Shofar Sounders' Reference

Shofar and Breathing: A Secret

2011-03-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Shofar and Breathing: A Secret

Arthur L. Finkle

Breathing is probably the most misunderstood issue of brass instruments. The shofar, believe it or not, is considered a brass instrument due to the buzz of the lips to make sound.

Mechanics of Breathing

Philip Farcas, a French horn authority, explores the mechanics of breathing, which generally involves the use of the diaphragm to expand the air in the lungs. The diaphragm also expands the back ribs to make room for even more air used to expend.

At rest Filled with air

The diaphragm is a strong, resilient muscle which is tied with a ligament across and through the body. It separates the heart and lungs and liver.

Its shape is similar to an upside-down shallow bowl. The object is to utilize the diaphragm to create fill the lung to full capacity. (We use approximately 33% of the total air capacity in our normal breathing.)

To produce a good tone and to sustain musical phrases, a player must utilize adequate breath support. Correct posture is the first place to focus attention for the breath. To inhale properly a player must observe the following points on posture:

· Back is straight

· Chest is held high

· Head is erect

· Abdominal muscles are relaxed

· Throat and neck are relaxed and open

Inhalation

Inhaling the maximum air on the lungs is imperative for a brass instrumentalist. The diaphragm contracts downward. The abdominal muscles remain relaxed. The exterior intercostal muscles expand, lifting the (floating) rib cage and expanding the chest cavity for lung expansion.

The Shofar Sounder should have correct posture (straight back, high chest and relaxed shoulders). And the throat remains relaxed

The development of superior tone quality depends upon two things: (1) performance on a fine Lie flat on the back on a hard surface. In this position the shoulders cannot be moved and will remain in normal adjustment.

Inhale slowly through the lips until the lungs are filled with air. Exhale slowly through the lips, blowing the air out in a gentle, even stream.
Concentrate on controlling the activity of the abdominal muscular structure.

http://www.sgbandfusion.com/2010/11/breathing-and-breath-control-part-one/

Four points of Resistance

There are four pressure points, two automatic; two controllable. The uncontrollables are the mouthpiece and the lip aperture (opening). The controllables are the tongue (should be shaped as the letter “k” to enable the maximum flow of air; the other is control of the larynx (voice box). By closing it, you keep the air from escaping into the esophagus.

Exhalation

In normal exhalation, we relax our intercostal muscles, diaphragm and abdomen, and the air is gently forcing the lungs by its rerun to its normal size.

However, in a brass instrument. Such exhalation requires even greater pressure in order to provide a slow, steady air pressure by exercising our diaphragms by keeping it taut by visualizing that the upside-down pot needs to remain ‘potless.’ The diaphragm returns to its normal sized.

See Phillip Farkas, The Art of French Horn Playing, Summy-Birchard Inc., 1956.

Serous instrumentalists know about breathing for a long time. Indeed, Breathing has been an issue at least in writing since 1813, in Vollständige Theoretisch-pracktische Musikschule [Complete Theoretical-practical Music Method] of Joseph Fröhlich. The various instrument methods published inside this work are reasonably well known to scholars (they were also published separately from the full Musikschule), but as described in the 2009 issue of the Historic Brass Society Journal in an article by Howard Weiner.

http://hornmatters.com/2010/06/long-before-farkas-horn-mutes-and-other-advice-for-brass-players-from-1813/

Lips

Often overlooked, the lips should be wet so that the instrument does not slide off and makes a sealed connection with the mouthpiece, not allowing any air to be wasted.

Breathing concepts are best seen at websites featuring

Mr. Jacobs who explains the history, physiology and problems of breathing.

http://www.windsongpress.com/almost%20live/breathing%201.htm

http://www.windsongpress.com/almost%20live/breathing%202.htm

Christian Response to the Shofar's Cal

2011-02-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

Christian Response to the Shofar's Call

Arthur L. Finkle

The Shofar had several religious roles recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:15; 1 Chronicles 15:28); the announcement of the New Moon (Psalms 81:4); the beginning of the religious New Year (Numbers 29:1); the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:9); the procession preparatory to the Feast of Tabernacles (Mishnah, Hullin 1:7); the Havdalah ceremony marking the end of a festival (Mishnah, Hullin 1:7);and other uses mentioned in Hebrew Writings (Mishnah and Talmud) after the fall of the Temple in 70 Common Era (CE).

