|
|||||||
The Shofar is a holy ancient
instrument used to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and the
Jubilee Year. This website tells the history, practical techniques and Jewish
law of sounding the Shofar. (short)
The Shofar is a holy ancient instrument used to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It is also sounded during the Jubilee Year on Yom Kippur. This website tells the history, practical techniques and Jewish law of sounding the Shofar.
Blast From the Past
“Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it”. George Santayana (1863-1952) American philosopher and poet Early Horn Uses Pre-historic humankind utilized whatever was useful in their environment. Wherever the primitive lived, they utilized the available materials to signal. Those in the Indian and Caribbean Seas used the Conch shell. The Australian aborigines, the didjeridoo (a bamboo hollowed out by fire ants). Hindus also utilize the Conch Trumpet. In ancient China, the primitives played the Yu – a reed wind instrument made of bamboo. Where is the Shofar in the Bible? Commentators have tracked the word “Shofar” in 7 parts of the Hebrew Scripture: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua Chronicles and 5-psalms In the first five books of Moses, Shofar is cited: Exodus 19:12-14 13 . . . Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain." In Leviticus 23 and 24, there is a priestly commandment: "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts" (Lev. 23:24). There are references to the Shofar in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, that Gabriel will announce the Messiah with the sound the Shofar. (16;Matthew 24:29-31; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:51-52 . Temple Sacrifices The burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offering composed the basic sacrificial system of Israel. These sacrifices were commonly used in conjunction with each other and were carried out on both an individual and a corporate basis. The sacrificial system taught the necessity of dealing with sin and, at the same time, demonstrated that God had provided a way for dealing with sin.  1. Burnt offering (olah). The burnt offering of certain animals was offered both in the morning and in the evening, as well as on special days such as the Sabbath, the new moon, and the yearly feasts (Numbers 28-29; 2 Kings 16:15; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 2 Chronicles 31:3; Ezra 3:3-6). 2. Grain offering (minchah; “meat offering” in KJV). An offering from the harvest of the land is the only type that required no bloodshed. (Leviticus 2:13) 3. Peace offering . This consisted of the sacrifice of a bull, cow, lamb, or goat that had no defect. As with the burnt offering, the individual laid a hand on the animal and killed it. The priests, in turn, sprinkled the blood around the altar. The priest received the breast and the right thigh (Leviticus 7:28-36), but the offerer was given much of the meat to have a meal of celebration (Leviticus 7:11-21).
4. Sin offering was designed to deal with sin that was committed
unintentionally. The sacrifice varied according to who committed the sin.
5. Guilt offering. This is hard to distinguish from the sin offering
(Leviticus 4-5). In Leviticus 5:6-7, the guilt offering is called the sin
offering.
Interestingly the sacrifice system is found in the New Testament. Hebrews
portrays Jesus as the sinless high priest who offered himself up as a
sacrifice for sinners (Leviticus 7:27). The book ends with an encouragement
to offer sacrifices of praise to God through Jesus.
After the Romans destroyed the Holy Temple, the sacrificial cult terminated.
During this time, moreover, the early Church also disbanded the sacrificial
rites because Christianity began to differ materially form Judaism.
The Sounds 
Thereafter, two Priests stood atop of a marble stand near the altar signaling
trumpet blasts: tekiah, tekiah and teruah. A long note followed a series of
short notes; then another long note.
