Hearing Shofar

Music - Jazz Shofar

2012-02-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

Itamar Erez & The Adama Ensemble playing Hommage,
Yoram Lachish, shofar.

Click here for complete video.

Happy Shofar Sounds

2012-01-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

I can worship in God's Tent with
happy shofar sounds.

I like this translation of Psalms 27:6. Happy shofar sounds to all of us.

Translation appears in Rediscovering Judaism: Bar and Bat Mitzvah for Adults by Rabbis Kerry M. Olitzkey and Ronald H. Isaacs, KTAV Publishing House, 1997, page 139.

Das Neue Jahrs Fest - Two Etchings

2012-01-24T03:23:00.000-08:00

Jüdisches Ceremoniel Oder

by Paul Christian Kirchner and Sebastian Jacob Jungendres, Frankfurt, 1726

www.flickr.com/photos/magnesmuseum/6513458841/ and

http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/pageview/514644

Detail.

Two etchings from 18th Century show Rosh Hashanah shofar blowing. The image below appears to be based on the earlier image above.

The congregation appears to be disinterested in the shofar blowing. In another print from the same era, the congregation faces away from the shofar blower. But here, individuals face in a variety of directions, appear to engage in conversation, reading, and other activities.

Is this because the artists were not familiar with the requirement for individuals to listen intently? Does it reflect a montage of activities that occur throughout the service rather than an artistic effort to capture the moment?

Kirchliche Verfassung der Heutigen Juden, Sonderlich Derer in Deutschland,
by Johann C. Bodenschatz,1748
http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/zoom/670386

Detail

Or is it that 18th Century Jews are much like those of today - distracted by their own thoughts, easily distracted, and engaged in other activities even during shofar sounding?

Please leave comments with your interpretations.

Not Knowing how to Sound Shofar

2012-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Tanya
When the Baal HaTanya was young and newly married, he spent Rosh Hashana with one of the leading Chassidic Rebbes of the time. The Rebbe’s custom was that before the blowing of the shofar, all of those who knew how to blow would draw close to the Rebbe, who would teach them the mystical secrets and intentions to have in mind while blowing the shofar. At that point, the Rebbe would choose one of the assembled to blow the shofar for the congregation that year.

The Baal HaTanya joined the group, and to his surprise, the Rebbe selected him to blow the shofar. At that point, he was forced to sheepishly confess that he didn’t actually know how to blow the shofar. The confused and disappointed Rebbe asked him why he had falsely claimed to be capable in order to join the group. The Baal HaTanya answered that when Hashem initially revealed Himself to Moshe at the burning bush, Moshe asked for His secret name so that he could share it with the Jews to validate his mission. Yet shortly thereafter, Moshe declared himself unfit for the role due to his speaking difficulties. The Baal HaTanya used this episode as a source to similarly learn the Kabbalistic secrets of the shofar even though he would later have to declare himself incapable of using them to blow it.

From: Parsha Potpourri: Parshas Shemos (Friday, January 13th, 2012) at http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/Torah+Corner/114642/Parsha-Potpourri%3A-Parshas-Shemos.html

Silent in Hebrew

2012-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

Eliezer ben Yehuda pioneered the revival of Hebrew as a living language. We are told that, upon moving to Eretz Yisrael, he instructed his wife, "From this day forward, we will speak only Hebrew. His wife protested, in Russian, "But I do not speak Hebrew." Replied ben Yehuda, "Then we will be silent in Hebrew."

Silent in Hebrew. Silent in English. How good it is, when we do not know how to speak, to be silent and listen to shofar.

The Still Small Voice

2012-01-14T00:37:00.000-08:00

"But indeed, any greatnessrequires prior smallness, and there is no great voice if it is not preceded bya soft sound, for this is the way of the Shofar, that it progressively grows."

Michael Laitman, Kabbalah for the Student, 2008, Laitman Kabbalah Publishers, Page 109, www.scribd.com/doc/15505401/Kabbalah-for-Students

The Mystic Trumpeter

2012-01-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Mystic Trumpeter
Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

1 HARK! some wild trumpeter—some strange musician,
Hovering unseen in air, vibrates capricious tunes to-night.

I hear thee, trumpeter—listening, alert, I catch thy notes,
Now pouring, whirling like a tempest round me,
Now low, subdued—now in the distance lost.	5

2 Come nearer, bodiless one—haply, in thee resounds
Some dead composer—haply thy pensive life
Was fill’d with aspirations high—unform’d ideals,
Waves, oceans musical, chaotically surging,
That now, ecstatic ghost, close to me bending, thy cornet echoing, pealing,	10
Gives out to no one’s ears but mine—but freely gives to mine,
That I may thee translate.

3 Blow, trumpeter, free and clear—I follow thee,
While at thy liquid prelude, glad, serene,
The fretting world, the streets, the noisy hours of day, withdraw;	15
A holy calm descends, like dew, upon me,
I walk, in cool refreshing night, the walks of Paradise,
I scent the grass, the moist air, and the roses;
Thy song expands my numb’d, imbonded spirit—thou freest, launchest me,
Floating and basking upon Heaven’s lake.	20

4 Blow again, trumpeter! and for my sensuous eyes,
Bring the old pageants—show the feudal world.

What charm thy music works!—thou makest pass before me,
Ladies and cavaliers long dead—barons are in their castle halls—the troubadours are singing;
Arm’d knights go forth to redress wrongs—some in quest of the Holy Grail:	25
I see the tournament—I see the contestants, encased in heavy armor, seated on stately, champing horses;
I hear the shouts—the sounds of blows and smiting steel:
I see the Crusaders’ tumultuous armies—Hark! how the cymbals clang!
Lo! where the monks walk in advance, bearing the cross on high!

5 Blow again, trumpeter! and for thy theme,	30
Take now the enclosing theme of all—the solvent and the setting;
Love, that is pulse of all—the sustenace and the pang;
The heart of man and woman all for love;
No other theme but love—knitting, enclosing, all-diffusing love.

O, how the immortal phantoms crowd around me!	35
I see the vast alembic ever working—I see and know the flames that heat the world;
The glow, the blush, the beating hearts of lovers,
So blissful happy some—and some so silent, dark, and nigh to death:
Love, that is all the earth to lovers—Love, that mocks time and space;
Love, that is day and night—Love, that is sun and moon and stars;	40
Love, that is crimson, sumptuous, sick with perfume;
No other words, but words of love—no other thought but Love.

6 Blow again, trumpeter—conjure war’s Wild alarums.
Swift to thy spell, a shuddering hum like distant thunder rolls;
Lo! where the arm’d men hasten—Lo! mid the clouds of dust, the glint of bayonets;	45
I see the grime-faced cannoniers—I mark the rosy flash amid the smoke—I hear the cracking of the guns:
—Nor war alone—thy fearful music-song, wild player, brings every sight of fear,
The deeds of ruthless brigands—rapine, murder—I hear the cries for help!
I see ships foundering at sea—I behold on deck, and below deck, the terrible tableaux.

7 O trumpeter! methinks I am myself the instrument thou playest!	50
Thou melt’st my heart, my brain—thou movest, drawest, changest them, at will:
And now thy sullen notes send darkness through me;
Thou takest away all cheering light—all hope:
I see the enslaved, the overthrown, the hurt, the opprest of the whole earth;
I feel the measureless shame and humiliation of my race—it becomes all mine;	55
Mine too the revenges of humanity—the wrongs of ages—baffled feuds and hatreds;
Utter defeat upon me weighs—all lost! the foe victorious!
(Yet ’mid the ruins Pride colossal stands, unshaken to the last;
Endurance, resolution, to the last.)

8 Now, trumpeter, for thy close,	60
Vouchsafe a higher strain than any yet;
Sing to my soul—renew its languishing faith and hope;
Rouse up my slow belief—give me some vision of the future;
Give me, for once, its prophecy and joy.

O glad, exulting, culminating song!	65
A vigor more than earth’s is in thy notes!
Marches of victory—man disenthrall’d—the conqueror at last!
Hymns to the universal God, from universal Man—all joy!
A reborn race appears—a perfect World, all joy!
Women and Men, in wisdom, innocence and health—all joy!	70
Riotous, laughing bacchanals, fill’d with joy!

War, sorrow, suffering gone—The rank earth purged—nothing but joy left!
The ocean fill’d with joy—the atmosphere all joy!
Joy! Joy! in freedom, worship, love! Joy in the ecstacy of life!
Enough to merely be! Enough to breathe!	75
Joy! Joy! all over Joy! http://www.bartleby.com/142/249.html

200 year old shofar

2012-01-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

online. I can feel Mr. Joseph's surrender to the call and his connection to a family tradition. Watch the way he moves while he sounds.

Shofar Smiley Face

2012-01-04T21:01:00.000-08:00

E-Card from babaganewz.com

A sign upon your hand

2012-01-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

We are told that Torah should be "a sign upon our hands." (Deuteronomy 6:8).

Rabbi Yael Buechler (midrashmanicures.com) is inspired by this mitzvah to paint fingernails with image that relate to the weekly parsha or Jewish holy days. Her nails, above, for Rosh Hashanah show a shofar along with apple, honey, and pomagranate - foods associated with the holy day.

"The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul"

2012-01-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

In Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, Chapter 3-13, "I invoke the concept of 'spirality' in our study ofspirituality because the mathematics expressed by the curve of a horn can serveus as a diagram than can help us visualize the nature of teshuvah."

Anyone wanting to go further into the topic should find The Mystic Spiral: Journey of the Soul by Jill Purce (Thames and Hudson, 1974 - 128 pages). The book's back cover text says,

The spiral is the natural form of growth, and has become, in every culture and in every age, man's symbol of progress of the soul towards eternal life. As the inward-winding labyrinth, it constitutes the hero's journey to the still center where the secret of life is found. As the spherical vortex, spiraling through its own center, it combines the inward and outward directions of movement. In this book, Jill Purce traces the significance of one of mankind's central symbols, from the double spirals of Stone Age art and the interlocking spirals of the Chinese Yin Yang symbol, to the whorls of Celtic crosses, Maori tattoos and the Islamic arabesque.

It does not deal with animal horns, and the only specifically Jewish theme discussed is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Still, it is a fascinating read, and worth studying for the illustrations alone.

Horn Morphology

2011-12-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

"Horns of bovids are remarkably diverse. This diversity may reflect functional differences associated with the use of horns as intraspecific weapons. I use measurements from museum specimens and behavioral data from the literature to examine the relationship between morphology of horns of males and fighting behavior in 21 species of bovids, representing 11 of the 12 bovid tribes. A high correlation between morphology of horns and fighting behavior was found. In particular, a short horn reach and undeveloped catching arch is associated with stabbing behavior; a long horn reach, with wrestling and fencing behavior; a well-developed catching arch, with wrestling behavior; and robust, recurved horns, with ramming behavior. A phylogeny of bovid tribes suggests that these features of morphology of horns and fighting behavior are rapidly evolving and frequently convergent."

Morphology of Horns and Fighting Behavior in the Family Bovidae

Barbara Lundrigan

Journal of Mammalogy
Vol. 77, No. 2 (May, 1996), pp. 462-475

Published by: American Society of Mammalogists

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1382822

Shofar + Hanukiah = Shofarkiah

2011-12-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Maurice Kamins, a San Francisco, CA-based master shofar crafter, sent me this photo and explained it is "What I do with horns that just do not make it. And by the way, you can blow it and get a sound."

Shofar and Brit Milah (Circumcision)

2011-12-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

"Our sages teach us that at the time of the Brit Milah, prayers can reach a place higher than the Shofar blasts of Rosh Hashanah..." (Original source unknown.)

From Minhagim, Amsterdam, 1707

In the days prior to my grandson's brit milah, I have been thinking about using shofar blasts as part of the ritual. Here are some observations and thoughts:

1. The shofar is likened to the cries of a newborn child, one of the reasons it is sounded to mark a newborn year.

2. We are commanded to sound shofar in our times of joy, and what could be more joyous than welcoming a child to the covenant?

3. Shofar awakens us to the moment. Here is how one mother describes the brit bat of her twin daughters:

"After shacharit, the morning prayer service, we blasted the Shofar to announce the babies’ arrival and the brit they were about to enter, like the Israelites sounded* the Shofar before receiving the Torah. The sound of the shofar brought the crowd to attention, focusing them on the spiritual task of the day, just as it calls us to attention on the High Holidays. The call of the shofar was spine-tingling, adding some of the primal excitement felt at a brit milah into our brit bat."

4. Brit milah and shofar are both psychically linked to the Akedah.

Our prayers say, “Z’chor bris Avraham v’ Akeidas Yitzchak”, remember the bris of Abraham and the binding of Isaac," - the bris milah corresponds to the bris of Avraham; the shofar to Akeidas Yitzchak - the binding of Isaac. Here is how another mother describes the commitment it takes, as a modern Jew, to fulfil the mitzvah of circumcision:

"I stood in our shul, weak winter sunlight coming through the stained glass windows, the front pews filled with our friends and family members, and suddenly felt my knees buckle as the mohel started his work on my brand-new boy... For me, it was a moment of unanticipated reckoning as a Jew. I suddenly felt like Abraham, exposing the tenderest parts of my treasure, my first born, to a knife — all because God had required it of me. His bris felt like the Akedah."

5. Sounding shofar at a brit milah reminds us of the covenants into which we bring the child.

The covenant at Sinai was made manifest as the voice of shofar grew louder and louder. As I have described in Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn," shofar can also be linked to other covenants, such as the one signified by the Rainbow and that made after the Akedah.

6. Shofar is symbolic of a circumcised penis.

The phallic nature of horns is frequently noted. Yet there is an additional similarity between a circumcised penis and a horn that has been transformed into a shofar. In both instances, it is a covering that is trimmed: the foreskin of the penis and the sheath that covers the bone core of a horn.

7. Shofar links circumcision to the annual blowing of shofar in the final moments of Yom Kippur.

Marking the covenant upon a man's genitals is a reminder that sexuality, too, is part of holiness. Verses about sexual morality are among the traditional afternoon readings during Yom Kippur (Leviticus 18), and Kabbalists explain that Tikkun Brit - the repair of sexual immorality - is central to the the Day of Atonement. Blowing shofar during a brit milah links a boy to the annual reminders about sexuality that he will, we trust, hear as a man during a lifetime of Yom Kippurim.

* I believe the author meant to say before "hearing" shofar.

Bar Yovel: A Retirement Ritual

2011-12-17T22:29:00.000-08:00

Shofar is a wonderful tool to use in life-cycle rituals, especially as social conditions create life-cycle phases that did not exist in the past. Retirement, for example, did not exist in pre-industrial times. Shofar is a fitting symbol for retirement, since shofar is sounded to announce yovel, the fifty year cycle in which the land is allowed to rest, slaves are released, and debts forgiven. Indeed, yovel can be used as a synonym for shofar.

