the similarity between "shofar" and "sofer" and whether they had a link. His reply:

Sofer comes from the word to count, probably because originally those who could write were employed to keep accounts.  It may also come from the fact that sofrim count the verses, words and letters of the texts we write to ensure absolute accuracy.

The word shofar specifically means a ram's horn, it's probably related to the Assyrian word shapparu which means a wild goat.  

Our jubilee and victory are lying far in the future

The Shofar
Morris Rosenfeld

Not for victory nor for freedom
Does our instrument blow
We are slaves and strangers
And not recognized by no one
Mankind does not know its teacher
That incorporated it with a spirit
Oh, they know us not, the false
Bad students ----- the world!
In a different manner roars today our Shofar
In the black depths of the Diaspora
Each 'teke'ah" is a slaughtering
Each 'teru'ah' --- a pogrom
Our jubilee and victory
Are lying far in the future
When mankind will rise
With the 'tomorrow' of the designated time.


"Happy New Year", Series 10, No. 60, Hebrew Publishing Co., N.Y. n.d., Translated by Yesyda Metal of YIVO, Institute of Yiddish Research, in Schandler Family Collection, Ramsey Library, Univ. of North Carolina, Ashville. (http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/schandler/scandler_family_memorabilia.htm, 2012-06-10)

New Year Postcards

New Year’s Greetings, Williamsburg Art Co., New York, Printed in Saxony, circa 1915

Sounding the Shofar
Williamsburg Art Co., New York, Printed in Germany, circa 1910.
Poem: The sound of the shofar blasts / A new year is on its way / To lift the weak of spirit / And bring you joy, comfort / and good cheer.

The images above are from an exhibition was organized by the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary and shown at the Herbert & Eileen Bernard Museum of Judaica in 2008, through 2009. Images are Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

http://www.postcardman.net/judaica_ethnic_france.html

Blowing the Shofar, 1912; reproduction.

Shofar and Bullroarer - Alvin Curren

Excerpt from world premiere of Shofar III, composed by Alvin Curran for shofar, keyboard, electronics, bullroarer, corrugated tube, and percussion, performed by Curran and William Winant at the San Francisco Contemporary Art Museum on March 15, 2009. Video by Susan Levenstein, 2:19.

Uploaded to YouTube by susiebaby on Mar 22, 2009 

Could a cow's horn have been a shofar?

The listing for "bugle" in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica says:

The shofar of the ancient Hebrews, used at the siege of Jericho, was a cow's horn (Josh. vi. 4, 5, 8, 13, etc.), translated in the Vulgate buccina, in the paraphrase of the Chaldee buccina ex cornu. The directions given for sounding the trumpets of beaten silver described in Numbers x. form the earliest code of signals yet known; the narrative shows that the Israelites had metal wind instruments; if, therefore, they retained the more primitive cow's horn and ram's horn (shofar), it was from choice, because they attached special significance to them in connexion with their ritual. The trumpet of silver mentioned above was the Khatsotsrah, probably the long straight trumpet or tuba which also occurs among the instruments in the musical scenes of the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians. Gideon's use of a massed band of three hundred shofars to terrify and defeat the Midianites (Judges vii. 16), and Saul's call to arms (1 Sam. xiii. 3) show that the value of the shofar as a military instrument was well understood by the Jews. The cornu was used by the Roman infantry to sound the military calls, and Vegetius[10] states that the tuba and buccina were also used for the same purpose.

Cow's horn?

Cow's horn?

My first thought is, how could this esteemed encyclopaedia have got it so wrong? 