In the Mishnah (gathering the laws of the Bible, written in 200 CE by great-grandchildren of those who worshipped at The Temple in Jerusalem) there is a difference of opinion when reciting the manner of Shofar sounding in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Sages indicate that on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) Two Shofars and one trumpet are sounded at the sacrifices. The remainder of the year, two trumpets and one Shofar. There are others who contend that the Shofar was sounded only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the Jubilee Year (every 50-years when debts and servitude is forgiven). The fact is that whatever was the system was forgotten in three generations. There is also a dispute as to what the Shofar sounds should be. The Sages agreed on the “Teki'ah" blast) but differed in “Teruah" note. Some of the Rabbi’s indicated that Teruah was 9 staccato sounds; others, three weeping wounds. The Rabbis compromised by adding all both sounds in the service. Reasons for Sounding the Shofar
The Saadiah Gaon (10th century CE, head of a famous Babylonian university)
offers ten reasons, two of which are cited below:
(1) as a reminder to be faithful to the teachings of the Torah, since the Shofar was heard at the giving of the Torah;
(2) as a reminder of the prophets, the teachers of righteousness, who raised
their voices desire the Shofar to touch our consciences (Abudarham
[Jerusalem, 1959 ed.], 269f.).
|
|||||||
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Shofar Resource Page
Ceaseless Sound of the Shofar
Ceaseless Sound of the Shofar
Arthur
L. Finkle
The great Hassidic
master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev (Michael Chusid’s descendent), taught:
There are those who hear the Shofar
on Rosh HaShana, and then continue to hear the Shofar every day of the year.
But there are those, on an even higher level, who heard the Shofar at the
Revelation at Mt. Sinai, and who continue to hear that Shofar every day of
their lives.
Rabbi Marc Angel http://www.jewishideas.org/angel-shabbat/shofar-mt-sinai-thoughts-parashat-yitro-februa
What did this mystical master mean? He declared that those who hear the Shofar as a Warning, stirring, a wake up call, a call to repentance and an alarm will continue to hear this sound throughout the year in terms of possessing the attributes that the Shofar bestirs.
What did this mystical master mean? He declared that those who hear the Shofar as a Warning, stirring, a wake up call, a call to repentance and an alarm will continue to hear this sound throughout the year in terms of possessing the attributes that the Shofar bestirs.
For those hearing the ceaseless
sound of the Shofar in a different spiritual dimension have possessed these
attributes from the time of Mount Sinai (when God presented revelation and a
guide of principles b which to measure your moral life) to today and for
evermore.
Indeed, the mystics believe that
Rosh Hashanah, the feast of the blasts of the Shofar, takes away some of the
light of the world to regenerate souls to achieve powers that they never would
have achieved had there not been the shofar blasts.
Jewish
Mysticism has been of major historical importance in the development of Western
Esoteric traditions since the Renaissance. The phenomenon of "Christian
Kabbalah" is a central phenomenon, reciproly
influencing Jewish mysticism in the modern period.
In
this system, the heavenly imperative is sensed even though not having a
physical presence.
Another
chasisdic teaching is that, although there are differing sounds from the
Shofar, (short staccato sounds and other
extended, unbroken sounds), the Torah tells us to do teru’ah on Rosh
Hashanah, which by its word, suggests
making broken sounds, or sounds that break obstacles.
Yet,
with regard to the Great Shofar of the future Redemption, it says “On that day
the Great Shofar will be takia,” alluding to the unbroken, drawn-out
sound called tekiah. This is a sound of strength and confidence, rather
than brokenness. “Tekiah” comes from the word teka, which can
mean physical intimacy or coupling. (Bavli Talmud, Yevamos, 54a.) Therefore
it’s a sound that “gathers” and unites.
http://iyyun.com/teachings/holidays/sounds-of-the-shofar-explored
In the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem, the shofar was blown even on the Sabbath because there the state of
bitul (neglect) so penetrating that there was no separateness at all.
Everyone’s existence simply expressed Divine desire, whatever it may be—to act
or not to act was the same.
.http://iyyun.com/teachings/holidays/sounds-of-the-shofar-explored
What does this say about the Shofar
as an instrumentality of yearning for God’s will? The Shofar, indeed, is a
reminder, a symbol of awareness that there is much more to this world than its
material pleasure and even its hurts. It reminds us of the sublime ecstasy of
revelation and being at one with our Maker.