Shofar is used in wonderful new rituals for call Bar/Bat Yovel, son/daughter of yovel. Here are several examples:

From a ritual prepared by the "Life Cycle Passages" class of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Institute for Adult Jewish Studies, December 1983, Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer, Instructor.

After initial blessings and meaningful rituals, the shofar is used as follows:

Rabbi: Even in joy there are doubts, apprehensions, questions concerning what will be. As the bar yovel symbolically puts down and releases the tool of his trade, he asks four questions.

Hy (setting down his briefcase): As I enter the years of retirement and aging: Will I be bored or stimulated? Will I feel useless or valuable? Will I be lonely or involved with others? Will I feel despair or hope?

Rabbi: Only the years to come can answer those questions, but tonight we can do several things to help Hy through his transition.

First, we have brought seven gifts. (Bestowal of symbolic gifts by seven friends.)
Second, we can follow the traditional Jewish custom of offering tzedakah in Hy's honor. The money will be given to the Philadelphia Unemployment Project. (Each person present gives to a common bowl.)
Third, we can scare away the demons as our ancestors did with the blast of the shofar.

Reader 1:
The demon of boredom! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 2:
The demon of uselessness! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 3:
The demon of loneliness! (Shofar is sounded.)

Reader 4:
The demon of despair! (Shofar is sounded.)

Rabbi:
The shofar is not only heard to scare away evil. It was also used by our ancestors to proclaim the Jubilee Year.

Reader 5:
"And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years. Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the horn on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the horn throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; be shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy unto you; ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In this year of jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession. And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt fear thy God; for I am the LORD your God. Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land" (Lev. 25).

Reader 6:
So do we tonight declare Hy a bar yovel sounding the shofar to proclaim his new status. (Shofar is sounded.)

Don Benjamin:
We proudly present you with this certificate, testifying to your new place in the covenant community. Welcome and Mazal Tov! (Shofar is sounded.)

The ritual concludes with additional blessings. I suggest the final shofar blast should be a tekiah gedolah, a long blast, and that it should be sounded by the bar/bat yovel to show their vitality (God willing).

From A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven: The Jewish Life-Spiral as a Spiritual Path, by Arthur Ocean Waskow and Phyllis Ocean Berman.

There are four moments of the inward-turning that would seem especially appropriate as focus-points for ceremony. One is retiring from a job or a career. Another is shifting to a smaller home. The third is learning to 'share' the dying of the growing number of one's friends who are walking the last steps of life. The forth is a conscious gathering to bless the next generation and plan one's own death.

The first strikes some interesting resonances with the Jubilee tradition of the Hebrew Bible. In that tradition (Lev. 25), every fiftieth year was a year of social and individual transformation. One crucial aspect of that transformation was that working paused, for a long Shabbat. Indeed, the count of fifty for the Jubilee was based in a sabbatical count of seven sevens, seven weeks of years in which each week had seven years: forty-nine years plus one.

In that year, there was no organized agriculture. No sowing, no harvesting, no pruning of the grapevines. Whatever grew could casually be plucked. Whatever had been stored before could be drawn on to meet whatever needs arose. A whole society made itself into the nomadic hunter-gatherers of its early days.

Even more astonishing, every family returned to its earliest holding. Those who had come to own more land, gave up the burden of their wealth. Those who had lost the land their family knew, gave up the burden of their poverty.

The Hebrew word for this momentous event, Yovel, has entered many languages not intranslation but in rough transliteration — thus, 'Jubilee.' But some modern scholars, probing into the origins of this odd word, have concluded it was originally the term for a special note blown on the shofar (ram's horn) by shepherds — the special note to call home the flock at the end of a day of wandering in meadows, responding to the shepherd's crook, fearing wolves and lions.

'Home-bringing' is the way Everett Fox's translation of the Torah renders yovel.

"Home-bringing. An apt metaphor for the moment of retirement.

Bar Yovel, Bat Yovel. One who has become a child of the Home-bringing.

The essay continues with suggestions for rituals to mark the four inward turnings. The suggestion that the original meaning of yovel may have been a special note or a note used for a special call is new to me.

If you have used shofar in a bar/bat yovel, or other creative ritual, please write me to describe it.

Blow the Great Shofar, a high energy song

2011-12-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

"Blow the great shofar for our freedom, and raise the banner to gather our exiles." from Amidah (Shmoneh Esreh)

By David Flug, Deemyon Orchestra and One Man Band, www.deemyon.com

Get up and dance!

Break Blast Shatter, then Shatter even More

2011-12-14T07:43:00.001-08:00

Shofar Madness by Sid Yiddish, an original Jewish punk composition/instrumental recorded with Atomic Theory Dance Band.

A future shofar blower?

2011-12-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

Isaac Chusid, 2011-DEC-12

Curatorial Conservation of Horn

2011-12-11T13:59:00.001-08:00

While the following criteria may not be necessary for most shofarot, they should be considered if you are responsible for the care of an antique or historical shofar. Note, especially, the warning against moth larvae (emphasis added). I had heard about this threat, but this is the first reference I have found from an authoritative source. If you have more information about this, please contact me.

Excerpts from:
Canadian Conservation Institute Notes 6/1
Care of Ivory, Bone, Horn, and Antler

Introduction
Many museums have objects that are made from ivory, bone, horn, or antler. Proper identification of these materials is important, as it may determine the type of care required for the object’s continued well-being.

Identification
Horn consists of the same material as hair, hooves, and fingernails. If examined closely, it resembles a mass of very hard, hair-like filaments cemented together. Horn grows around a spongy core. If the core is removed from the horn, a hollow object, such as a powder horn, can be made. Horn can also be boiled, cut, and moulded to other shapes, or used in flat sheets.

Handling
Artifacts of ivory, bone, horn, or antler should be well protected from sudden changes in temperature and relative humidity (RH) whenever they are removed from the museum. This can be done by wrapping them in unbuffered, acid-free (neutral pH) tissue paper and placing them in a sealed polyethylene bag for transportation.

Be careful when handling or cleaning these artifacts...

Storage
Store artifacts in a tightly closed display case or storage drawer to buffer them against sudden changes in temperature and RH, and shield them from dust and dirt. Storage in the dark will also protect light-sensitive dyed or painted surfaces.

Bone, ivory, and antler are rarely attacked by insects, but horn is often seriously damaged by the larvae of carpet beetles and clothes moths. Inspect objects at least twice a year for insects and mould growth (see CCI Notes 3/1 Preventing Infestations: Control Strategies and Detection Methods) and 3/2 Detecting Infestations: Facility Inspection Procedure and Checklist). Immediate attention is required if an infestation is detected.

To guard against bumping and chipping, line storage drawers and shelves with a chemically stable cushioning material such as polyethylene or polypropylene sheeting (e.g. Ethafoam or Microfoam).

Avoid using rubber-based materials for storage or packing as these can produce unnatural yellowing of ivory.

Cleaning
Ivory, bone, horn, and antler are all porous materials susceptible to staining if left in contact with corroded metals (such as copper or iron) or coloured materials. Stains of this nature should be referred to an experienced conservator for treatment. However, if the objects are in good physical condition, normal surface dirt and grime can be removed safely. A light dusting with a soft brush is often all that is necessary to keep objects clean. Use the brush to dislodge dust and debris, directing it toward a gauze-covered vacuum cleaner nozzle.

Horn is somewhat more durable than bone and ivory, and the above cleaning methods can be applied to it as well, providing the surface is intact and not delaminating. However, horn in the form of thin films (as in lanterns) can be softened very quickly by contact with water and may well be deformed; do not use water on these artifacts.

Illumination
Do not place ivory, bone, horn, and antler in bright areas, such as direct sunlight or near spotlights. Illumination should be kept below 150 lux, with the ultraviolet (UV) component restricted to 75 μW/lm. Objects that are coloured with dyes are extremely light-sensitive and should be exposed to no more than 50 lux. Limiting exhibition time will help reduce light damage, which is cumulative and irreversible. More in-depth information on light is available in Light, Ultraviolet and Infrared. For information on measuring light levels and filtering UV radiation, refer to CCI Notes 2/4 Environmental Monitoring Kit and 2/1 Ultraviolet Filters, respectively.

Be careful when using tightly sealed display cases. The radiant heat from light sources can quickly produce very high temperatures and rapid fluctuations in RH within the case, which can damage sensitive materials. A bright light beam directed at an artifact can also raise its surface temperature. To reduce the risk of damage, maintain low light levels and use lights that emit less radiant heat.

RH and temperature
Of ivory, bone, horn, and antler, ivory is the most sensitive to changes in RH and horn is the least sensitive.

Ideally, ivory, bone, horn, and antler should be displayed and stored at a temperature not greater than 25°C and an RH in the range 45–55%. In practice, these conditions are often difficult to achieve in many Canadian museums, especially in winter. However, try to maintain as steady an RH and temperature as possible, and, most important, prevent exposure to extreme conditions or rapid fluctuations. Always keep objects away from direct sunlight, hot light sources, ventilation or heating ducts, fireplaces, the top of appliances (such as radios or television sets), exterior walls, or cold windows. Environmental Guidelines for Museums — Temperature and Relative Humidity (RH) provides a general introduction to CCI’s current approach to controlling ambient RH and temperature in museums. More information regarding RH and temperature is available in Incorrect Relative Humidity and Incorrect Temperature.

Repair
Broken, friable, or extremely dirty objects requiring repair, consolidation, or extensive cleaning should be referred to an experienced conservator.

Bibliography
Pedersen, M.C. Gem and Ornamental Materials of Organic Origin. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2004.

by Tom Stone
Originally published 1983, Revised 1988, 2010
©Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2010
Cat. No. NM 95-57/6-1-2010E
ISSN 0714-6221

Additional information is also available from Smithsonian.

More Virtuoso Shofar by Zasloff

2011-12-09T18:13:00.001-08:00

Check out the shofar at the beginning of this video, and at 4:50 into video.

More info on David Zasloff is at www.davidzasloff.com.

Glass Shofarot and Rhyta - Part Two

2011-11-27T21:11:00.001-08:00

One of the pleasures I get studying shofar is the opportunity to exchange views with scholars in related fields. In a previous post, I discussed glass objects shaped like shofarot and rhyta. Here is an exchange I had on the subject with Einav Zamir, Department of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Near Eastern Art, Brooklyn Museum

The discussion began when I wrote to the museum about this item shown on its website:

Roman. Rhyton or Drinking Horn of Molded Glass, 1st - 5th century A.D. Glass, 3 11/16 x 1 3/4 x 8 9/16 in. (9.3 x 4.4 x 21.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of R. B. Woodward, 05.35. Creative Commons-BY-NC, Image: Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

From: Michael Chusid Jul 3, 2011

Your website identifies this as a rhyton. I suspect it is, instead, a trumpet or blast horn.

1. The flare at the narrow end would function nicely as a mouthpiece for blowing. As a rhyton, it would spread the flow of liquid and make imbibing messy.

2. The narrow shape of the horn limits the volume of liquid that could be contained. Most rhyton I have seen have a wider body. Trumpets, on the other hand, do fine with a narrow bore and modest bell.

3. Similar items from the same time period are identified as trumpets. See: www.archaeological-center.com/en/auctions/29-250/.

4. Also compare to www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/7759/Trumpet/set/38cc4552fedbb6cf999158b2d23da6c7?referring-q=trumpet in your own collection. While from a different era, the mouthpiece and bore are similar.

I have also written about it at hearingshofar.blogspot.com/2011/07/glass-shofarot.html and welcome your comments.

From: Einav Zamir, July 7, 2011

Thank you for contacting our department in regards to object 05.35 and its possible misattribution. The department has brought me in to work on their Roman Glass collection, which is one of my areas of specialization, so I was happy to look into this matter on their behalf. It is an interesting idea, and I think you make some valuable points about the shape and function of the object in question.

Mouthpiece
Some things that I noticed that argue against your attribution however, are the edge of the mouthpiece, which is thick and flat (this cannot be seen from the photo on our website), and the opening itself, which is a bit too wide (I believe) to function as an instrument. If it is a shofar, could it have been commemorative, rather than functional?

Note "spout" at narrow end.
I would also have to disagree with your first point. The slant in the glass at the narrow end is not a flare (as it is unevenly formed), but more of a dip towards the lower portion of the mouth, which would in fact fit with a rhyton. The first image I have attached is a drawing from Isings' Roman Glass from Dated Finds which demonstrates very clearly this dip that I refer to (Isings identifies this 'pointed base' as a feature typical of type one and type three drinking horns - I believe our example falls into the first category).

Moreover, this object is comparable to other glass horn-shaped vessels (John W. Hayes makes a comparison between our 05.35 and one of the objects at the Royal Ontario Museum on page 122 of Roman and Pre-Roman Glass - items 480-482). Unfortunately, these objects are either no longer part of their collection, or perhaps just not available online, so I was unable to find an image to send you. There are some black and white plates in the Hayes volume, if you are able to find a copy.

In any case, I have attached additional images of 05.35 - whether these help solidify your conclusions or argue against them, I thought they would be helpful for you to have for your research.

From Michael Chusid, November 27, 2011

In response to your question, "If it is a shofar, could it have been commemorative, rather than functional?," I want to clarify that a shofar can only be made from a non-bovine animal horn under Jewish law dating back thousands of years in the written record. Thus my suggestion is that it was a "blast-horn" or "trumpet", but not a shofar. For the record, shofarot are intrinsically commemorative, as Torah describes the Jewish New Year as a day to "remember" or "commemorate" the sounds of shofar heard during the theophany at Sinai.

I can see how the spout on this artifact suggests its use as a rhyton. In my limited experience drinking from rytha, the fluid spurts out under hydraulic pressure, making a pointed base or pouring spout unnecessary. Have you poured liquid through it to confirm that the spout provides an effective flow?

I suggest blowing the artifact to hear its sound. I have copied Cantor [omitted] of New York City, an accomplished shofar blower, in case you are looking for an expert opinion on its timbre, pitch, and blowability.

All said, I now agree with your cataloging it as a rython. With glass so dear during the era, I doubt anyone was using it for experimental music. However, the distinction between whether something is a rython or a blast horn may be inconsequential. Ancient shepherds drank from and sounded blasts with the same horn. And I can imagine the owner of a glass rhyton quaffing an intoxicant, then trumpeting as part of the merry making or to summon the sommelier for a refill.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

2011-11-27T18:44:00.001-08:00

These shofarot are in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art.