Rosh HaShanah

The Shofar is primarily associated with Rosh HaShanah. Indeed, Rosh HaShanah is called Yom T'ru'ah (the day of the Shofar blast). “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no manner of servile work; it is a day of blowing the horn unto you.” (Numbers 29:1) [ This is 1 Tishrei, which is Rosh HaShanah, the Hebrew New Year.] See also Leviticus 23:24). .

In the Mishnah (book of early Rabbinic laws derived from the Torah), a discussion in Tractate Rosh HaShanah centers around the centrality of the Shofar in the time before the destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.O. Those debating never experienced the ceremony itself but their grandfathers may have. Indeed, the Shofar was the center of the ceremony, with two silver trumpets playing a lesser role. On other solemn holidays, fasts, and New Moon celebrations, two silver trumpets were featured, with one Shofar playing a lesser role. The Shofar is also associated with the Jubilee Year in which, every fifty years, Jewish Law provided for the release of all slaves, land, and debts. The sound of the Shofar on Yom Kippur proclaimed the Jubilee Year that provided the actual release of financial encumbrances.

Jubilee Year

The legislation concerning the year of Jubilee is found in Leviticus, xxv, 8-54, and xxvii, 16-24. It contains three main enactments:

· rest of the soil;

· reversion of landed property to its original owner, who had been driven by poverty to sell it; and

· the freeing or manumission of those Israelites who, through poverty or otherwise, had become the slaves of their brethren.

Ten days after Rosh HaShanah, at the Yom Kippur service it reads. “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.” See Leviticus 16:29, 23:27.

Further, the Scriptures herald: 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. See Lev 25: 9

New Moon

The new moon offering comes before the Rosh HaShanah offering, because that which is brought the most often has precedence (Yad, Temidim 9:2).

The Israelites and the subsequent Jews celebrated a lunar calendar intercalated so that the seasons are correct. New moons were extremely important. Accordingly, the Shofar was sounded upon the occurrence of the new moon. (Numbers 29:11; Rosh HaShanah 1:1). The Talmud tells us that this custom was discontinued when the Samaritans attempted to disrupt this system of sounding from mountain to mountain announcing the new moon.

Scripture further proclaims the sounding on the appearance of the new moon:

And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance forever throughout your generations.

Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God. See Numbers 10:10.

Finally we have the famous passage in PSALMS 81:3: “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.”

Rediscovering Jewish Christian Heritage

Relationship

God did not visit Abraham for religious purposes. Moses did not go up on the mountain to get religion, but to meet with and hear from God. Jesus did not come to earth to make us religious but to restore us to relationship with God. It's all about relationship.

http://www.who-is-god-really.org/shofar.html

Indeed, Existentialism has captured Christian theology throughout the 20th mid-century. Following in the steps Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger made human existence his since the 1920s, and Karl Jaspers in the 1930s. Human relationships

Enhance humanity by interacting with one another in a spiritual way. The sparks of each soul contributes to a whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Jewish Biblical Roots

Others flock to their Jewish biblical roots because they want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the disciples. They celebrate the Jewish holidays that Jesus celebrated and tend to refer the Holy Temple celebrations that were extent in Jesus’ time. They tend to be highly structured that predominates in the American culture. They want a more authentic religion.