Shofar as a Temple Musical Instrument
Shofar as a Temple
Musical
The Shofar is the only musical Jewish
musical instrument that survived two millennia in its original form and is
still used to the sounding of the Shofar. Rabbi Saadia Gaon (11th century)
stated that the sound of the Shofar raised awe and emotion in the hearts and
souls of the people. Maimonides interpreted the sounding as reminding humankind
of its duties to God. The mystical Zohar holds that the sound of the Shofar
awakens the Higher Mercy.
The Shofar is the most-mentioned
instrument in the Bible (72 times). It held a special religious and secular
role in the life of the Jewish people. Only Priests and Levites (as Levites) were
allowed to perform the religious function of sounding the Shofar in the Jewish
Commonwealth.
The Shofar is first mentioned in Exodus 19:16 at the
theophany on Sinai. It was used to proclaim the Jubilee Year and the
proclamation of "freedom throughout the land" (Lev. 25:9–10); this
verse is engraved upon the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
When used in the Temple Judah
The Shofar
had several religious roles recorded in the Tanakh (the Bible), such as the
transfer of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Sam. 6:15; Chronicles 15:28); the
announcement of a New Moon (Psalms 81:4); the beginning of the religious New
Year (Num. 29:1; the Day of Atonement (Lev. 25:9); the procession preparatory
to the Feast of Tabernacles (Mishnah Hullin 1:7); the libation ceremony
(Mishnah: RH 4:9); and the Havdalah
ceremony marking the end of a festival (Mishnah, Hullin 1:7)
In
addition, the Shofar had a number of secular roles, such as coronating a king
(2Sam, 5:10; 1 Kings 1:34; 2 Kings 1:13) and signaling in times of war to
assemble troops to attack, to pursue, and to proclaim victory (Num. 10:9;
Judges 6:4; Jeremiah 4:5 and Ezekiel 33:3-6)
Sacrificial Cult
After
King David supervised the building of the first Temple
(1000 BCE), he dedicated holy building as a sanctuary to house the written law
(10 commandments) and to practice the sacrificial cult (which was how people in
the Middle East worshipped.)
The
Sacrificial Ceremony
The
Priests consecrated five different sacrificial types preponderantly involving animals or dough. When the Priests stood on top of the ramp
holding the parts of sacrifice, placing them into the fire as he carried them
up. He then throws the sacrifice into the great fire; he walks over and places
it neatly on the burning logs.
Accompanying
this ritual were a choral group and a small orchestra. Special lyrics and songs
played according the time of the week and the type of sacrifice (the Bible
counts 5 different types of sacrifices in Leviticus 1:1).
Leviticus 1-7 gives the
most detailed description of Israel
1.
Burnt offering (olah). The burnt offering was offered both in the morning and
in the evening, as well as on special days such as the Sabbath, the new moon,
and the yearly feasts (Numbers 28-29; 2 Kings
16:15; 2 Chronicles
2:4; 2 Chronicles
31:3; Ezra 3:3-6).
was defiled (Numbers
6:10-11) required a burnt offering, as well as a sin offering.
The
animal for this sacrifice could be a young bull, lamb, goat, turtledove, or
young
pigeon;
but it had to be a perfect and complete specimen. The type of animal chosen for
this sacrifice seems to be dependent on the offerer's financial ability.
2.
Grain offering (minchah; “meat offering” in KJV). An offering from the harvest
of the land is the only type that required no bloodshed. It was composed of
fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense. Sometimes, this offering was cooked
into cakes prior to taking it to the priest. These cakes, however, had to be
made without leaven. Every grain offering had to have salt in it (Leviticus 2:13), It may have symbolized the recognition of
God's blessing in the harvest by a society based to a large degree on
agriculture. The bringing of a representative portion of the grain harvest was
another outward expression of devotion.
3.