18th century (?); length (of tube): 58.2 cm (23-3/8 in.); diam. of bell: ca. 6 cm (2-3/8 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.2899

The Hebrew inscription is Tiki b'chodesh shofar, Blow shofar on new moon.
Note the small ram sculpture near the bell. I have seen this motif on other antique shofarot. If you have a theory about its origin or meaning, please let me know.

19th cent. Possibly from India; if so the horn probably came African trade as this appears to be a kudu. The shaped mouthpiece is a beauty.Length 73 cm (28-3/4 in.)-measured straight from end to end; diam. of bell 8.5 cm (3-5/16 in.)-at widest; Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.372

19th century,Length-of tube 45.5 cm (17-15/16 in.); Diam. of bell- widest 5.6 cm (2-1/4 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.373

18th or 19th century; Length of tube: ca. 70 cm (27-5/8 in.); Widest diam. of bell: 87 cm (34-1/4 in.); Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889; Accession Number: 89.4.1501

Does anyone make shofarot like this today? I admire the horner's skill to straighten such a long horn.

The Museum's online catalog lists two other shofarot without images. One is dated "1850 to 1946," suggesting the difficulty of identifying a shofar's age based on appearance alone.

It would be nice to have audio tracks demonstrating the sounds of each horn; is there a donor reading this?

Man is like a Ram's Horn

2011-11-27T08:49:00.001-08:00

"When you speak, think that the Wold of Speech is at work within you, for without that presence, you would not be able to speak at all. Similarly, you would not think at all were it not for the wold of thought within you. Man is like a ram's horn; the only sound he makes is that which is blown through him. Were there no one blowing the horn, there would be no sound at all."

Maggid Devaraw Le-Ya'aqov

Quoted in Gateways to the Otherworld, Philip Gardiner, page 220

Book of Changes

2011-11-26T13:02:00.001-08:00

Jewish I Ching?

The image above is a graphic representation of the Rosh Hashanah shofar blast sequence of, from top to bottom, tekiah, shevarim, teruah, tekiah. While contemplating the image, I saw a visual similarity to the trigrams in the ancient Chinese oracle, I Ching:

When I can, I will return to this page to add thoughts about how shofar and I Ching compare with regards to causality vs synchronicity, our attempt to understand our place in world, and divination of future.

The I Ching's acceptance of "chance" offers a possible answer to what sequence of blasts other than Rosh Hashanah -- Leave it to chance. Through a die or toss a coin, and let that determine the blasts.

More on another occasion.

They have a Blast at Shofar-Blowing Class

2011-11-24T23:20:00.001-08:00

From the Jewish Journal, September 7, 2011

By Ryan Torok

It was like the beginning of a meeting for a 12-step program. One by one, they said their names, where they live and how they became addicted ... to playing the shofar.

Musician and comedian David Zasloff blows shofar during a workshop for master shofar blowers. Photo by Rico Mandel

Mitch Dorf, a television sound mixer and self-described Grateful Dead fan, says he loves the opportunity to play his “ax” at The Wiltern for his congregation, Wilshire Boulevard Temple. “I’m on a stage where I’ve seen Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers and the Stones,” he said.

“With the shofar, you can do it in a plain fashion or you can do it in a grand fashion,” said veteran shofar blower Alan Abelson, who led High Holy Days services for prison inmates for 30 years. “It’s all kosher.”

A crowd of approximately 25 male and female ba’alei tekiah (shofar master blasters) gathered at Shalom House in Woodland Hills to network, swap stories and exchange tips on getting the right sound. The Aug. 30 event, “Shofaron for Master Blasters,” provided experienced shofar blowers, who are in their respective congregations during the High Holy Days, with the rare opportunity to listen to each other perform and learn from one another.

“The idea was to get different shofar blowers from different synagogues throughout the Los Angeles area and to share techniques, to share stories and to talk about the importance of shofar,” said Michael Chusid, who organized and facilitated the workshop. “Since blowing shofar is a rite that is hand-taught from one generation to next, there really isn’t a formal study of shofar.”

Between Aug. 29 and Aug. 31, meetings like these took place in 10 cities in the United States and abroad, including San Francisco, New York and London. Chusid, who has taught the shofar at American Jewish University, developed the idea for the International Day of Shofar Study along with three other skilled shofar blowers from around the country. Together they’re building Shofar Corps — a network of talented and committed shofar blowers who are willing to learn from each other and to share their passion for shofar.

“We realized there were a lot of shofarists who were doing the job but not with much skill or understanding. So the responsibility of people who are experts at shofar [coming together] to mentor others quickly developed [into] the notion of an International Day of Shofar Study,” Chusid said.

The shofar is traditionally made from a ram’s horn and is blown during Rosh Hashanah to mark the beginning of the High Holy Days and at the end of the Yom Kippur service. It is considered a commandment to hear the shofar blown.
Chusid says that too often, people in hospitals, nursing homes and prisons don’t hear a shofar during Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. He hopes the development of Shofar Corps will eventually address this problem.

The shofar workshop in Woodland Hills drew an eclectic crowd, including an oboe player who had recently taken to the shofar, a Jewish Valley resident who works as a professional Santa Claus and a comedian who can play a shofar rendition of “Flight of the Bumblebee.”

Local synagogues assisted with outreach for the Aug. 30 event, and e-mails referred people to the Shofar Corps Web site, shofarcorps.org, which Chusid helped launched in June. David Cooperman, owner of Shalom House, said he was happy to host the event at his Ventura Boulevard Judaica shop.

“I thought it was a great idea,” Cooperman said, “and something that, if we could be a part of, we would be.”

After introductions, the floor was opened up to participants’ questions.
“Are rams slaughtered solely for shofar or are they already dead?” Beth Chayim Chadashim congregant Lauren Schlau asked.

The rams were slaughtered for food, Cooperman said.

Sarah Fortman, a local cantorial student and one of the youngest members of the group, asked if a cracked shofar was acceptable.

The shofar had to be fixed before it could be played, people responded. Melted keratin would do the trick, Abelson said.

When it came to sharing tricks of the trade, Joe Guttman of Shomrei Torah Synagogue, volunteered: “You use your lips, you use your tongue and you use, believe it or not, your stomach.”

“The diaphragm,” somone added.

At the end of the session, after showing off their own shofars, the participants stood and blasted in unison.

“The shofar is an ancient way of communication, something that is based biblically on the heritage of our people. Having the sound brings back images, Bible stories, of Torah, of coming together as a community,” Cooperman said.
For some, the evening provided inspiration to improve their shofar skills.

“All the stories that people were telling from our tradition about shofar, it opened my heart, opened my eyes, opened my ears,” Schlau said, “and I’m going to go home and practice.”

© Copyright 2011 Tribe Media Corp.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/ los_angeles/article/they_have_a_blast_at_shofar-blowing_class_20110907/
All rights reserved. JewishJournal.com

Shofar in Theater - New DVD

2011-11-21T07:06:00.001-08:00

The World of Sholom Aleichem and The Dybbuk

Released on DVD: September 27, 2011
Archive of American Television
$29.98 each, http://eonehomevideo.com

Review by: Marc Gottlieb

Published: October 5th, 2011Latest update: October 5th, 2011
The blast of the shofar ends one of the most dramatic scenes in “The Dybbuk,” directed by Sidney Lumet, in which a rabbinical court excommunicates a dybbuk, while the same sound of the shofar opens the “Sholom Aleichem” story of Bontche Schweig, announcing the Job-like character’s arrival in heaven.

“The Dybbuk,” which was broadcast in 1960 on David Susskind’s syndicated TV series “The Play of the Week,” and “Bontche Schweig,” which along with Sholom Aleichem’s “Tale of Chelm” and “The High School” aired on the same show in 1959, have recently been released on DVD on eOne Home Video, just in time for the High Holidays.

Each DVD runs about two hours, and if one purchases both, one should be forewarned that it’s so hard to tear oneself away that one might as well block out four hours to watch both. In between the static lines of the old broadcasts, which lend both DVDs an authentic and antique aura, all four tales have elements of humor intertwined with sobering messages. (Perhaps the Chelm tales touch less on serious subjects than the others, but while one laughs at the Chelmites, it’s hard not to feel protective of them too.)

At the core of “The Dybbuk” is the often blurry boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. Particularly in the High Holiday period leading up to the Yizkor memorial service for loved ones who have passed away, it’s easy to identify with Leah, daughter of the wealthy Sender, who flees from her bridegroom (who might just have wandered off the Chelm set) to the cemetery to conjure her lost love, the kabbalist and recently deceased Channon.

Whether it is Channon’s dybbuk which enters Leah or whether she herself invites her beloved’s memory into herself, Leah causes such a disturbance shunning her bridegroom that she is marched to the rabbi of a neighboring village to be exorcised. William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” (1973) has Georgetown as its backdrop-particularly that ominous flight of stairs, which has become such a pilgrimage site to fans-but the Dybbuk’s setting is far less glamorous. This is the shtetl, where old wives share bubba meises galore. But the rabbinic court is serious business, and the consulted rabbi even enlists the help of his own rabbi.

Many tallitot, black candles, white shrouds and Torah scrolls later, Channon is ordered to depart. As the shofar is blown several times, Channon-possessed-Leah squirms and then seems to have a full-blown seizure. This shofar blowing has nothing to do with calling anyone to repentance; it’s an all-out battle cry summoning the angels of the heavens to lay siege to the dybbuk threatening Leah.

The shofars that herald the arrival of Bontche Schweig in heaven-in grand Shakespearean fashion, we are told early and often about the grand hero long before he actually arrives on set-are far more celebratory than those in dybbuk. (Though, it’s worth noting, both have at least one tekiyah gedola, as well as the other usual notes.)

Although the word on the heavenly street is that Bontche is so grand that even the forefather Avraham needs to be summoned to greet him, the recently deceased Bontche (we never know what brought about his end) turns out to be a kopek-a-dozen kind of guy, rather than the larger than life hero who had been announced. Bontche is dressed like a beggar, but the defending angel soon reveals that he has not said a word in his entire life, despite having suffered far greater troubles than even Iyov.

From: jewishpress.com http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/arts/the-blowing-of-the-shofar-in-sholom-aleichem-and-the-dybbuk/2011/10/05/

Sonoluminescense at Sinai

2011-11-16T10:05:00.001-08:00

Sonoluminescense is the conversion of sound energy into light energy. Seth Putterman, a professor at University of California - Los Angeles, is a leading investigator of this phenomena. While it was first described in the scientific literature in 1934, Putterman suggests that an earlier account can be inferred in Torah. Exodus 20:18 where we are told that we saw the voice of shofar.

Is Putterman offering this as serious exegesis? You can put this claim into perspective when you realize his website also cites a comic book as another example of early research on the topic.

I heard him describe his research in a televised lecture. Paraphrasing him, he said his colleagues had difficulty accepting the findings in Torah. "After all, no data is given, the research was published in a non-peer reviewed book, and the results have not been replicated in another lab." To this last point, Putterman suggests that even God may have had funding limitations.

Carry on, Professor.

Medical Ethics and Shofar

2011-11-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

While Jewish law may appear rigid, it is actually quite sensitive to the needs of individuals. Consider these points of medical ethics. On Rosh Hashanah:

It is prohibited to eat before the blowing of the shofar. (177) However, if someone feels weak, he is allowed to recite the kiddush prayer and to eat a little food and drink coffee or tea; however, he should do so privately. (178)

Enjoy your breakfast before going to shul. This refers to eating lunch, which may be delayed while morning prayers and the musaf service drag on past noon.

If a sick patient is unable to go to the synagogue, one can blow the shofar at the bedside and one need not assemble a quorum of ten men. (180)

A minyan is never required to hear shofar; this teaching emphases that this applies especially to one that cannot attend communal worship.

If a hospitalized patient is unable to hear the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, he is excused. (181)

The person who blows shofar in the synagogue for the congregation can blow again later for an individual sick patient... (183)

I urge shofar blowers everywhere to visit the confined to sound shofar for the.

And my favorite:

If a cardiac patient who is forbidden by his physician to blow the shofar nevertheless does so, he has committed a transgression and has not fulfilled the commandment. (187)

The protection of life takes precedence. If there is ever a question about whether one is fit for blowing shofar, err on the side of caution and refrain from blowing.

Source: Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics, Avraham Steinberg, Fred Rosner, Feldheim Publishers, 2003, page 480

Notes:
177. Tosefta Shabbat 1:4; Magen Avraham 692:7.
178. Mateh Ephraim 588:2; Responsa Chatam Sofer, Orach Chayim, end of #7.
180. Mikra'ei Kodesh, Yamim Nora'im #16.
181. Responsa Iggrot Moshe, Orach Chayim, Part 1 #172.
183. Dagul Mervavah, Orach Chayim 589:5.
187. Responsa Minchat Yitzchak, Part 4 #102:2

Loving Kindness

2011-11-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz tells the following in the name of Rav Gedaliah Sheinen, a rosh yeshiva of a yeshiva in Yerushalayim:

Rav Sheinen has been blowing shofar for many years at the minyan at which Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv davens. After davening, Rav Sheinen goes with Rav Elyashiv to his two-room apartment and blows shofar again according the shitos of certain Rishonim whose opinions regarding the tekios are not codified in Shulchan Aruch. Those who wish to fulfill these opinions have additional sounds of the shofar blown according to all the different interpretations.

Twenty one years ago, on Rosh Hashanah, Rebbetzin Elyashiv was ill and unable to go to shul to hear the shofar. When Rav Sheinen finished blowing the extra tekios for Rav Elyashiv, he asked the gadol if he should go into the Rebbetzin’s room and blow the sounds according to the Shulchan Aruch so that the Rebbetzin could fulfill the mitzvah.

To his amazement, Rav Elyashiv told him not to. “Today is Sunday, the second day of Rosh Hashanah, so the obligation to hear shofar is only miderabonon. Women were not obligated to hear shofar, but they accepted the obligation upon themselves.” ‘Kiblu aleiyhu’ is the terminology in halacha. “Since it is a tirchah for you to blow more kolos, you should rather go home than blow.”

Rav Sheinen left the small apartment and was headed down the steps when he heard Rav Elyashiv coming after him. “Kumpt tzurik - Come back,” said Rav Elyashiv. “It’s true that the obligation to hear shofar today is only miderabonon, and for women it is an even lesser obligation, and that’s why I sent you away. But my wife will be so happy to hear the kol shofar, and by blowing for her, you will be doing a chesed, and chesed is a mide’oraisah. Therefore, I am asking you to come back. For a de’oraisah I can be matri’ach you.”

Rabbi Lipshultz explains, "There are many lessons that can be learned from this story. First and foremost, we see how all of our actions should be dictated by halacha and how, before accepting a favor from someone, we must weigh whether it is absolutely necessary to inconvenience that person. We see how we must be considerate about a person’s feelings. We learn that we must prioritize our obligations and understand how important chesed is."