But then I realize, that just as Wikipedia contains errors that are later corrected, so too might we forgive the editors of E. Britannia. Their current online edition says, 

shofar, also spelled Shophar, plural Shofroth, Shophroth, or Shofrot,  a ritual musical instrument, made from the horn of a ram or other animal, used on important Jewish public and religious occasions. In biblical times the shofar sounded the Sabbath, announced the New Moon, and proclaimed the anointing of a new king. This latter custom has been preserved in modern Israel at the swearing in of the president of the state. The most important modern use of the shofar in religious ceremonies takes place on Rosh Hashana, when it is sounded in the synagogue to call the Jewish ... (100 of 175 words)

After reflecting on their apparent error, a question creeps into my mind: How do any of us know whether ancient Hebrews also used  cow horns for shofarot, especially in non-ritual settings and before the establishment of a priesthood.

I know what Talmud and later commentaries says, and I know our oral tradition. But it seems likely that our ancestors also used the horns of the cows in their herds.

Let me know what you think.


See ancientmusic.co.uk for other ancient instruments. While this site is about ancient Northern European culture, it is not that different than ancient music from the Levant.

 

Trumpets at Mt. Sinai

I am fascinated historical Bible illustrations.  This woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld is from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern. It is a beautiful composition. Yet it takes liberties with the Hebrew text. It shows multiple metal trumpets, not the single shofar described in the text (Exodus 19:19). 

Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_Bibel_in_Bildern_1860_054.png 2012-06-02

Sometimes on a Shabbat

In Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice, Chapter 1-9, Remembering Shofar, I discuss teachings about shofar when Rosh Hashanah begins on Shabbat. The following elucidate the Hebrew calendar.

The machinations of the Hebrew Calendar seem at odds with the organic practice of actually searching for the new moon. Photos show the New Moon of 9^th November 1999 as seen from the Mount of Olives, Photos: Roy Hoffman

 (Israeli New Moon Society, http://sites.google.com/site/moonsoc/ 2012-06-02)

 "The rules of the Hebrew calendar are designed such that the first day of Rosh Hashanah will never occur on the first, fourth, or sixth day of the Jewish week (i.e., Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday)." Wikipedia 2012-06-02

Rosh Hashanah begins on these days with the following frequency:

Weekday	Frequency
Thursday	31.9%
Saturday	28.6%
Monday	28.0%
Tuesday	11.5%

(Source: Hebrew Calendar Science and Myths by Remy Landau, http://hebrewcalendar.tripod.com/#24.2 2012-06-02)

"At the innovation of the rabbis, the mathematical calendar has been arranged to ensure that Yom Kippur does not fall on a Friday or Sunday, and Hoshana Rabbah does not fall on Shabbat. These rules have been instituted because Shabbat restrictions also apply to Yom Kippur, so that if Yom Kippur were to fall on Friday, it would not be possible to make necessary preparations for Shabbat (such as candle lighting). Similarly, if Yom Kippur fell on a Sunday, it would not be possible to make preparations for Yom Kippur because the preceding day is Shabbat.^[58] Additionally, the laws of Shabbat override those of Hoshana Rabbah, so that if Hoshana Rabbah were to fall on Shabbat certain rituals that are a part of the Hoshana Rabbah service (such as carrying willows, which is a form of work) could not be performed.^[59]

"To prevent Yom Kippur (10 Tishrei) from falling on a Friday or Sunday, Rosh Hashanah (1 Tishrei) cannot be a Wednesday or Friday. Likewise, to prevent Hoshana Rabbah (21 Tishrei) from falling on a Saturday, Rosh Hashanah cannot be a Sunday.

"This leaves only four days on which Rosh Hashanah can fall: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, which are referred as the "four gates." Each day is associated with a number (its order in the week, starting with Sunday as 1), and these numbers are associated with Hebrew letters. Therefore the keviyah (Hebrew קביעה for "a setting" or "an established thing") uses the letters ה ,ג ,ב and ז (representing 2, 3, 5, and 7, for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) to denote the starting day of the year."  Wikipedia 2012-06-02

"A popular mnemonic is "lo adu rosh" ("Rosh [Hashanah] is not on adu"), where adu has the numerical value 1-4-6 (corresponding to the numbering of days in the Jewish week, in which Saturday night and Sunday daytime make up the first day)."  Wikipedia 2012-06-02