Peace offering . This consisted of the sacrifice of a bull, cow, lamb, or goat
that had no defect. As with the burnt offering, the individual laid a hand on
the animal and killed it. The priests, in turn, sprinkled the blood around the
altar. Only certain parts of the internal organs were burned. The priest
received the breast and the right thigh (Leviticus
7:28-36), but the offerer was given much of the meat to have a meal
of celebration (Leviticus
7:11-21).
4. Sin
offering was designed to deal with sin that was committed unintentionally. The
sacrifice varied according to who committed the sin. If the priest or the
congregation of Israel
5.
Guilt offering. This is hard to distinguish from the sin offering (Leviticus 4-5). In Leviticus 5:6-7,
the guilt offering is called the sin offering. Both offerings also were made
for similar types of sin. The guilt offering was concerned supremely with
restitution. Someone who took something illegally was expected to repay it in
full plus 20 percent of the value and then bring a ram for the guilt offering.
Other instances in which the guilt offering was prescribed included the
cleansing of a leper (Leviticus
14:1), having sexual relations with the female slave of another
person (Leviticus
19:20-22), and for the renewing of a Nazirite vow that had been
broken (Numbers
6:11-12).
The
burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offering composed the basic sacrificial
system of Israel
Although
the Prophets excoriated the sacrificial rites because the people seemed to be
more impressed with ritual than the reason why the rituals were offered, the
Prophets, conceding the collective mores of the people, did not want to abolish
the sacrificial system.
Interestingly
the sacrifice system is found in the New Testament. The New Testament
consistently describes Jesus’ death in sacrificial terms. Hebrews portrays
Jesus as the sinless high priest who offered himself up as a sacrifice for
sinners (Leviticus
7:27). The book ends with an encouragement to offer sacrifices of
praise to God through Jesus.
After
the Romans destroyed the Holy
Temple
Thereafter,
two Priests stood atop of a marble stand near the altar signaling trumpet
blasts: tekiah, tekiah and teruah. A long note followed a series of short
notes; then another long note.
On
Rosh Hashanah and other full holidays (Full holidays are generally a Rosh
Hashana, Yom Kippur and the three pilgrmage fesitvals – Sukot, Pesach and
Shavuot) a single Priest perfected two sacrifices in honor of the full holiday,
Note that festivals such as Hanukah and Purim), are not considered full
holidays requiring an extra sacrifice. On Rosh Hashanah, something special
occurred during the special sacrifice. Arguably two Shofar Sounders played the
long notes and one Trumpet player played the short note. Accordingly, Rosh
HaShanah is called Yom Teruah (the day of the blast) Otherwise, the Trumpets
had “top billing.” Rosh Hashanah27a, supports this claim: “Said Raba or it may
have been R. Joshua B. Levi: What is the scriptural warrant fore this? –
Because it is written, “With trumpets
and the sound of the Shofar shout ye before the King in the Temple University of Pennsylvania
Indeed,
on Yom Kippur, the Shofar was sounded to announce the Jubilee Year (every
50-years, Jews were granted freedom, forgiveness and debts and reclamation of
sold lands. Shofar first indicated in Yovel (Jubilee Year - Lev. 25:8-13). Indeed, in Rosh Hashanah 33b,
the sages ask why the Shofar sounded in Jubilee year. Further support is found in Rosh Hashanah
29a, where the Talmud talks of trumpets for sacrifices but Shofar in the
Jubilee Year does not apply to priests who are exempt from the obligations of
the jubilee. Perhaps, we have the first mention of Shofar Sounding by
non-Priests. Perhaps the first distancing away from the Sacrificial Cult.
Otherwise,
for all other special days, the Shofar is sounded shorter and two special
silver Trumpets announced the sacrifice.
When
the trumpets sound the signal, all the people who are within the sacrifice
prostate themselves, stretching out flat, face down and on the ground.