The story is also a wonderful example of why we need to bring shofar to those who are unable to hear it in congregational worship. If not for halacha, do it for chesed, loving kindness.

The Economics of Shofar

2011-11-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

The following, "An Economics Lesson from Rosh Hashanah" by Daniel Hamermesh appears on Freakonomics.com (10/26/2011):

The Jewish New Year is announced by blasts on a ram’s horn (shofar). Many people use much larger horns instead (a kudu, for example). This year, as part of the religious service, a woman picked up the ram’s horn to blow a few sounds, and not much came out—a few feeble toots. After squeaking out half the required notes, she switched to the kudu horn—she switched to additional capital. With the larger horn she blasted the entire congregation out of their seats—truly wonderful sounds.

Even in a religious service we can observe that the marginal product of labor is enhanced by additional capital—even in this context labor and capital are complements in production.

I have sent the author the following comment:

I fabricate shofarot and have taught thousands of people to blow shofar, and have published a three volume compendium of shofar information, so I believe I can address your comment with some authority.

1. The size (length) of a shofar is not related to the ease of blowing nor the intensity (volume) of its sound output. Each instrument is unique, and the results produced will vary depending upon the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual condition of the blower in the moment.

2. A long kudu can cost less than a medium to large ram horn. This is related to supply more than demand; modern animal husbandry practices favor polled (hornless) breeds [of rams], and most males are slaughtered while still lambs.

Sounding shofar is a spiritual practice that may respond to rules outside of typical marketplace economics. Perhaps "Not by might and not by power, but by spirit alone." (Zechariah 4:6) is the operable rule.

Yet, even by marketplace rules, your interpretation may be flawed depending upon the criteria for value used to measure the production. According to the laws of Jewish spiritual commerce, as codified in Talmud, the value is not in the production of sound but in the activity of hearing. When effective, the hearing provides a stimulus that can move a listener to undergo a transformation, such as a commitment to improve his or her behavior.

From this standpoint, the "feeble toots" on the ram's horn may have been more effective than the "truly wonderful sounds" of the kudu. The shofarist's struggles to emit a sound expressed the "brokenness" of the spirit that is often a precursor to transformation.

Additional information on these issues can be found at www.hearingshofar.com.

Emotional and Spiritual Preparation

2011-10-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

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?

2011-10-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-26T07:31:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-17T21:24:00.001-07:00

"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

2011-10-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-16T08:28:00.000-07:00

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 readas sukkat, "the sukkah [of]." Thus the verse is also saying (under the Torah's system of multi-meaning exegesis) that "all citizens ofIsrael shall dwell in the sukkah." Explains the Talmud: the Torahwishes to imply that "it is fitting that the entire people of Israel dwellin 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

2011-10-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-03T22:27:00.000-07:00

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

Reb Zalman on Shofar

2011-09-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Time Is Now For Rosh Hashanah Preparation

by Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

The blowing of the shofar has always been seen as a wake-up call. In this current era of our life we need to hear the outcry of our planet, our mother the Earth who aches for her children.

According to Hasidic teaching something happens in cosmic dimensions: Each year on Rosh Hashanah the divine decision to reign over the cosmos has to be re-instigated by people who reach out to the attribute of the divine kingship and Majesty.

Consider this: it is our prayer that stimulates the divine will to continue to energize the entire cosmos. It touches not only the life on this planet. Imagine then: our reaching out to be connected with and governed by the will of the Creator is what makes for a strong reality in which divine Providence can manifest from divine generosity.

So blowing the shofar and our listening with an open heart establishes that connection in which our will to be governed [is received] by the divine intent for life.

But unless we begin our work earlier, before the high holy days, during the month of Ellul, it is unlikely that we will be well enough prepared for that moment so we can be open enough to send our intent along when we hear the shofar blast. The preparation begins with the examination of our conscience in relation to our activities in the last year. I find it useful to have conversations with some soul friends now, before the high holy days. Sharing in the preparation with them gives much greater reality and brings about the good results that we wish to have for the coming year.

5772

2011-09-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

May you be written and inscribed for

a sweet new year.

Michael Chusid

Thank you to my readers

2011-09-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Page View Stats for HearingShofar.blogspot.com.

Readership of this blog continues to grow. I am grateful to my readers, and hope my work helps you to remember the voice of shofar. This blog, as all my shofar-related activities, has been a labor of love. I now understand what it means to have a "calling," as I feel called to do this work.

Feel free to contact me at shofarot #at# gmail . com to share your thoughts, questions, and shofar wisdom.

May you be written and subscribed for a year of blessings.

Michael

Sitting Shofar Blasts

2011-09-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

From: A One Minute a Day Torah Thought !

Why are the first thirty tekios called sitting tekios if everyone is standing?

Originally, everyone used to sit for these blowings in order to show the Satan that they had confidence in their teshuvah during the month of Elul and that Hashem had forgiven them and given them a favorable judgment.

(Rabbi Yosef C. Schwab - Sefer Nifloas Hatorah)

Thanks to Joy Krauthammer for bringing this teaching to my attention.

Shofar FlashMob a Success

2011-09-22T02:19:00.000-07:00

The shofar flashmobs held on 2011-Sep-18 has gone viral, enabling people around the world to hear shofar during Elul. Plus, it was lots of fun.

Here is the "official mix" as compiled by the global event's organizers, Art Kibbutz NYC:

Here is the "mob" at Wrigley Field, Chicago

I wrote a special song for the event. You will find it at time code 2:15 in the following video. Here are the lyrics; sing along:

Wake me up with a shofar,

Wake me up, blow it loud.

By tefillah and tzadakah

I do care about teshuvah.

Let me toot, toot, toot

on the ram's horn;

If we can't hear, it's a shame.

For on Rosh Hashanah

the world is reborn

And we praise God's name.

Unfortunately, the Cubs lost to the Astros. "Baruch dayan emet," Blessed is the true Judge.

I am the big guy with the blue Cubs shirt, camouflage for the event. Thanks to my son Andy Chusid (the tall guy with the orange camera) for helping to organize the event, and to Sara Feigenholtz, Illinois State Representative (seen at the beginning of the "official" video, for so effectively spreading the word throughout her district around the ballpark. It takes a village.

Feel free to use the song lyrics (attribution appreciated) anyway you want.

Online Class about Shofar - SUNDAY

2011-09-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Exotic Shofars:
The Many Sounds of Tekia
Rabbi Natan Slifkin
Sunday September 25, 9:30 am EST
Free

Which type of animal horns can be made into shofars? With the help of a huge collection of shofars and horns from exotic species of animals, this presentation explains the halachot of shofar.

Rabbi Slifkin is author of Exotic Shofar: Halachic Considerations

More Info and Registration: http://torahinmotion.org/virtproglib/e-tim/index.htm

The Winter Of Her Content

2011-09-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

The Winter of Her Content

by Steve Lipman

I never remember the names of the patients into whose rooms I step to blow the shofar every Rosh HaShanah in Lutheran Medical Center, an unpretentious hospital in Sunset Park, Brooklyn’s working-class neighborhood that borders on the Gowanus Canal. I routinely introduce myself to the patient, the surrounding kin or friends, the attending physicians or nurses, the infirm in the next bed; I simply say I am here to blow the shofar for the New Year, ask if they would like to hear it, quickly put the ram’s horn to my lips. Most patients, even those who by outward appearances would not be considered “religious,” accept my offer. And so I blow the required sets of plaintive sounds, wish everyone a good yom tov and step out.

Sometimes they ask me to recite a misheberach prayer for health, whose text I always carry with me. May they be healthy enough next year, I tell the patients as a parting blessing, to hear the shofar at home or in shul.

Even more certainly, I don’t remember the names of the handful of people I meet each year in the hospital’s hospice unit. If their physicians’ assessments are correct, their longevity will not exceed six months.

But I will never forget one woman for whom I blew shofar last year.

She appeared to be in her 60s or 70s. She was lying comfortably in bed, covered by a blanket. She appeared to be having a good day, not delirious or unconscious like some of the hospice patients I have met during the dozen or so years in which I have volunteered my services, not moaning in pain like others. At her side stood her daughter, chatting.

The nun who leads me around the hospice unit every year tells me who is Jewish. I introduced myself. Would they like to hear the shofar? Yes, the woman said.

After I finished and tucked my shofar into the small backpack I lug every year, she had a question.

“Rabbi,” she said, giving me an instant promotion from member of the press to member of the clergy, “what is more important on Rosh HaShanah, praying or hearing the shofar?”

Since I’m not a rabbi, I had no scripted answer. Since I am a journalist, I have experience listening. She was looking for assurance, not theology.

I thought quickly. “Probably praying is more important,” I answered. “Hearing the shofar is passive. Praying is active. You can tell God what you need.”
What would a dying woman ask for, I thought to myself — though I didn’t expect her to tell me.

She didn’t hesitate. “I’ve had a good life, rabbi,” she said. “I have a wonderful daughter. There’s nothing I need from God.”

Stunned, I didn’t know how to respond. “Then you’re a very lucky woman,” I said, which sounded preposterously shallow in a hospice.
“Yes I am, rabbi,” the woman said.

I wished her and her daughter a good yom tov; I could not offer the vapid and unrealistic wish that she would hear the shofar a year hence in better circumstances; we both knew better.

She thanked me for coming; in retrospect, I owed her thanks, for opening my eyes.

Her words remained with me as I returned to the rest of the hospital, with more — healthier — Jewish patients to find. Walking back afterwards to a friend’s home in Borough Park, hearing the tekiah and shevarim and teruah shofar blasts from the windows of synagogues whose services had not ended, I kept thinking about her attitude.

Every year it’s a struggle to reach the desired level of kavanah, intensity of concentration, as the days of Elul dwindle and the Days of Judgment come near.
How dare I stand before the Judge? How have I merited a year of health? How can I request anyting for the next 12 months when my problems pale in comparison to the terminal diagnosis she faced?

I read scholarly, learned books of inspiration and mussar each year, sometimes listen to lectures or tapes of profound insights, but the woman in Lutheran Medical Center — per my custom, I don’t remember her name — is my role model.

In one of the famous parts of the Ethics of the Fathers, the Mishnaic collection of advice and aphorisms, the scholar Ben Zoma asks, “Who is a rich man?” His answer: “He who is satisfied with his lot.”

The traditional explanation: a person who has few possessions or riches, and does not feel a wanting.

What if it’s your health and remaining days that are limited?

How would I react in her — figurative — shoes?

She is, I am sure, in a better place this year. And next week, when I walk the familiar halls of the hospital again, I am sure I will draw strength from a woman I will never forget.

Steve Lipman is a staff writer at The Jewish Week.
E-mail: steve@jewishweek.org.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

http://www.thejewishweek.com/features/first_person/winter_her_content

Reposted by permission of author

Read more from The Jewish Week about shofar.

THIS SUNDAY - Chicago Shofar FlashMob

2011-09-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

THIS SUNDAY, September 18th, join in the greatest Shofar-blowing event since Mt. Sinai, a worldwide art performance that takes the Jewish tradition of sounding the Shofar daily during the Hebrew month of Elul...and gives it a 21st century, postmodern twist.

This is the first-ever Shofar FlashMob. The action in Chicago will be synchronized with other FlashMob teams around the world, in a creative event launched by Art Kibbutz NYC (www.shofarflashmob.com). This global event will be documented and incorporated into an artistic, Rosh Hashana electronic greeting card, orchestrated by a composer. This is your chance to learn how to use the instrument and make a tekiah gedolah (huge blast) that will rouse the heavens, and make Jews around the world, the international media, and passers-by tremble with awe.

Made from a ram’s horn, the Shofar was used in Biblical times for many purposes, including announcing the new moon and heralding festivals. The Shofar continues to be sounded on Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and during Elul - the month before the New Year.

Chicago, Sunday, September 18, 2011

Where: Clark and Addison (in front of Wrigley Field)
Arrive: Sunday, September 18, 12:30 PM
Bring: A shofar (and extras to share!) or signs or banners saying "To a Good New Year" or similar messages.
Preparation: Try to keep your shofar concealed until the appointed time to maintain the surprise aspect of a flash mob. Enter the space around Wrigley Field and mingle casually with folks.
Your Cue: At 1:00 PM, you will hear a shofar blow. Sound your instrument, unfurl your sign, wish people a l'shana tovah, and have a good time.
Length: 2 minutes
Afterwards: Finish like nothing happened, mingle with the crowd again.
Re-connect: Join us at Einstein's Bagel, a block south at 3455 N, Clark St., to celebrate.

Share this event with your friends and neighbors and let's make this Chicago shofar Celebration the world's largest!

Questions: Contact Sara at (773) 296-4141 or sara@staterepsara.com.

A song in honor of Wrigley Field as the venue for Chicago's Flash Mob:

Wake me up with a shofar;
Wake me up, blow it loud.
By tefillah and tzadakah
I do care about teshuvah.
Let me toot, toot, toot

on the ram's horn
If we can't hear it's a shame.
For on Rosh Hashanah

the world is reborn
As we praise God's name.

Shofar Hechsher

2011-09-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

A hechsher is a mark certifying that an item meets Jewish law. They are usually applied to food items to signify they are kosher. While not very common, shofarot are also available with hechsherim.

Here are a few:

Do you need a hechsher? If you buy from a reputable dealer or know what to look for, probably not. But if you are concerned, look for a horn with a hecksher.

Beast, Horn, Sound, Air, Return

2011-09-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

The Shofar

by Rabbi David Zaslow

First, we use the horn of a beast

in order to become the beast;

no intellect, submissive to its Master.

Second, we become the horn itself.

Not even a beast, but an inanimate horn

to be blown by the blower

just as we are blown into life.

Third, we become the sound of the horn.

Not even matter.

But sound that fills great spaces

and binds all objects and listeners

just as the Holy One

becomes the Holy Sound at Sinai that we hear.

Fourth we become the air

inside the sound.

The silent air before it is blown

into sound inside the horn of a beast.

We become the silence

of the Creator before creation.

Last, we return.

We become ourselves

standing next to one another

in the synagogue remembering

what we had become,

and where we had been.

Only then can we hear the shofar:

silence shaken into cries

on a journey from one end

of a bent beast's horn to the other.

On a journey somewhere between our hearing

and the sounds we hear,

somewhere between the blower

and the shofar blown,

somewhere between the Creator

and ourselves;

between ourselves and ourselves.

And from such a Place,

in such a moment, there is no boundary

between the head and its horn,

between the beast and its burden,

between its cries and the silence beneath its cries.

From such a Place

we say we hear the shofar blown.

And only then is the mitzvah fulfilled,

as are we full and filled.