ACTS 2:2: Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:1-4 They [disciples] had prayed more together of late. Would we have the Spirit poured out upon us from on high, let us be all of one accord. And notwithstanding differences of sentiments and interests, as there were among those disciples, let us agree to love one another; for where brethren dwell together in unity, there the Lord commands his blessing. A rushing mighty wind came with great force. This was to signify the powerful influences and working of the Spirit of God upon the minds of men, and thereby upon the world. Thus the convictions of the Spirit make way for his comforts; and the rough blasts of that blessed wind, prepare the soul for its soft and gentle gales. There was an appearance of something like flaming fire, lighting on every one of them, according to John Baptist's saying concerning Christ;

http://bible.cc/acts/2-2.htm

On Rosh HasShana, the shofar-like blast coming from the Throne of God, calling us to return to the simplicity of the faith as it was originally given to us. It is a call to pursue God out of love, not religion. The gospel of Jesus Christ is anything but religious. It is about relationship.

The gospels, the Psalms or the Prophets bespoke ordinary people living extraordinary lives. They were down-to-earth, hearty and knew how to touch God. They were able, through their daily connection to Him, to change the course of battles, rescue whole nations out of slavery, heal the sick, even raise the dead.

The Resurrection of the Dead even as we wait to hear the trumpet blast of the king, the great shofar of our returning Redeemer, we celebrate the appointed time of the Rosh Hashanah. The annual blast of the shofar during the Feast of Trumpets foreshadows that day when the heavens will be rent by the blast of Messiah's trumpet. For disciples of the Messiah, Rosh Hashanah is a reminder of that appointed time yet to come when the Master "will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other." (Matthew 24:31)

Responding to the Shofar's Call reveals how this change took place. These Messianic Jewish Christians posit that the Jewish religion of closeness to and love God was hijacked by the Greek philosophers, who have an enormous persuasion on the Earth Church Fathers. Indeed, Ambrose, Chrysostom and Augustine. The philosophizing took the authentic nature of love out of the equation. Instead of relying on outdated, hellenize3d creeds, the Jews continue to question the ways of God and the ways to lead a better life.

What we are involved in is a culture war. The true biblical culture of the believer is Hebraic in nature. There is nothing wrong with demonstrating a biblical culture and yet being comfortable and natural in our own nation’s culture—as long as it is our biblical culture which dominates us and as long as the national cultural characteristics are not harmful to our faith and walk in the Lord.

True Hebraic culture is what Jesus demonstrated. Jesus was perfectly comfortable in His own skin as the holy Son of God and as a Hebrew who was practical and simple. He didn’t theorize and theologize. He didn’t seek after or exalt knowledge. He exalted those with a humble heart who lived out what they believed. He was capable of reaching out to and befriending those who were in a sinful state—a worldly culture— like the tax collectors and “sinners,” without ever becoming like them. http://www.who-is-god-really.org/shofar.html

Footsteps of Jesus and the Disciples

Others flock to their Jewish biblical roots because they want to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and the disciples. They celebrate THE Jewish holidays that Jesus celebrated and tend to refer the Holy Temple celebrations that existed in Jesus’ brief earthly time.

To a professional trumpet player, the ‘call of the shofar’ signifies:

· Truth (2 Chronicles 15 v.14)

· Repentance (Joel 2 vs. 1 + 15)

· Obedience (Jeremiah 6 v.17)

· A call to worship God (Isaiah 27 v.13, Revelation 1 v.10 )

· Restoration

· Sanctification

· The Joy of Trumpets

|Ryan Malone, September 8, 2010, www.thetrumpet.com

The sound of the shofar could be joyful blasts heralding a king. In fact, five references of shofar in the Old Testament refer to coronations—namely those on the throne of David. The blast of the seventh trumpet angel heralds the coronation of Jesus Christ to return to the throne of David and assume rulership of all the kingdoms of the Earth! (Revelation 11:15; Isaiah 9:7). What joy that means for God’s people!

This angelic trumpet blast also indicates war. (Revelation 11:18). Jesus, Himself said that, at His Second Coming, “shall all the tribes of the earth mourn …. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet” (Matthew 24:30-31).

