What is a Shofar?

Sound the shofar! When Jericho fell, it was the shofar and the shouts of the children of Israel that brought down the City's walls. Tracing its origins back more than five thousand years, the shofar is one of the oldest wind instruments in recorded history. Today, the shofar has a special significance and place in the lives and culture of Jewish people.

What is a shofar?

The shofar is unique in that it is a musical instrument typically created from the horn of a kosher male animal. According to Rabbi Moshe Gallante II's Elef Hamagen, the horn preferences delineate with the curved ram horn, curved other sheep horn, curved other animal horn and straight ram's horn being the order of most preferred to least. If non-kosher animal horns are used, there must be a special bracha or blessing. Still cow horns or antlered animal horns are not preferred.

The shofar has a unique shape that is the result of the natural horn being flatten and heated. Once hollowed, the horn may resemble a streamlined cornucopia or a series of waves. Depending on Jewish school of tradition, Askkenazic or Sephardic, the shofar may or may not have a carved mouthpiece.

The shofar also serves as a symbol of the Jewish people and their covenant with G-d. The call of the shofar represents breath and life. The bend of the horn represents man's sin. The use of ram's horn recalls Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own son as part of his obedience to G-d and G-d's ultimate offering of the ram as an alternative sacrifice.

The Types of shofar Used in the Temple

According to the Mishna, there are two different forms of shofar used in the Temple. The first type, made of ibex horn and ornamented with a bell and gold, was sounded at Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and during the Jubilee (Yovel) Days. The other shofar was made of a ram's horn ornamented with silver. This special shofar sounded on fast days. After the destruction of the Temple, the use of the shofar began to be exclusively used for religious ceremonies and events.

The Sounds of the shofar

Played like a French horn, the hollowed shofar sounds vary from plain deep notes, treble trills, moaning sounds, and staccato beats. During rituals, three basic sounds are emitted from the shofar- the tekiah (bass), teruah (treble), and shevarim (three connected short sounds.) The shofar is blown in a sequence noted by a blend of the three sounds.

Use of the shofar

Rosh Hashanah

The shofar is often considered the symbol of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). Taking place on the first day of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah represents the new year for people, animals and legal contracts. Considered both a day of judgment and the day of the creation of man, Rosh Hashanah is marked by a day of rest and by the sounding of the shofar (four times.)

Yom Kippur

As it had in ancient times, the shofar is significant to the celebration of Yom Kippur also called the Day of Atonement. Taking place on the 10^th day of Tishrei, Yom Kippur is recognized as a day of fasting and rest. Since the blowing of the shofar is considered a call for repentance, on this Day, Jewish people around the world seek to atone for their sins. The special horn is sounded at the end of the fast.

The Month of Elul

The month of Elul is a time for preparation, because it precedes Tishrei and the coming High Holy Holidays. As part of the preparation, a Jewish person seeks to reconnect with oneself. The shofar is then blown each day of Elul, except the Sabbath. This is done as a reminder to the Jewish person of their history, traditions and covenant with G-d.

New Moon, Full Moon and More

From the ancient texts, Book of Numbers and Psalms, the ritual horn should be sounded for solemn festivals and the New Moon. In older traditions, the shofar was blown to signal sacrifices, call people to assemble and even warn the people of coming disaster. As in the case of Joshua and the walls of Jericho, it was used to signal the claiming of the City.

Not on Shabbat

As such, the shofar is not sounded on Shabbat. Even if Rosh Hashanah, which requires the mitzvah of sounding the shofar, falls on Shabbat, the special horn is not blown. While the practice seems Rabbinical in nature, it may relate to the prohibition against labor during the Shabbat.

Sound the shofar! It is more than just a ram's horn! The shofar is both an important symbol of Jewish culture and an instrument that heralds significant festivals, covenants and beliefs of the Jewish people.