We glance at each other knowingly,

hearing the Sound

through the horns of our own bent lives.

We all hear the same cries:

our own cries to our Maker.

Our Maker's cries to us.

Shofarot of the Holocaust

2011-09-09T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hasidic Tales of the Holocaust (by Yaffa Eliach, Oxford University Press US, 1982) contains two stories of Jews risking their lives to hear shofar while in the extermination camps.

"A Shofar in a Coffee Cauldron," page 42, describes how a shofar was smuggled from one part of the camp to another so more Jews could observe the mitzvah.

"The Shofar of Rabbi Radorzytz," page 84, tells how a shofar was even fabricated within the camp, and how it survived the war and became reunited with its fabricator.

May the memories of all who perished be honored by our hearing of shofar.

Shofarot for Elul - Day 9

2011-09-09T07:49:00.001-07:00

Midrash (Leviticus Rabbah 29:10)

"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by its horns (Genesis 22:13)." This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be God, showed our ancestor Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one set of bushes and getting entangled in another. The Holy One, blessed be God, said to Abraham: "Similarly, your children and descendants are destined to be caught by iniquities and entangled in sin but ultimately they will be redeemed through the horns of the ram." Therefore it is written, "Adonai your God will blow the shofar" (Zechariah 9:14).

R. Huna son of R. Isaac said: "It teaches that the Holy One, blessed be God, showed Abraham the ram tearing itself free from one set of bushes and getting entangled in another. The Holy One, blessed be God, said to Abraham: 'In a similar way, your children and descendants are destined to be caught by the nations and entangled in troubles, being dragged from empire to empire, from Babylon to Media, will ultimately be redeemed through the horns of the ram.' Therefore it is written, Adonai shall be seen over them, and God's arrow will go forth as lightning; and God will blow the shofar" (ibid.).

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot for Elul - Day 8

2011-09-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

Bavli Kiddushin 70a/b

A certain man from Nehardea entered a butcher's shop in Pumbedita and peremptorily demanded, "Give me some meat!" He was told, "Wait until R. Judah bar Ezekiel's attendant takes his order, and then we will serve you." "Who is Judah bar Ezekiel," he exclaimed, "to take precedence over me and be served before me?"They went and told R. Judah. Engraged, he brought out a shofar, sounded it, and imposed a ban on that man.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot for Elul - Day 11

2011-09-09T07:28:00.001-07:00

Maimonides

Despite the fact that the blowing of the ram's-horn on Rosh Hashanah is an explicit decree in the Scripture, it is also an allusion, as if to say: Awake, O you sleepers, awake from your sleep! O you slumberers, awake from your slumber! Search your deeds and turn in Teshuvah. Remember your Creator, O you who forget the truth in the vanities of time and go astray all the year after vanity and folly that neither profit nor save. Look to your souls, and better your ways and actions. Let every one of you abandon his evil way and his wicked thought, which is not good. [Maimonides, Hilkhot Teshuvah 3:4]

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot for Elul - Day 10

2011-09-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Mechilta

Hearing is not like seeing.

Saadya Gaon

The shofar reminds us of our stand at Sinai, as it is said, "The blast of the shofar grew louder and louder (Exodus 19:19), in order that we may take upon ourselves what our ancestors took upon themselves when they said, "We will do and we will hear (Exodus 24:7)."

Liturgy, Un'taneh Tokef

And a great shofar will be sounded, and a thin whisper of a sound will be heard.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofar Flash Mobs Forming

2011-09-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

On September 18th, Art Kibbutz NYC will host the greatest Shofar-blowing event since Sinai, a worldwide art performance that takes the Jewish tradition of sounding the Shofar daily during the Hebrew month of Elul...and gives it a 21st century, postmodern twist. They have invited shofarists in other cities to organize flash mobs on the same day.

Action: Join a large group of artists and creative volunteers on September 18th who will blow the shofar together at a designated public space for 2 minutes as a call for teshuvah (return). This is the first-ever FlashMob utilizing a Shofar. Your action will be synchronized with other FlashMob teams around the world. This creative event will be documented and incorporated into an artistic, Rosh Hashana electronic greeting card, orchestrated by a composer. This is your chance to learn how to use the instrument and make a teruah gedolah (huge blast) that will rouse the heavens, and make Jews around the world, the international media and passers-by tremble.

http://shofarflashmob.weebly.com/

Blow, Murray, Blow!

2011-09-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Shofarot - Day 7

2011-09-05T00:34:00.000-07:00

Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3.7)

If a man was passing behind a synagogue, or if his house was near to a synagogue, and heard the sound of the shofar, or the reading of the Megillah, if he directed his heart he has fulfilled his obligation, but if he did not he has not fulfilled his obligation. Though one may have heard and another may have heard, the one may have directed his heart and the other may not have directed his heart.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Hearing the Vav at Sinai

2011-09-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Exodus 15 Andall the people perceived the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the voice of shofar, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled,and stood afar off.

A vav-shaped shofar.

"Shofar" is usually spelled shin-vav-peh-resh (שופר‎). Yet in Chapters 19 and 20 of Exodus, in parsha Yitro, shofar is spelled without the vav (שפר‎). I have thought about this for years, wondering what the omission of the vav signified.

Yesterday, on Shabbat, I got new insight. It is interesting that the word I just used refers to vision, since the understanding came from a visual experience of שפר‎, not from a mental or intellectual place of thought.

I was meeting with my chaverim and chaverot from Passover Village for our monthly Torah study. Instead of our usual text-based approach to looking at each word and sentence to find personal meaning, we were invited to immerse ourselves into Torah through a right-brained, visual, and meditative exercise guided by Judith Margolis, a visual artist.

Judith explained that, after listening to Torah, we would each, in silence, tearing colored construction paper and using the glue sticks she provided, create anything that emerged from our hearing of the Torah.

We recited the blessing for reading Torah, and listened as one of our members read the two chapters aloud.

"Don't worry," Judith said, "if at first you do not know what you are creating." I did not have this concern; as the text was read in English, I glanced at the Hebrew and immediately SAW the missing vav.

The vav is the shofar itself, and it was not missing but completely enveloping us as we stood at Sinai. This experience, I realize now, is like "seeing the voice of shofar", a more literal translation of Exodus 15. To write the letter would be redundant. But that does to mean it wasn't there.

The missing vav is the voice of shofar.

I envisioned the letters shin, peh, and resh in black, and the vav shown as a void. As I fashioned these characters, I was reminded of the teaching that Torah is black fire on white fire. On a simple level, this means that the space around the black letters is as important as the letters themselves. Expressing vav as what graphic designers call "negative space" gives it a presence by emphasizing its absense.

The first thing I fabricated, however, were the stones of the alter described near the end of the parsha:

Exodus 21-22 An altar of earth thou shalt make unto Me, and shaltsacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep... ...thou shalt notbuild it of hewn stones.

Intrigued by this construction specification (I am a construction specifier, after all), and mindful that the stone were not to be hewn, I decided to form each stone from a single untorn piece of construction paper. I crumpled and kneaded each sheet until the stiff paper became soft and could be rolled into balls. Is it ironic that the representation of something hard was made from something soft?

Without knowing why, I choose black paper for the stones; only later realizing that black was the color of the letters in my vision. Making the stones into balls also established that my artwork would be three dimensional. Taking a piece of white paper, I crumpled and twisted it into a shofar/vav, and set it upright into the four alter stones. Guided by intuition or tuning into a tribal archetype, I had created a memorial to the ram of the Akadah, the ram whose horn was used, according to tradition, for the shofar blown at Sinai.

Returning to the letters, I envisioned them as part of a ring, the boundary around Mt. Sinai that we were warned to not cross until the shofar sounded long. I sized the ring, made from white paper, so the shofar in the center would rise above it, standing long.

The black letters were torn and glued to the ring. However two thoughts suggested a different approach to creating the empty space of the vav. I was still thinking about making something without cutting it. This reminded me of a teaching given by Abby G. during one of Passover Village's Pesach exodus into the wilderness. During Yachatz, the seder ritual of breaking the middle matzah, she talked about the rifts in society, between nations, within families, and within our selves. Why did breaking have to be done with violent cracking she asked. Could we imagine more gentle ways of making necessary separations? She then took a piece of dry, brittle matzah, and with a wet finger, traced a line across it. As she spoke, she continued to stroke it with a wet finger until the matzah separated into two pieces, gently.

Patiently, I moistened the paper in the desired pattern and waited. Within a few minutes, the soggy fibers fell away, revealing where the vav wasn't.

Someday I will probably return to a Talmudic-like search for explanations about the spelling of
.שפר

But for now, I don't have questions about it, because I know. I know I stood at Sinai and heard the shofar. It was the vav, and it was there. I don't have to see it in writing, because I still hear the sounds of that mighty tekiah.

Shofar Thursday in Temple

2011-09-04T16:31:00.000-07:00

Talmud Tractate Tamid lists the songs the Levites sang in the Temple during daily sacrifices:

On Sunday they would say the Psalm that starts with "The land and all it contains are G‑d's; the world and those who dwell therein" (Psalm 24).

On Monday they would say the Psalm that starts with "G‑d is great and very much praised in the city of our G‑d, His holy mountain" (Psalm 48)

On Tuesday they would say the Psalm that starts with "G‑d stands in the congregation of G‑d; in the midst of the judges He will judge" (Psalm 82).

On Wednesday they would say the Psalm that starts with "O god of vengeance, O G‑d; appear O god of vengeance" (Psalm 94).

On Thursday they would say the Psalm that starts with "Sing praises to the G‑d who is our might, sound the shofar to the G‑d of Jacob" (Psalm 81).

On Friday they would say the Psalm that starts with "G‑d has reigned; He has attired Himself with majesty" (Psalm 93).

On Shabbat they would say the Psalm that starts with "A song with musical accompaniment for the Shabbat day" (Psalms 92).

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1581743/jewish/Tractate-Tamid.htm

Hebrew and Direct Translation:

הַשִּׁיר שֶׁהָיוּ הַלְוִיִּם אוֹמְרִים בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ, בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, לַה' הָאָרֶץ וּמְלוֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְיוֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ. בַּשֵּׁנִי הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, גָּדוֹל יְיָ וּמְהֻלָּל מְאֹד בְּעִיר אֱלֹהֵינוּ הַר קָדְשׁוֹ. בַּשְּׁלִישִׁי הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת אֵל בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט. בָּרְבִיעִי הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, אֵל נְקָמוֹת יְיָ אֵל נְקָמוֹת הוֹפִיעַ. בַּחֲמִישִׁי הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, הַרְנִינוּ לֵאלֹהִים עוּזֵּנוּ, הָרִיעוּ לֵאלֹהֵי יַעֲקֹב. בַּשִּׁשִּׁי הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, ה' מָלָךְ גֵּאוּת לָבֵשׁ. בַּשַּׁבָּת הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא לְיוֹם שֶׁכֻּלּוֹ שַׁבָּת מְנוּחָה לְחַיֵּי הָעוֹלָמִים:

The song that the levites would sing in the Temple. On Sundays they would sing Psalm 24. On Mondays they would sing Psalm 48. On Tuesdays they would sing Psalm 82. On Wednesdays they would sing Psalm 94. On Thursdays they would sing Psalm 81. On Fridays they would sing Psalm 93. On Saturdays they would sing Psalm 92 - a song for the uttermost future, for the day that shall be completely Shabbat, rest in life eternal.

http://www.bmv.org.il/shiurim/tamid/tam07.html

Excerpt of Psalm: 81:2-6, 8

Singjoyously to God, our strength;

Raise a shout (teruah) for the God of Jacob.

Take up the song,

soundthe timbrel,

themelodious lyre and harp.

Blow the horn (tekiah shofar) on the new moon,

onthe full moon for our feast day.

For it is a law for Israel,

aruling for the God of Jacob;

Heimposed it as a decree upon Joseph

whenhe went forth from the land of Egypt;

Iheard a language that I knew not.

In distress you called and I rescued you;

Ianswered you from that secret place of thunder.

JPS 1985

Ashrei Ha'Am - Psalm 89

2011-09-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Shofarot - Day 6

2011-09-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Abbahu

The shofar is a symbol of hope that what was once broken can become whole again.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Antique Shofar with Inserted Spline

2011-09-03T22:53:00.000-07:00

I received the following from Maurice Kamins, master shofar craftsman from San Francisco.

I've included a couple of photo's of a mid 19th century Polish shofar I bought from a Danish auction house a number of years ago. Michael has seen it and what is most interesting is that there is a piece added onto the horn to allow the "horner" to drill a straight hole in the shofar.

Considering what I've read, this horn presents an interesting problem. By the by, I have seen a number of shofarot similar to this one in museums here and in Europe.

I plan to comment on them in future posts. If you know anything about splines like this, please contact me.

Conversation between Heaven and Earth

2011-09-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

A beautiful personal essay about shofar:

One of my earliest memories occurred when I was a 3 or 4 year old girl. It was probably my first Jewish High Holidays service and I sat with Mom and Grandma in the back (where the women and children were supposed to be) in the little Old-World style Shule in Brooklyn

I remember clearly the sound of the Rosh HaShanah Shofar, but I couldn't see it.

Filled with the smooth, strong notes, I ran past the curtain (mechitza) to the front and found my Grandpa. He lifted me up on his shoulders to see the Shofar as it was blown.

It was one of those pivotal moments of joy and wonder that opened my heart and soul up to my Judaism.

Now I proudly display my own Shofar in my home and am able to recreate the wonderful call of the ram's horn during the High Holiday season. And sometimes during the year, when I need my heart opened and re-connected to the deeper meanings of my Judaism, I'll raise it and sound it as well.

My Judaism has changed since my childhood, but the simple sound of the breath of life vibrating through an unadulterated ram's horn still creates an open path between my soul and the "heavens." It's a doorway to the spiritual, a knock on the conversation that, as Martin Buber defined it, is always going on between Heaven and Earth.

As in many spiritual traditions around the Earth, the vibrations of certain sounds - be it the ram's or antelope's horn, the seven-metal Tibetan bowl, a conch shell, the drum - ring true for the human soul. Like a tuning fork, they serve to bring us back to our own Center, the place where the Divine Light burns within us, where we're called back to our personal truths and the growth of our souls within our present lives.

It rings as a plea for connection, a beseeching to the Oneness/Creator/God; a notice that yes, I'm here, I exist, and I know that I am part of something Greater.

It sings the wordless emotional depths for joining with that Greatness - if only for the moment; for a taste of the Eternal that we can savor in the here-and-now; for a brief instant of touching that Greatness and allowing our very bones to vibrate along with the pulsations of the Universe.