Also when the seventh trumpet sounds, pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, the dead in Christ will be resurrected! The sound of the trumpet will initiate the first resurrection. John 5:28 says “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.” God’s voice is likened to a shofar blast in Exodus 19:16-19 (and in the New Testament: Revelation 1:10; 4:1). Even God’s prophets throughout history were symbolically to use their voices like trumpets (Isaiah 58:1). By lifting their voices like trumpets, God’s prophets were emulating God’s voice! Today, when we trumpet this warning that is a type of God speaking.

Until that point in history, God’s voice will have been trumpeted through His work. But finally, on this day, God will speak—and, just as at Mt. Sinai, it will be an earthshaking event.

http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=7357.5930.0.0

A Spiritual Weapon with Revival Power

Shofar is the Hebrew word for a trumpet made from a ram’s horn. Most places in the Old Testament where the English translation is trumpet, the Hebrew word is ‘Shofar’.

We believe that God has given us a revelation that we wish to share with the Body of Messiah. We believe this will add a new dimension to our prayer and spiritual warfare. The Lord has revealed the spiritual dynamic of the use of the Shofar or Ram’s Horn as used by the Israelites in the Old Testament times. We don’t fully under- stand the power of it, why or how it works - but it works !

The Lord led us to the story of Gideon (Judges 7). As is the pattern throughout the book of Judges, the Israelites again turned away from God after 40 years of peace brought by Deborah's victory over Canaan and were allowed to be attacked by the neighboring Midianites and Amalekites. God chose Gideon, a young man from an otherwise unremarkable clan from the tribe of Manasseh, to free the people of Israel and to condemn their worship of idols. God sent a reluctant Gideon and 300 warriors to battle with a heavily armed enemy of thousands. However, He instructed Gideon to go out with a pitcher and torch in one hand, and a Shofar in the other hand. At the appointed time, the 300 blew their Shofars in unity, which firstly caused restlessness in the enemy’s camp, resulting in their total confusion; turning and killing each other with their swords. We also see in the story of Joshua that he too, won the war by blowing the Shofar. A similar episode occurred at Jericho. The Holy Spirit revealed that, blowing the Shofar brings about some cosmic effect.

In the Bible, the blowing of the Shofar was first heard when God called Moses to the summit of Mt. Sinai to receive the tablets of the Law. And, it will be sounded at the end of days to announce the Return of the Messiah and the Rapture of His Bride. ( 1 Thess 4:16 )

Biblical Blowing of the Shofar.

1 Thess 4:16 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the Shofar of God and the dead in Christ shall rise.”

A Shofar will be blown before the dead rise:

1 Cor 15:52 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last Shofar; for the Shofar will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

http://opentheword.org/index.php/forgiveness/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=341:blow-the-trumpet&catid=99:sound&Itemid=265

1 Corinthians 15:52 states: “ . . . in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

The Shofar (trumpet) is the sound of God's voice.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Revelation 1:10

John Was Heaven Sent by the sound of the Shofar.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. Revelation 4:1

Seven trumpets (Shofar) are sounded when God judges the earth during the tribulation.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the shofar, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Revelation 8:1-10:7

Acts 2:2 states: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. “ Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary comments:

2:1-4 We cannot forget how often, while their Master was with them there were strifes among the disciples which should be the greatest; but now all these strifes were at an end. They had prayed more together of late. Would we have the Spirit poured out upon us from on high, let us be all of one accord. And notwithstanding differences of sentiments and interests, as there were among those disciples, let us agree to love one another; for where brethren dwell together in unity, there the Lord commands his blessing. A rushing mighty wind came with great force. This was to signify the powerful influences and working of the Spirit of God upon the minds of men, and thereby upon the world. Thus the convictions of the Spirit make way for his comforts; and the rough blasts of that blessed wind, prepare the soul for its soft and gentle gales. There was an appearance of something like flaming fire, lighting on every one of them, according to John Baptist's saying concerning Christ; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. The Spirit, like fire, melts the heart, burns up the dross, and kindles pious and devout affections in the soul; in which, as in the fire on the altar, the spiritual sacrifices are offered up. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, more than before. They were filled with the graces of the Spirit, and more than ever under his sanctifying influences; more weaned from this world, and better acquainted with the other. They were more filled with the comforts of the Spirit, rejoiced more than ever in the love of Christ and the hope of heaven: in it all their griefs and fears were swallowed up. They were filled with the gifts of the Holy Ghost; they had miraculous powers for the furtherance of the gospel. They spake, not from previous though or meditation, but as the Spirit gave them utterance.

http://bible.cc/acts/2-2.htm.