Indeed,
the idea that rabbinic prayer modeled itself of that of the
·
Jeffrey
H. Tigay. On Some Aspects of Prayer in the Bible, AJS Review, Vol. 1, (1976), pp. 363-379, Published by: Cambridge
University Press on behalf of the Association
for Jewish Studies
·
Holman
Bible Dictionary: http://www.studylight.org/
·
Arthur L. Finkle , , Easy Guide to Shofar Sounding,
Torah Aura, Los Angeles , CA
Further
support for this occurrence come from Alfred Edersheim,
a 19th century biblical scholar:
The Shofar was blown at the temple to begin the Sabbath each
week. There was within the temple an inscription on the lintel of the wall at
the top of the Temple
that said, "To the house of the blowing of the trumpet (Shofar)".
Each Sabbath 2 men with silver trumpets and a man with a Shofar made three
trumpet blasts twice during the day. On Rosh haShanah, this was
different. The Shofar is the primary trumpet. According to Leviticus
23:24 and Numbers 29, Rosh HaShanah is the day of the blowing of the
trumpets. The original name is Yom (Day) Teruah (The staccato sound of
the horn, which also means “Shout”). According to the Mishnah (Rosh
HaShanah 16a, Mishnah RH 3:3), the trumpet used for this purpose is the ram's
horn, not trumpets made of metal as in Numbers 10. On Rosh HaShanah, a Shofar
delivers the first blast, a silver trumpet the second, and then the Shofar the
third.
Alfred Edersheim, by boldly
setting out his aim: It has been my..." published in 1874, republished by
Gregal Publishing,
Another source bespeaks this conclusion:
According to rabbinic tradition, “In the Temple on Rosh Hashanah two men blowing
silver trumpets stood on either side of the one who blows the Shofar. Citing
the Gemara, referring to verses [Psalms 47:5; 81:3; 98:6; 150:3] requiring
trumpets along with the Shofar,”we also read that, “A community beset by
calamity is under a Rabbinic obligation to...[be] assembled for supplication
and prayer, and this is always accomplished with trumpets, as written in Numbers 10:2”
And
they shall be yours for summoning the assembly....we sound the trumpets in
order to stir the hearts of the people and bring them to repentance by causing
them to realize that the disaster resulted because of their sins. In the Temple
In these
rabbinic statements, the word “Shofar” is footnoted: “The use of two Shofars,
one on each side, is a Rabbinic innovation, to publicize that the special
mitzvah of the day is with trumpets (Rosh HaShanah also called Yom Teruah).” (Schottenstein
Gemara, chap. 3, “Rosh Hashanah,” pp 24b2, notes 21, 24, 27,28,) “Trumpets” is footnoted with: “The purpose of
sounding an instrument on a fast day is to assemble the people for supplication
and prayer....blowing the trumpets is more important, for it is mandated by the
Pentateuch, whereas the Shofar accompaniment is derived from the aforementioned
verse in Psalms” (Schottenstein Gemara, chap. 3, “Rosh Hashanah 24b2, notes 21,
24, 27,28, Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, NY.) Also see The Writings of
Flavius Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews,” Bk. 3, Chap. 12, www.bible.crosswalk.com.)It is also noted that we have confusion as to wher there was a Shofar with two trumpets or two trumpets and a Shofar. This is underastandsable because Rosh HaShana 27a notes trumpets (plural) and Shofar (singular). On the other hand, in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Musical instruments) p 172) the trumpets (chuzotzrot) were the the
Moreover, the word for trumpet is used interchangeably with Shofar (See Maimonides, Yad. Hilchot Shofar 21.1; and the baraita in Rosh Hashanah 33b.
For
more information about Shofar and other Holy Temple
We have three websites
1) Shofar Sounders WebPage
We have three websites
1) Shofar Sounders WebPage
| https://web.archive.org/web/20091026135103/http://geocities.com/afinkle221/ |
2) Joint Effort with Michael Chusid,an expert Shofar sounder and commentator
http://www.hearingshofar.com
3)
Shofar WebPage
If
you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to ask
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)