In metaphysics we learn that all that exists is made of waves. The sounding of the Rosh HaShanah Shofar invites us to and provides an opportunity to ride the sound so that our individual waves synch up with the waves of the Universe, and with God.

And reminds us that this is what we strive for every day - to be in harmony with all within and around us: our hearts/thoughts/soul; other people; plants; other creatures; and whatever it is we define as God/Universe/Oneness/Creation.

--Batya; 8-11-2011 http://www.best-meaningful-gifts.com/rosh-hashanah-shofar.html

Building Lung Capacity

2011-09-03T16:14:00.000-07:00

I can not find collaborating references to support this, but it seems consistent with the other breathing exercises used to treat the condition described (see illustration). From personal experience, I know blowing shofar does develop respiratory capacity if practiced on an ongoing basis.

...apart from its religious uses, [shofar] has avery important effect as a way of strengthening respiratory and cardiac systemsof the shofar-blowers. Shofar blowing is an excellent way of increasingrespiratory volume which is extremely good for health. Respiratory volume is ameasure of the amount of air being breathed in by the body as a resultindicates vitality and fitness. Shofar-blowing is also very good for the heartand cardiac system. Great results have been seen of shofar -blowing helping incure of respiratory and chest related diseases, especially in the case ofhollowed chest deformity.

Pectus excavatum, meaning hollowed chest inLatin, is a congenital defect in which manifests itself such that the anteriorwall of the chest is deformed and the sternum and some of the ribs growabnormally inward. Apart from giving an embarrassing cosmetic appearance, ifleft untreated, it can have detrimental effects on the heart and lungs as wellas cause neck and back pain. The treatment of this defect is done by the Nussmethod, in which a bar is introduced inside the rib cage to stop the growth ofthe sternum inwards towards the heart. This bar is removed after a period ofabout two years or so after which the ribs grow normally.

The Shofar is of great use to a child afterthe removal of the Nuss bar. Shofar-blowing after the removal of the Nuss barmakes lungs stronger and increases the chest capacity. It also strengthens theribs and sternum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Louisehaker/Submit_a_site (last modified on 2 May 2011 at 17:50). Authorship attributed to Louise Haker. Illustration from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stilleben_coach.jpg.

Shofarot - Day 5

2011-09-03T00:29:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 27:13

And in that day, a great shofar shall be sounded; and the strayed who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt shall come and worship Adonai on the holy mount, in Jerusalem.

Judges 6:33

The spirit of Adonai enveloped Gideon and he sounded the shofar.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot - Day 4

2011-09-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

Joshua 6:1-5

Now Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites; no one could leave or enter. God said to Joshua, "See, I will deliver Jericho and her king and her warriors into your hands. Let all your troops march around the city and complete one circuit of the city. Do this six days, with seven priests carrying seven shofarot preceding the Ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the shofarot. And when a long blast is sounded on the shofar - as soon as you hear that sound of the shofar- all the people shall give a mighty shout. Thereupon the city wall will collapse, and the people shall advance, every person straight ahead.

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot - Day 3

2011-09-01T00:24:00.000-07:00

Psalm 89:16

Happy is the people who know the truah; O Lord, they walk in the light of your presence.

Psalm 98:4-6

(also found in Friday night liturgy)

Raise a shout to Adonai, all the earth,
break into joyous songs of praise!
Sing praise to Adonai with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song.
With trumpets and the blast of the shofar
raise a shout before the ruler, Adonai.

Psalm 150

Halleluyah! Praise God in God's sanctuary;
Praise God whose power the heavens proclaim.
Praise God for mighty acts;
Praise God for surpassing greatness.
Praise God with shofar blast;
Praise God with harp and lute.
Praise God with drum and dance;
Praise God with strings and pipe.
Praise God with cymbals sounding;
Praise God with cymbals resounding.
Let every soul praise God. Halleluyah!

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Shofarot - Day 2

2011-08-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 4:19-21

Oh, my suffering, my suffering!
How I writhe!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart moans within me,
I cannot be silent;
For I hear the blare of the shofar,
Alarms of war.
Disaster overtakes disaster,
For all the land has been ravaged.
Suddenly my tents have been ravaged,
In a moment, my tent cloths.
How long must I see standards
And hear the blare of the shofar?

Your Thoughts

What are you being called for this year?
What needs to be awoken within you?
If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

Hospital Rounds

2011-08-30T16:05:00.000-07:00

The following is by Richard Sachs, member of Monmouth Reform Temple, New Jersey, March 23, 2002, describes his experience sounding shofar in a hosptial.

Sounding the Shofar at Riverview Hospital

This is the story of a very important and rewarding hour in my life on Rosh Hashanah last year, sandwiched between two very unfortunate weeks.

Several years ago, Rabbi Sally Priesand cornered several of us Shofar players after the Rosh Hashanah morning service. She pointed out that a few temple members were in the hospital, so they missed our service. Would we like to come into her office to repeat the calls over the telephone to these patients? How could we say no? It’s a mitzvah to hear the Shofar, our gift to help others be in touch with themselves at that important time of the year.

So when our Rabbi asked last year if I was interested in sounding the Shofar in a hospital, I thought, why not? Actually, she simply passed along the request from Rabbi Ephraim Karp, our community chaplain, and asked me to email him a reply. Rabbi Karp jumped on my agreement, asking me to go to the Pastoral Care office at Riverview to pick up the list of Jewish patients.

Then I began to wonder what I was getting in to. Would there be a service? Or will I go room-to-room? [no service, replied Rabbi Karp]. Will someone take me around or will I be on my own? [all alone]. And how many Jewish patients are there, I wondered?

So, on the afternoon of Rosh Hashana, after childrens service, and armed with copies of the Shofar calls, Sheila (my wife) and I showed up at the hospital. Picture me in a suit, my kippah, and my shofar. Is it any wonder that the woman in the Pastoral Office called me Rabbi? She handed me a half dozen pages of names which, fortunately, turned out to be a list of every patient who had declared any religion on admittance. Sheila counted about a dozen Jewish patients. That seemed manageable.

We walked from one wing of the hospital to another, always checking with the nurses’ station first to see if a patent was available and able to greet us. It’s always good to start with the familiar and comfortable, so we went to see temple member Lenny Schlosberg, resting comfortably after knee surgery. A half-dozen members of our temple were also visiting him at the time. I asked him to read the calls as I played them. Gosh, this was just like blowing in the shofar service.

Now armed with a routine, Sheila and I jumped into the rest of the list of names.
We headed upstairs to a room where music was playing; a daughter sat vigil over her unconscious mother, in a coma and in the end stages of cancer. “Would she like to hear the shofar,” I asked? “Oh, that would be wonderful, but would you mind coming back after I call the rest of the family to come over, they live just down the next street.” So Sheila and I headed down to the next wing, but as we were about to get off the elevator, the other family members came on and saw my shofar. “Oh, we missed it!” one said. Sheila and I reassured them and we all headed back up to the room. I went through the Shofar calls, and no, there was no miracle; I didn’t awaken the mother. But I could tell it meant a lot to her family. I saw a few tears as they thanked me. Two days later, we read the woman’s obituary in the paper.

Several patients declined my offer, most because they didn’t want to disturb their roommates with visiting family. In those cases, I offered to call them later to play over the phone. One young woman accepted my offer to play in the room, as her roommate was sleeping soundly after surgery. But my first blast startled the roommate from her rest. I apologized profusely, and made a mental note never to do that again. I wish the nurse had warned me about that situation.

One man was all alone in his room and had no family to visit him. He was very happy to have company and we had a good conversation before I played. He was very thankful to hear the shofar.

And another older patient stood out in my mind. I went to the nurses’ station to ask permission, when a doctor there overheard my request and saw my shofar. “Oh, you can play that, rabbi” he said, “but she may not know why you’re there. She has dementia.” So Sheila and I went in to her room, and fortunately there was no roommate. She was awake. I told her I’d like to play the shofar for her on Rosh Hashanah, and she nodded yes. So Sheila read the calls. At each call I could see her close her eyes and smile, as if she was recalling a very pleasant memory. After a very long Tekiah Gadolah, she opened her eyes and thanked me. That was very rewarding.

So that was it. A brief hour, but very memorable, and a wonderful Mitzvah beyond measure for the New Year. Doing that helped me personally to balance the horrible deeds of 9-11 just one week earlier and the death of my sister a few days after Rosh Hashanah.

So will I do it again next year? You bet! And if anyone else is even considering making hospital rounds with a shofar, see me for encouragement.

Shofarot - Day 1

2011-08-30T00:08:00.000-07:00

Temple Micah has given me kind permission to repost their series of meditations on Shofarot, by Rachel Heaps. Their introduction to the meditations explains:

The sound of the shofar blast holds a great deal of power and transcendent meaning in Jewish tradition, from the Torah through today. The sound of the shofar awakens us, calling upon each of us to hear its cry during the High Holy Days. Every day during the month of Elul we will send out a text from Jewish tradition about the shofar. These texts represent the wide scope of Jewish tradition, from the Torah and rabbinic literature to contemporary scholarship and poetry. As you read each text, think about these guiding questions:

What are you being called for this year?

What needs to be awoken within you?

If the shofar could speak, what would it say?

The month of Elul is a time for renewal and reflection, and we hope that these daily texts from our tradition will serve as a source of guidance and invigoration for you as we approach the High Holy Days. We hope that the blasts of the shofar will hold new and thicker meaning for you as together we engage with these texts over the next 39 days.

Here is their meditation for the first day of Elul:

Exodus 19:16-17

On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder, and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the shofar, and all the people who were in the camp trembled. Moses led the people out of the camp toward God, and they took their places at the foot of the mountain.

Leviticus 25:9

Then you shall sound the shofar loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month - the Day of Atonement- you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land.

Isaiah 18:3

All of you who live in the world and inhabit the earth, When a flag is raised in the hills, take note! When a shofar is blown, give heed!

(c)2010, Temple Micah. Not for reproduction or other use without permission and attribution.

Shofar in Jewish Theaters

2011-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Jewish theater is alive and vibrant.

My friend, Stephanie Liss, an award winning playwright, has made a wonderful suggestion: Jewish theaters should sound shofar before performances during Elul. She writes:

"Wouldn't it be amazing if there were shofarot sounding throughout the world during these days of Rosh Hodesh Elul, leading us into our most sacred time...?"

Yes, it would.

Click here for more on Jewish Theatre

Having a Blast - Free Handbook

2011-08-25T21:59:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner, President of the Foundation for Family Education, Inc., offers an excellent and FREE handbook on shofar programming, presentations and study: Shofar, So Good: Having a Blast on the High Holy Days.

http://www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0931447103/SHOFARHandbookForWebsite9-13.pdf

if someone can't hear a trumpet melody

2011-08-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

My thanks to Dan Brumer for pointing out that this poem by Rumi can inform our hearing of shofar.

LISTENING

what is the deep listening?

Sama* is a greeting from the secret ones

inside the heart,

a letter

the branches of your intelligence

grow new leaves in the wind of this listening

the body reaches a peace

rooster sound comes,

reminding you of your love for dawn
the reed flute and the singer's lips:

the knack of how spirit breathes into us

becomes as simple and ordinary

as eating and drinking

the dead rise

with the pleasure of listening

if someone can't hear a trumpet melody,

sprinkle dirt on his head

and declare him

dead

listen,

and feel the beauty

of your separation,

the unsayable absence

there's a moon

inside every human being
learn to be companions with it

give more of your life

to this listening

as brightness is to time,

so you are

to the one who talks

to the deep ear in your heart

I should sell my tongue

and buy a thousand ears

when that one steps near

and begins to speak.

— Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273)
translated by Coleman Barks
Viking Penguin, NY (1999)

*"Sama" is an Arabic word, closely related to "shema" in Hebrew, and meaning "listen". It is a form of Sufi meditation

One person's shofar story

2011-08-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Passages: Encounters of the Angelic Kind
by Mike Holzer

Our Torah study group at Temple Beth Israel in Altoona, Pennsylvania was discussing the parshah Vayeshev in which Joseph wanders in search of his brothers until he comes across a man in a field who tells him where they have moved their flock. Our student rabbi at the time, Nicole Luna, remarked that the rabbis had decided that “the man” was an angel because without him, Joseph might never have found his brothers, been sold into slavery, and, after ascending to power in Egypt, been able to save the fledgling Hebrew nation. Angels, she said, are considered in the Torah to be melakh elohim, literally messengers of God.

Nicole then asked us to share serendipitous, melakh elohim moments in our own lives. One group member talked about having won a lottery; others discussed landing a new job. My grandmother, Norma, spoke of meeting one of her best friends, Faye, in college. She also met Faye’s then boyfriend, Bernie Sevel, whom my grandmother later married. I surely would not be writing this essay if it were not for that moment!

When it was my turn, I mentioned Alaina. We’d met in the marching band during my freshman year at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). We dated for about a year, during which time I was introduced to Heather through mutual friends. Heather and I struck up a casual friendship with wisps of romance, but after graduation we lost touch. A year or so later, a friend clued me in that Heather was no longer in a relationship. Being unattached myself, I reconnected with her and took her out on a date to the Erie, Pennsylvania zoo. Three years later the rabbi of my formative years, Burt Schuman, officiated at our wedding, and in another 18 months Heather gave birth to our first son, Ari Bernard.

As the Torah study group members commented on my story, I realized that an earlier, seemingly inconsequential decision had led to my choice to attend IUP in the first place. Penn State was much closer to my hometown, and was the alma mater of most of my family. Other schools had accepted me, too. Why did I go to IUP? Because I wanted to be a music major, and IUP had (and still has) a solid reputation for music education. What was my instrument? The trumpet. Why did I play the trumpet? Because I wanted to be good at blowing the shofar.

My melakh elohim story actually begins when I was 10. My parents took me to a Rosh Hashanah service, which I enjoyed, mostly because I was excused from school, a privilege not extended to everyone else since I was the only Jewish kid in my school. After services, I asked the ba’al tekiah (shofar blower), Bernie Shapiro z”l , if I could try to blow the shofar. As he handed me the small, caramel colored ram’s horn, he offered a couple of tips. I tried to follow his advice, puffing up and blowing as hard as I could—but no sound came out. My mom laughed. “If you want to blow the shofar, you need to practice,” she said. “And the best way to practice is to learn to play the trumpet.”

As it happened, my elementary school was now offering music lessons for our grade. I signed up for trumpet and practiced for many years—not so dutifully, but enough to become a proficient and reliable shofar blower. When I became a bar mitzvah, my mom’s two sisters presented me with my own shofar, a beautiful cream and smoke colored horn which remains one of my most treasured possessions. From that point on, I was allowed to join Bernie on the bimah on the Days of Awe.