Conclusionary Remarks

We have taken a journey into Christian theology in which the shofar symbolizes the voice and power of God in His guidance to our present and future. By adhering to the Old Testament, we receive a different perspective of the New Testament, as it was intended.

Scary Shofar Sounds ..: Exodus 19:19

2011-01-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

Scary Shofar Sounds

Arthur L. Finkle

This past week, we read Exodus 18:1 -20:23). Interestingly, this passage refers to the sound of the shofar. It also puzzles the reader.

Picture that the children of Israel have successfully fled the Egyptian taskmasters. Moses leads these former slaves. God tells him that there are special plans for this special assemblage – 600,000 strong.

19:5 Now if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be My special treasure among all nations, even though all the world is Mine.

19:6 You will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to Me.' These are the words that you must relate to the Israelites.'

Moses relates God’s words with the elders of the assemblage who say:

19:8 All the people answered as one and said, 'All that God has spoken, we will do.'

Moses brought the people's reply back to God.

Thereafter, God promises to assure the Israelites by having them near Mount Sinai so that they too will understand their mission. God tells Moses that the people must ritually purify themselves prior to approaching the mount. (Ex 19:9)

God tells Moses that the people shall make a marker at the base of the mountain beyond which they will not traverse.

Sound of the Trumpet

19:13 But when the trumpet is sounded with a long blast, they will then be allowed to climb the mountain.'

“Trumpet” or Yovel in Hebrew, the ram's horn mentioned Exodus 19:16 (Rashi; Ibn Ezra; Targum). See Joshua 6:5. Also see Leviticus 25:10.

The New International Version (©1984) translates this passage that the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. The issue was is the voice of God the shofar or some other voice?

Indeed, the King James Bible (1611) deciphers that when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.

The Douay-Rheims Bible (translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English undertaken by members of the English College, Douai in the service of the Catholic Church. The New Testament was published in Reims (France) in 1582, in one volume with extensive commentary and notes) explains this passage as the sound of the trumpet grew by degrees louder and louder, and was drawn out to a greater length. Then Moses spoke, and God answered him.

As promised, on the third day:

19:16 The third day arrived. There was thunder and lightning in the morning, with a heavy cloud on the mountain, and an extremely loud blast of a ram's horn. The people in the camp trembled.

Moses led the people out of the camp toward the Divine Presence. They stood transfixed at the foot of the mountain that was trembling with fire and smoke.

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary (English Presbyterian, originally written in 1706, Matthew Henry's six volume Complete Commentary provides an exhaustive look at every verse in the Bible) on Verses 16-25 finds that that this terrible judgment, in which Israel heard the voice of the Lord God speaking to them out of the midst of the fire, and lived, Deut. 4:33. Never was there such a sermon preached, before nor since, as this which was here preached to the church in the wilderness. For,

I. The preacher was God himself (v. 18): The Lord descended in fire, and (v. 20), The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai. The shechinah, or glory of the Lord, appeared in the sight of all the people; he shone forth from mount Paran with ten thousands of his saints (Deut. 33:2), that is, attended, as the divine Majesty always is, by a multitude of the holy angels, who were both to grace the solemnity and to assist at it. Hence the law is said to be given by the disposition of angels, Acts 7:53.

II. The pulpit (or throne rather) was Mount Sinai, hung with a thick cloud (v. 16), covered with smoke (v. 18), and made to quake greatly. Now it was that the earth trembled at the presence of the Lord, and the mountains skipped like rams (Ps. 114:4, 7), that Sinai itself, though rough and rocky, melted from before the Lord God of Israel, Jdg. 5:5. Now it was that the mountains saw him, and trembled (Hab. 3:10), and were witnesses against a hard-hearted unmoved people, whom nothing would influence.