When I moved on to junior high and high school, I naturally joined the marching and concert bands and eventually decided to become a music major at IUP.

Thus, my messenger of God story really hinges on my childhood desire to sound the shofar. Had I not wanted to play it, I wouldn’t have taken trumpet lessons; wouldn’t have joined the junior high, high school, and college marching bands; wouldn’t have decided to major in music; wouldn’t have gone to IUP; wouldn’t have dated Alaina; and wouldn’t have met Heather.

So, the next time you are thinking about the twists and turns your life has taken, why not stop for a moment to consider the melakh elohim in your life. The answer may surprise you.

Mike Holzer, a web developer, is a lifelong (and third generation) member of Temple Beth Israel in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees, manages the website, teaches 6th grade Sunday school, and is the resident ba’al tekiah.

Originally published in Reform Judaism Magazine, Fall 2011 and used by permission of author.

Blotted out of this world

2011-08-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Attributed to Agnon, from Martin Buber: a contemporary perspective by Paul R. Mendes-Flohr,

Touching God

2011-08-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

The following is an excerpt from the sermon, "Prayers for Travel – Yom Kippur 5758 (1997)" by James F. Brulé, from his Maggidic Blog.

I’m always hoping to bump into God, to encounter the wonders of the spirit from day to day. I like getting that little shiver up my spine that tells me something special just happened, or is about to happen. I like being reminded of the mystery of life, of the gift of beauty.

There’s [a] place I’d like us to visit: it’s August, in the Catskills. We’re at Kutz Camp for Rabbinic Aide training. Next to our dorm is a small, quiet lake, surrounded by trees and pavilions built for study or prayer. For a service in one of those pavilions, my roommate decides to teach us all to blow shofar. Taking out a long, curled ram’s horn, he tells us: “The shofar is just a vehicle for transmitting your prayers to God, and the person actually blowing it is just the engine. Whenever the shofar is blown, everyone in hearing should imagine their prayers being channeled up through the shofar to God; whoever is blowing it must be neutral, just the tool of the congregation.”

We follow his instructions and stand in a circle, eyes closed, holding hands, and begin to pray silently, imagining that our prayers are like wisps of smoke, swirling around inside the circle. Suddenly the shofar sounds, and they are caught up in a huge updraft and blasted heavenward. The shofar sounds and sounds, and it seems as if our very souls are passing through it and touching God.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav, vitzivanu lishmo-ah kol shofar.

Blessed are You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, Who hallows us with choices, and invites us to hear the sound of the shofar.

Touching God. How unimaginable, and yet how real. Now that I’ve helped blow that shofar, I can never hear another one without getting that special shiver. God has touched the shofar for me, and it will never sound the same again. But do I have to wait to hear a shofar to find God?

It’s quite a journey to take, these visits to holy moments. We can make the landscape familiar by practice — going over and over the map, as it were, highlighting familiar spots with prayers, mental images and personal acts. And once we’ve started bumping into God, it won’t be such a rare event anymore — still special of course, still holy — but one we can repeat more and more easily. It might happen when we see a tree’s leaves turned brilliant colors, or a smile on the face of a friend, or the sob of a relative as we hold them in their time of need.

And then we’ll begin to learn the real value of bringing God into the world. For once God touches our world, it changes in a way that we can’t forget: God’s Presence moves us not only to pray, but to act; not only to be healed, but to heal; not only to experience joy, but to create joy. In short, we become God’s partner in creation, making this world better for all of us, family or stranger, wounded or healing, always searching or always discovering.

All we need is a little practice, a little prayer, and a little wonder.

Baruch Avinu, kulanu k’echad, b’or panecha, ki b’or panecha na-tata lanu, Adonai Eloheinu, torat chayim, v’a-havat chesed, u-tzedakah uv-racha, v’rachamim, v’chayim v’shalom.

Bless us, our Creator, one and all, with the light of Your Presence; for by that light, oh God, you have revealed to us the law of life: to love kindness and justice and mercy, to seek blessing, life and peace.

Reposted with the kind permission of the author.

Shofar does not make a Jew

2011-08-19T07:40:00.000-07:00

"The Shofar blast neither makes nor unmakes a Jew."

Nahum Sokolow, "Baruch Spinoza," tr Avukah Annual, 1932, page 730 (From A Treasury of Jewish Quotations, Joseph L. Baron)

The comment refers to the shofar blown in the excommunication of Spinoza. It is also a reminder to us that, while hearing shofar is a mitzvah, it alone does not make us Jewish.

Shofar Sounding at Jewish Weddings

2011-08-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

Shofar Sounding at Jewish Weddings

Arthur L. Finkle

When someone sent an e-mail asking me to sound the shofar at her wedding, I responding, “Are you serious!” She was.

The facts were that she was an Israeli from Herzliya (suburb of north of Tel Aviv) who was marrying in June 2011. She heard the shofar sound at a wedding in the Tel Aviv area, where one-third of Israel’s population resides. Secular in upbringing, when she heard the low primordial, atavistic tonality of the Yemenite shofar, she was transfixed. From that point on, she desired a shofar sounding at her own wedding.

In the meantime, I visited Israel and asked if shofar sounding at a wedding was customary. Surprised that it was, I asked exactly what the shofar was to do and when.

With this knowledge gleaned from the Israeli’s, we met a month before the special occasion with her intended husband, an American who practices law in the sites and in Israel. We decided the shofar to be sounded:

· At the beginning of the ceremony to proclaim the blessed event

· At the aisle procession of the intended bride

· After the glass is broken to end the ritual

At the day of the wedding, at a scenic Golf Course, I coordinated everything (cues) from the wedding coordinator and the officiating Rabbi.

At the beginning, on the Yemenite shofar, I sound a tekiah – to get everyone attention that the wedding ritual was to begin. (It worked.)

I, myself, shed a tear when the shevarim announced the kallah (bethrothed).

After the cup was broken, I sounded a tekiah gedolah (short as requested).

A wedding is a festive occasion. The happy couple was appreciative. The guests (70 of them) treated me that a rock star. They took my picture with the majestic shofar (although they did not ask for my signature).

Significance

There is nothing on the Code of Jewish Law, as amended by the Mishnah Berurah that mandates a shofar at a wedding. However, music is not forbidden.

I have found no mention of shofar sounding at Jewish wedding, after extensive research in Mishnah, Talmud, Rishonim, Acharonim and modern commentators.

However, I can guest what the significance may be, particularly for Israeli’s. When the Wailing Wall was recurred in 1967, the secular Israeli Army secured a shofar sounder to proclaim the Western Wall was now in the hands of those who venerated it. Subsequently, other Israeli events have had the shofar heralding something important.

Why Was the Shofar Historically Sounded?

Biblical references to shofars (Hebrew for trumpets, rams’ horns, coronets, etc. are extensive throughout the Biblical literature. Although there are more than 70 times in the Bible mentioning the shofar and scores more mentioning trumpets sand horns. I submit a small listing indicating its uses:

· The ram's horn, the shofar, is a reminder of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and God's provision of a ram as a substitute. (Genesis 22:13) In other words, the shofar is authentically Jewish.

· The LAW (Torah) was given to Israel with the sound of the shofar from heaven. (Exodus 19:19) Again, the shofar a signal that the Jewish people chose to receive the law and are bound by its ethical precepts.

· The shofar was blown at the start of the year of Jubilee on Yom Teruah. (Leviticus 25:9-10). One of the very few Holy Temple rites is the sounding of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah.

· The trumpet (shofar) was blown to announce the beginning of the festival. Numbers (10:10). A signal that something special was occurring.

· Israel conquered in the battle of Jericho with the blast of the shofars. (Joshua 6:20). The shofar was utilized in war similar to that of a bugle to signal differing military TACTICS. It also was used as psychological warfare (to confuse and this terrify the enemy). Gideon and his army confused and scattered the enemy with the shofar. (Joshua 7:15-22)

· The shofar was blown to signal the assembly of the Israelites during war. (Judges 3:27; 6:34; II Samuel 20:1; Jer. 4:19; 51:27; Neh. 4:20; Amos 3:6).

· Seven shofars were blown before the ark of God. (1Chr. 15:24, 2Sam. 6:15). Signaling awe, relevance and spiritual qualities, the shofar sounding announced the place wherein the Creator resided. Indeed, in Ps 47:5, the shofar serves as a reminder that God is sovereign.

· Shofars were blown as a warning. (Ezekiel 33:3-6, Numbers 10:9, Isaiah 18:3)

· The shofar was used for the coronation of kings. (I Kings 1:34, 39).

· The shofar will be blown at the time of Messiah. (Isaiah 27: 13; Isaiah 27:13; Zech. 9:14.)

Post Biblical Uses of the Shofar

Rosh Hashana

The Rabbi’s left the shofar as the focal point of the religious year (Rosh Hashanah, also known as the Day of the Blast). See Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, Code of Jewish Law (Simon 129), and the Mishnah Berurah (20th century) 586:1 et seq. Indeed, a full month before, the shofar is sounded at morning services (except of the Sabbath) to remind parishioners that Rosh Hashanah is coming soon and it is the time of repentance.

Sounding Shofar on Yom Kippur

The Mishna Berurah provides in Section 623:12, Neilah Service,

One should blow the Shofar the sounds tekiah, shevarim teruah, tekiah, although there are authorities who say that one should blow one tekiah counts. The Shofar should be sounded after the community prayer has said the kaddish following the Neilah prayer. Some localities have adopted the practice of having the Shofar sounded after the kaddish prayer.

The sounding of the shofar on Yom Kippur refers back to the days of the Holy Temple when every 50 years, a shofar would sound announcing the Jubilee year. During the Jubilee (Yovel) years, all will return to their land, Jewish salves will be manumitted (freed). The shofar is blown at the end of the Neilah service on Yom Kippur.

There is a striking similarity between the shofar sounds of the Jubliee Year and Rosh Hashanah, in terms of their reminders to persons of ownership and people in general to shake their lethargy and on Rosh HaShanah—to remind one of their sins and repentance in order to return to God for salvation. (Rosh HaShanah, 3:5.)

http://shavualshavua.blogspot.com/2010/05/behar-bechukosai-5770.html. Accessed October, 2009.

Another thought is to associate the Jubilee Year with the ideas of freedom, equality, and justice. One commentary links ‘Teruah’ with ’Re’ut,’ or friendship, implying the Jubilee Year institutes the new beginning of quality Among humankind forgiving debts and freeing Jewish slaves. As well as for “all its inhabitants.”

Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof,’ (Lev 25:10, explaining the Jubilee year and also inscribed on the Liberty Bell).

Freedom was proclaimed for servant and master alike (“all of its inhabitants”), reminding us that we can be enslaved by our possessions, and true freedom requires putting material desires into the context of an ethical and compassionate life. The Yovel communicates light of God upon us in order to Return to God (no longer encumbered with mundane affairs). It also returns land returns to its source, providing for a new wholeness.

Accordingly both Yovel and Rosh Hashanah encourage the opportunity to connect – for all humankind.

Accordingly, the linking of Teruah- a primal shofar sounding- and Re’ut, friendship- is so profound. It reminds us that what sets us free is focusing on people, not on objects. Indeed, we can never be fully free to become loving friends if we are oriented more towards ownership of things than service to others.

http://rabbineal.wordpress.com. Accessed October, 2009.

Sabbath Signal

In Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 35b. the commentators mention shofar blasts to announce the Sabbath. Apparently, the shofar sounds were the vehicle ro remind workers to return form the fields to observe the Sabbath. There were a rituals of how many blasts at which hour (disputed as to the exactness in the Talmud). R. Yishmael indicated that: “We blow six shofar blasts on Sabbath eve right before the Sabbath begins.” He comments on three. The first series of shofar blasts tell people in the field to cease all work.
Workers closer to the city must wait for those further away returning together.

At the second blast , stores may remain open with merchandise on removable doors outside until the second blast after which the doors are removed and the stores closed. At the third blast, pots and hot water for the evening meal are taken off the oven and we are prepared for the morning meal.

http://dafyomi.shemayisrael.co.il/shabbos/points/sh-ps-035.htm

In Taanis 36a, the question arises as to whether a shofar can be carried on the Sabbath. However, this question is a non-starter because the shofar is sounded PRIOR to the Sabbath.

It should be noted that social history points to the shofar’s sounding for prayers in the Pale of the Settlement and prior. An artifact may well be the “Shul Knocker” attached to each house to be activated by the town shamas (Town Crier) to remind residents that services will shortly begin. The “Shul Knocker” interestingly is shaped as a shofar. See http://www.hearingshofar.com/

Fasts

Bamidbar 1:9 provides tht fasts are instituted when threaqts to the community, genenrally lack of rain. This obligaton, however, only applied in the Temple Era. However, the Rabbi’s instituted a special ceremony at which the shofar is sounded when the community is in peril. (Pri Megadim, quoted in Mishnah Berurah 576:1).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/35012646/Sounding-the-Trumpets

As was taught in the Baylonian Talmud Ta’anit 15a and 16a-b, the procedure for a fast day called because of severe drought involved bringing the ark out of the synagogue and into the public thoroughfare. The elders of the town would speak. The prayer service included the usual 18 blessings of the amidah prayer with an additional six blessing inserted. The Mishnah continues with the social history that, Rabbi Halafta (Scholar of the first and second centuries ), together with Rabbi Hanina ben Tradyon, (second century) and Eleazar ben PeraṬa I, established ritualistic rules to adapt to the destruction of the Holy Temple and to assert the role of prayer as a substitute for Temple sacrifices.

They instituted the 18 Blessing prayer (amidah) and ended the service with a series of shofar blasts. The Mishnah concludes, however, that when the Sages heard that this had been done by Rabbi Halafta and Rabbi Hanina ben Tradyon, they objected, arguing that this procedure was only appropriate for use in the Temple.

The commentators continued this argument but circumscribed it within the context of the specific shofar sounds.

The R’ID (Lemberg, 1861–69) said that the problem stemmed from their blowing the shofar outside of the Holy Temple, trumpets sounded in times of need.

The Rambam (1135-1204) explains that in the Temple the shofar was sounded between each of the additional blessings, while outside the Temple it was only supposed to be blown at the very end of the service.

The Ge'onim (625-1100) argue that the problem was the way the shofar was sounded. In the Temple the tradition was to blow a series of varying sounds - Teki'ah-Teru'ah-Teki'ah - while outside of the mikdash a Teki'ah - a single, simple blast - was appropriate.

(See http://www.steinsaltz.org/learning.php?pg= Daf_Yomi&articleId=517)

Is Shofar Sounding Appropriate at a Wedding?

After taking part in a wedding ceremony and seeing the quests’ reactions in this solemn, bitter-sweet, tender and loving ceremony, I claim that shofar sounding at a wedding is appropriate. The sounds signal that something special is going to occur. It signals reverence, majesty, noble and royal.