III. The congregation was called together by the sound of a trumpet, exceedingly loud (v. 16), and waxing louder and louder, v. 19. This was done by the ministry of the angels, and we read of trumpets sounded by angels, Rev. 8:6. It was the sound of the trumpet that made all the people tremble, as those who knew their own guilt, and who had reason to expect that the sound of this trumpet was to them the alarm of war

http://biblebrowser.com/exodus/19-16.htm

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible (Rev. Gill is relatively unread. He preached in the same church as C. H. Spurgeon over one hundred years earlier in c1761. A font of information regarding ancient writings is found among his works.) accented there were thunder, lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mount, wakening and strike awe of the people to what they were to hear and receive, . In addition, these natural rumblings intended to add to the solemnity of the day to signify terror of the legal dispensation, and the wrath and curse that the transgressors the law might expect, even a horrible tempest of divine vengeance. See Hebrews 12:18.

http://biblecommenter.com/exodus/19-16.htm

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary (German theologians c 1880) on the Old Testament claimed these natural phenomena were accompanied by a loud trumpet blast, which "blew long and waxed louder and louder" (Exodus 19:16 and Exodus 19:19; see Genesis 8:3). Such as blast the herald's call, announcing to the people the appearance of the Lord, and summoning them to assemble before Him and listen to His words, as they sounded forth from the fire and cloudy darkness. This blast of the shofar (Exodus 19:19), was used in the service of God (in heaven, 1 Thessalonians 4:16; see Winer's Grammar) was not the voice of God, but a sound resembling a trumpet blast. Whether this sound was produced by natural means, or, as some of the earlier commentators supposed, by angels, of whom myriads surrounded Jehovah when He came down upon Sinai (Deuteronomy 33:2), it is impossible to decide.

If the sound were produced by angels perhaps this sound is in the spiritual realm below that of God’s but higher than humankind’s.

http://biblecommenter.com/

Then, There was the sound of a ram's horn, increasing in volume to a great degree. Moses spoke and God replied with a Voice. (EX. 19:19)

Zondervan interprets the natural thunder and lightning, and exceedingly loud trumpet blast (Rev 1:10; 4:1) and a thick cloud (Ex 19-9; 2Ch. 5:14) as an impressive display of cosmic activity. See Ps. 77:18; Heb. 12:18-19; Rev. 4:5; 8:5; 11:19).

Interestingly, Moses’ reaction is noty given. However, in Heb 12:21 his response was “I am trembling with fear.”

Moses climbed the mountain to receive Torah (obligations) to perform whatever God requires. (Ex. 19:20)

Thereafter, God tells Moses that the people must not cross the boundary at the bottom of the mountain, lest they die.

Indeed, Moses replied to God, 'The people cannot climb Mount Sinai. You already warned them to set a boundary around the mountain and to declare it sacred.' (Ex. 19:23). God repents and says that only Aaron., Moses’ brother can accompany him beyond the boundary.

At this point there is an inconsistency in the reading. In Ex. 19:13, God says the assemblage can climb mountain to receive the Divine Word. Yet we find later on (Ex 19:23) the that the people cannot traverse the boundary at the base of the mountain, except for Aaron

The issue arises, why did God seemingly change his mind? Did the great blast of the shofar assist in this change of direction? Did God not trust anyone to receive The Word other than Moses and Aaron?

If so, did the shofar sound mean that the Divine Word, although meant to be adhered to by all, could only be given directly to Moses and his brother?

Why Such a Negative Experience?

These passages in Exodus confusedly bring to light the difficulty and discomfort that God exposed the Israelites – with lightning, thunder a, trembling and the blare of the shofar.

When the people experienced these terrors they were shaken. Moses’ ultimately telling them that all of this was precisely God’s Intent, (20:17) “

…Don’t be afraid, for God Has Come to test you and in order for His Fear to be upon your faces, so that you will not sin,” unambiguously states that the association that the people made between the giving of the Torah and a sense of terror and intimidation was fully in accordance with the Divine Plan.

But the most literally terrifying aspect of the giving of the Torah is the awe-inspiring sounds, images, and bodily sensations to which the Jews are exposed during this period. (19:16) “…And there was thunder and lighting and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and the very powerful sound of a Shofar…”(19:18) “And Sinai was completely obscured by smoke…and its smoke was like the smoke of a furnace, and the entire mountain shook exceedingly.” (19:19) “And the sound of the Shofar became ever louder and stronger…” The response of the people to this cacophony of sounds, terrifying sights, and general diastrophism could have easily been predicted: (19:16) “…And the entire people trembled.” (20:15) “…

http://text.rcarabbis.org/parshat-yitro-worshipping-god-via-dualing-human-emotions-by-yaakov-bieler/

Mysticism

The great Hassidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev 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 even higher levels, 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 wakeup 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, reciprocally influencing Jewish mysticism in the modern period.

In this system, the heavenly imperative is sensed even though not having a physical presence

Another Chassidic 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.

Medical Report on Shofar Blowing Pathology

2011-01-07T06:38:00.001-08:00

Valsalva Effect

Bottom line, Shofar is high maintenance straining. Don’t overdo or you will wind up with cerebral or vascular issues, among other things.

One blow too many
Ami Schattner MD
Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel

Available online 4 January 2004.

Article Outline
• References
To the Editor:
Blowing the Shofar—a wind instrument made from a horn of a ram and used on the Jewish High Holidays—has many religious advantages. On rare occasions, however, it may be associated with an adverse medical outcome.
A healthy 49-year-old man awoke from sleep with parasthesias and weakness of the left arm. The patient was alert and blood pressure on admission was normal. Examination showed left-sided, upper motor neuron signs with hand weakness and arm hemianesthesia. Funduscopic examination was normal. The chest radiograph, electrocardiogram, carotid duplex, and all blood tests were normal. Brain computed tomography revealed a 12-mm, hyperdense right temporal lesion consistent with a small intracerebral hemorrhage. There was no ventricular blood or hydrocephalus. The patient recalled that before sleeping, he practiced blowing the Shofar for about an hour in preparation for the New Year services. His symptoms improved spontaneously, and he declined further investigations and was discharged and followed with no further ill effects. However, the patient stopped blowing the Shofar. Later, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography did not reveal aneurysm or vascular malformation.
Cerebral hemorrhage in the brain parenchyma usually arises from leakage of tiny vessels affected by an arteriopathy of chronic hypertension or by amyloid angiopathy—a degenerative disorder affecting the elderly. In younger patients who are not hypertensive, who do not have a brain tumor or coagulopathy, and who do not use sympathomimetic drugs, a small arteriovenous malformation is a likely cause [1].
Blowing the Shofar, or playing wind instruments, is just one of many activities in which straining occurs, including coughing, defecation, lifting heavy loads, and labor. All involve a transient marked elevation of intra-abdominal and intrathoracic pressures as well as substantial circulatory changes [2]. An effect simulating the Valsalva maneuver is a common denominator of all these activities. With the advent of transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, its sequential effects on blood pressure and cerebral blood flow have been particularly well studied [2 and 3].
Cerebrovascular events in wind instrument players, including syncope, carotid artery dissection, transient ischemic attack due to paradoxical embolism, spinal epidural hematoma, and cerebral venous thrombosis, have been reported, albeit rarely [4]. The Shofar is a particularly high-resistance wind instrument requiring an intense expiratory strain and the generation of especially high pressures in order to produce the desired sounds. Mouth pressures of >150 mm Hg and an extreme increase of intrathoracic pressure up to 300 mm Hg for several seconds have been reported for similar types of strain [2 and 5]. The associated Valsalva maneuver was found to lead to marked increases of cerebral blood flow velocity that may reach 100% above baseline, even at moderate intrathoracic pressures of 40 mm Hg [2 and 3]. This is of particular importance because of the simultaneous decrease in the protective extravascular cerebrospinal fluid pressure and increase in arterial pressure. The resulting major increase in the transmural pressure gradient may place patients with cerebral aneurysms or arteriovenous malformation at high risk of rupture and bleeding following the strain [2 and 6].
It is very likely that the association between our patient's 1 hour of Shofar blowing practice and the subsequent primary intracerebral hemorrhage is not coincidental. Except for the rarity of the association, it is a useful reminder of the importance of common conditions that increase intra-abdominal and intrathoracic pressures in facilitating or enhancing intracerebral hemorrhage, and the advisability of preventing their occurrence whenever possible in patients at risk.
References
1. A.I. Qureshi, S. Tuhrim, J.P. Broderick, H.H. Batjer, H. Hondo and D.F. Hanley, Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. N Engl J Med 344 (2001), pp. 1450–1460