And it is authentically Jewish.

Priestly Blessing Emerging from Shofar

2011-07-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

Gravestone, Siret, Romania. Date obscured. (Page 55)

At first glance, the hands giving the Priestly Blessing appear to extend from sleeves, as if from the Priest's robes. Closer examination, however, reveals that the sleeves are also stylized shofarot. The bird between the base of the horns spouts flowers, "with a rosette (rose of Sharon) in the center of the bouquet -- a symbol of the Jewish people and a poetic rendition of a benediction."

What a beautiful image, expressing the blessings that we receive from hearing shofar.

Here is another shofar image from the same book:

Beth Israel Synagogue, Fremont, OH, early 20th Century (Page 120)

The Hebrew beneath the Tablets of the Law is Psalms 98:6, "With trumpets and sound of the horn shout ye before the King, the LORD." בַּחֲצֹצְרוֹת, וְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר הָרִיעוּ, לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ יְהוָה -- reminding us of the shofar heard when the Law was given.

Images and quote from Gilded Lions and Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to the Carousal, Jewish Carving Traditions, Murray Zimiles, Google Books.

Teshuvah on Sesame Street

2011-07-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

"The Sticky Shofar," Shalom Sesame pamphlet, Behrman House,

Did Early Humans Voices Sound like Shofar?

2011-07-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

Listen at 1:56 in this report from All Things Considered. Is it possible that the voice of shofar calls to us because it sounds like the memory of early human speech, a memory that still lives in our unconsciousness?

Marguerite Humeau's device for reconstructing the voice of "LUCY, Autralopithecus Afarensis" with resonance cavities, larynx with vibrating vocal cords, windpipe, air compressor, programmed breathing system. Image Credit: Stuart Bailes

"Lantern" comes from "Lamp Horn"

2011-07-23T16:53:00.000-07:00

Internally illuminated kudu horn shofar.

Before the widespread availability of glass or the invention of synthetic plastics, horn was valued for its translucency. Thin sheets of horn glazing were used to to protect a candle or other flame against wind or spray.

I am thinking about this after seeing photos of a contemporary lamp made from a kudu horn shofar. The shofar was fabricated by Maurice Kamins, a master shofar crafter. He carefully removed most of the thickness of the horn by grinding and polishing, leaving only a thin, translucent shell. The thin shofar wall vibrates when the horn is blown, modulating the timbre of the instrument compared to blowing a thick-walled horn. He used an LED "rope" as the illumination source.

Maurice's illuminated shofar reminds me of "seeing the voice of shofar" at Sinai.

Here are several examples of lamp horns from the past:

Reproduction: folding lantern. Polished copper reflectors and horn glazing.

18th or early 19th century tin lantern with horn windows. The broken pane below shows the thinness of the horn sheet and its luster.

I suspect that most lantern horn was bovine; cow horn grows in layers that can be split into thinner sheets. Sheep horn has a more homogeneous structure, a consideration that factors into Talmudic discussions about which types of keren (horn) can be used for shofar. Here are instructions for forming horn glazing panes, from Using and working with Horn:

Making a Lanthorn

1. Take the lightest, translucent, hollow portion of an ox or steer horn (these being the thinnest)
2. Soak this in water for a month
3. Saw it, split it and press it into plates
4. Take a short, edge bladed round nosed knife called a "lift" and use it to delaminate the layers (Purportedly up to 12 layers can be gotten from a thick horn).
5. The Horn may be clarified by coating both sides with tallow, and pressing it between hot irons, thinning it further.
6. The finished leaves are scraped with steel scrapers, buffed on a polishing wheel, then slightly moistened with vinager and a buffing compound, finally being polished by a buffing compound applied by the palm of the hand (Historically the horns were buffed with charcoal and water applied with part of an old beaver hat - the final polish being given by wood ashes applied with the hand).

Horn plates and leaves should be stored at an even temperature lest they become speckled and mildewed.

Shofar chandelier commissioned by Zion Global Ministries in Cincinnati, Ohio
Artist: Daniel Schreiber. Photo: Jennifer Dunlap

Shofar against Holocaust

2011-07-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Virtual Judaica Auction Lot 28722

Maimonides, among other sages, say we must blow shofar at times of crisis. Here are several examples of calls for shofar to be blown in response to the holocaust.

This flier is a call for general prayer in all synagogues with blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) to prevent the threatened annihilation. The flier is dated 19 Adar I 5700 (28 Feb. 1940). The massive and brutal destruction of Polish Jewry had become widely known. It was issued in Jerusalem by Chief Rabbis Herzog and Uziel.

Virtual Judaica Auction Lot 28408

This next flier was published i Jerusalem in 1943. "On hearing the bad news that is coming to us from the lands of the east, and from the center of Europe...about the concentration camps...it is imcumbent upon us ...to raise our voices, the voice of Yaakov, before our Father in Heaven to plead for mercy for them.

"The Kolel Shomrei HeHomot , under the leadership of R. Akiva Sofer, calls out with this to all the residents of our land, and especially to the members of our Kolel to gather on Thursday, the 20th day of Shevat, 5713 (1943) at 2 in the afternoon...and to pour out prayer by reciting the book of Psalms as a group, and by the blowing of the shofar....and it should be the will [of G-d] that our prayers will be accepted and ... we will be brought of the trouble to relief, and from darkness to light, and to the complete redemption...."

Shofar T-Shirts without Soul

2011-07-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

Elsewhere on this blog is an extensive collection of T-shirts with shofar-related themes. They illustrate a range of attitudes about shofar and reflect a variety of opinions. Some of them have high artistic quality, some express a profound religion or spiritual insight, and others provide tribal or cultural identity. Unfortunately, many of them reflect little more than commercialism.

Small Shirt Printing Machine

In the 1960s, when T-shirts with slogans or images became popular items of casual culture or political statements, images were applied by silk screen. Making the screen, applying the ink, and letting the ink dry was quite a process, especially if hand-made in limited quantities. Someone going to that effort had to think about what they were trying to create and why someone would wear the shirt. Now, images are applied by high speed machines that operate like photo-copiers or ink-jet printers. Images are created by standard graphic design software, and there is almost no per piece cost difference between printing each shirt with a unique design or printing the same design on many shirts.

One result of this versatility is that a T-shirt producer can create a standard design, then alter it quickly by simply changing a single word. There is no inventory cost, because a shirt isn't produced until it is purchased. This customization has advantages. However, it also leads to the potential for inane shirts that may speak to a purchaser on a whim, but that has little to contribute to my investigation of T-shirts as a window into attitudes about shofar.

For example, the shirt at the top of this blog could just as easily say "Live without Xylophone..." or "Live without Racquet Ball..." The vendor, a website called Ikakoo.com, offers 96 designs with the word shofar, and each can be printed on a variety of shirts or other paraphernalia. While a few of the designs are cute (see below), most of them do not have any connection to the experience I have of shofar.

When I started collecting images of shofar T-shirts, I thought I would try to collect all I could find. But I am now refocusing,and will only post T-shirts that speak to me in a shirt-soulful way.

A Shofar's Psalm

2011-07-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

Several Psalms refer to shofar. But as I read this one, Psalms 78: 1-8, I image hearing it coming from shofar. Shofar says:

Give ear, my people, to my teaching,
turn your ear to what I say.
I will expound a theme,
hold forth on the lessons of the past,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not withhold them from their children,
telling the coming generation
the praises of the Lord and His might,
and the wonders he performed.
He established a decree in Jacob,
ordained a teaching in Israel,
charging our fathers
to make them known to their children,
that a future generation might know
--children yet to be born*--
and in turn tell their children
that they might put their confidence in God,
and not forget God's greet deeds,
but observe his commandments...

* Shofar says this is a reference to shofar blasts at Mount Sinai where, according to tradition, generations yet unborn also heard shofar.

JPS 1999 translation.

Horn Core Pits in Ancient London

2011-07-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Continuing my fascination with the history of horning, recent excavations in London reveal the scope of the horner's industry.

After the Romans settled in today’s London, Aldgate surroundings (eastwards from the city wall) were turned into a cemetery. But in the Post-Medieval period, Prescot Street was transformed from an essentially rural situation on the fringe of the City, into a densely populated central district. Among the on-going archaeological excavations at this site, a horn core pit has been discovered, showing the intense industrial activity in the area.

The pit itself consists of a cylindrical void with a perimeter structure built with animal horns as a cheaper alternative to bricks. These kind of industrial memories are often found in areas known for small-scale industry, such as ivory-working, tanning, bell founding and glass making.[...] These pits are sometimes used as soak-aways.” (www.deconcrete.org/2010/10/30/horn-walls/)

Underlying the basement slabs were large deposits of Post-Medieval soils that had been truncated by two large soak-aways and one small, and a horn core pit constructed from the horn cores of long horn cattle. This is significant because ‘horning’ was once an important industry in the area, centered on Petticoat Lane, c. 700m to the north of the site. ‘Horners’ were skilled craftsmen who worked horn from cattle to create a range of artifacts from drinking vessels to buttons, and from panels in lanterns (when sliced very thinly) to tool handles.

The waste from this procedure, the horn core, was not discarded, and was frequently reused as a lining for round pits with vertical sides dug deep into the ground. The horn cores were inter-woven to offer a degree stability to the structure, and the pit was then used for the disposal of domestic waste. They essentially performed the same function as the soak-aways, with waste material being dumped into them so that the waste water would drain away into the natural gravels below, while the remaining solids were broken down over time by bacterial action. (www.lparchaeology.com/prescot/journal/field-officers-report-for-week-ending-28th-march-2008)

As I am also an architect practicing as a materials consultant, I am fascinated at the recycling of an industrial "waste" as a masonry element.

Photos from www.lparchaeology.com/prescot/galleries/photo-diary-for-25th-march-2008/set/72157604245105892.

Thermally-Embossed Horn

2011-07-10T12:07:00.000-07:00

My passion for shofar has lead to an interest in the fabrication of horn. A visit to the Plastics Historical Society website has inspired thoughts about the use of thermal-forming to emboss decorative designs into a shofar.

These 17th Century examples indicate the level of detail that could be achieved. The methods for producing this quality of work has been lost along with so much of the horner's art.

Perhaps a new generation of artisan will develop techniques for embossing the surface of shofarot.

Elijah Announcing Messiah through the Ages

2011-07-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Maḥzor in town hall of Frankfort-on-the-Main


Mantua Haggadah (1560) Courtesy of the Braginsky Collection

Venice Haggadah (1609)

Sigmund Forst, Entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem, 1965

Mark Podwal, Shalom, 1978

In the two examples shown above, Elijah is depicted blowing a shofar and accompanying the Messiah, riding his ass, with Jerusalem serving as the setting for the advent of the Messiah. On the left, illustrator Sigmund Forst uses thick bold lines, enlarging the figure of Elijah to super-human proportions, hovering in the sky over the suffering figure of the Messiah. Mark Podwal, in contrast, using fine lines and a rounded structure, creates a visionary appearance, reducing Elijah’s proportions and representing him as an escort walking before a noble Messiah; these small images are joined by additional miniature symbols such as a lion and a lamb (Is. 11), pomegranates and hands in a gesture of the blessing for peace. The primary element in Podwal’s illustration is the gates of Jerusalem, a secondary element for Forst. Thus, these two artists attribute divergent meanings to Elijah’s image as herald of the Messiah: Forst, a refugee from the Nazis, expresses the yearning for an end to the sorrows of Exile, while Podwal, in the 1970’s, looks forward to a future characterized by peace. (www.tali-virtualmidrash.org.il/ArticleEng.aspx?art=14 2011-Jul-09)

Shofar Note Variations

2011-07-09T16:45:00.001-07:00

Shofar Note Variations

Arthur L. Finkle

There are several note variations beginning with the Mishnah (200 CE) when the Teruah note was argued over. The Rabbi's did not remember if the notes in the Temple were nine staccato notes (yelp) or three slurring notes (cry). Three short, straight blasts - what we commonly refer to as shevarim; Nine (9) very short, staccato blasts - what we commonly refer to as teruah; A combination of both of the above sounds - a shevarim- teruah compound.

To satisfy all of the above opinions, the Rabbis established that the three sets of tekios be blown in three different ways, alternating the teruah sound in each set. Thus we blow tekiah shevarim-teruah tekiah (TaSHRaT) three times; tekiah shevarim tekiah (TaRaT) three times; tekiah teruah tekiah (TaSHaT) three times. All together that adds up to thirty different blasts - eighteen tekios, three shevarim-teruahs, three shevarim and three teruahs. This is the minimum number of blasts that every adult male is required to hear on Rosh Hashanah. These are called tekios d'myushav, since the congregation is permitted to sit while they are being blown. In practice, however, it is universally accepted to stand during these tekios. (Mishnah: Rosh Hashanah 33b)

Further, the Mishnah Berurah refers to community practice. See Mishnah Berurah 585:4 (14) (18); 590:4 (20); 596:1 (1),(2); 597:2(5), among other examples.

Moreover, Rabbenu Tam (b. 1140, Rabbeinu Tam, R. Ya’akov B. Me’ir (grandsons of Rashi) introduce the custom (followed by East European communities) that the tekiah, shevarim, Teruah, tekiah shall be sounded three times each in the Malkuyot, Zichronot and Shoforot sections of the Rosh Hashanah service. (EJ 349)

Probably the oldest know Shofar calls are contained in the Codex Adler form the 13th century, which resides in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary (No. 932, folio 21b). Other medieval notations are found on the late 14th century manuscript, the Codex Shem, No. 74 (in the Parma library) and in Juan de Gera's Mahzor (Venice, 1587, p. 190)

Ashkenazic and Sephardic Differences

There is a basic distinction between Ashkenazic (European) and Sephardic (derived from Spanish Jewry). Specifically the Teruah has a note at the end that is an octave higher than the nine staccato notes. (Encl. Judaica, p. 356)

Lithuanian Version

A Lithuanian Version allows for the shevarim elongating its last slurring note and then finishing it with a tonal note. The Teruah begins with a grace note to the tonal; then nine staccato notes, ending with a long note a fourth above. The tekiah gedolah consists of three long but different note beginning with lowermost note.

Although the notes usually rise in thirds, the practice of the London Western Synagogue is to rise the notes on fourths. (EJ, p. 359) Indeed, Sir Edward Elgar uses the Shofar call in "The Apostles," although the interval is consistently in sixths. Thus, he must have heard the Shofar call played elsewhere.

Yemenite Jews

The Yemenite Jews have huge Shofarot, sometimes a yard long with a triple bend. However, their sounds are almost identical to the Ashkenazim. (EJ, p360)