Christological Uses of the Shofar

2011-01-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Christological Uses of the Shofar

Arthur L. Finkle

Unlike some of the other instruments of the Temple period, the Shofar was uniquely Semitic. The word ^"Shofar^" is derived from the Assyrian shapparu, a wild goat of the ibex family.

Medieval philosophers and mystics have attributed certain moralizing and occult meanings to the sounding of the Shofar. Rabbi Saadia Gaon (10th century) stated that the sound of the Shofar raised awe and emotion in the hearts and souls of the people. Maimonides (11^th century) interpreted the sounding as reminding humankind of its duties to God. The mystical Zohar (1285?) 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 were allowed to perform the religious function of blowing the Shofar in the Jewish Commonwealth.

The Shofar had several religious roles recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures , such as the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:15; 1 Chronicles 15:28); the announcement of the New Moon (Psalms 81:4); the beginning of the religious New Year (Numbers 29:1); the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:9); the procession preparatory to the Feast of Tabernacles (Mishnah, Hullin 1:7); the Havdalah ceremony marking the end of a festival (Mishnah, Hullin 1:7);and other uses mentioned in Hebrew Writings (Mishnah and Talmud) after the fall of the Temple in 70 Common Era (CE).

Rosh HaShanah

Jubilee Year

The legislation concerning the year of Jubilee is found in Leviticus, xxv, 8-54, and xxvii, 16-24. It contains three main enactments:

· rest of the soil;

· reversion of landed property to its original owner, who had been driven by poverty to sell it; and

· the freeing or manumission of those Israelites who, through poverty or otherwise, had become the slaves of their brethren.

New Moon

The new moon offering comes before the Rosh HaShanah offering, because that which is brought the most often has precedence (Yad, Temidim 9:2).

Scripture further proclaims the sounding on the appearance of the new moon:

And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

Finally we have the famous passage in PSALMS 81:3: “Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.”

Coronations

In addition, the Shofar had a number of secular roles, such as coronating a king (2 Samuel 5:10; 1 Kings 1:34; 2 Kings 1;13); signaling in times of war to assemble troops, to attack, to pursue, and to proclaim victory (Numbers 10:9, Judges 6:4; Jeremiah 4:5 and Ezekiel 33:3-6).

In post-biblical times, the Shofar was enhanced in its religious use because of the ban on playing musical instruments as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. (It should be noted that a full orchestra played in the Temple, including, perhaps, a primitive organ.) The Shofar continues to announce the new year and the New Moon, to introduce the Sabbath, and to carry out the commandments on Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur. The secular uses have been discarded (although the Shofar was sounded to commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967) (Judith Kaplan Eisendrath, Heritage of Music, New York: U.A.H.C., 1972, pp. 44-45).

Silver Trumpets and Temple Times

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....The Gemara...cites the verse [Psalms 47:5; 81:3; 98:6; 150:3] that requires 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 it is written (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, Shofars were blown along with the trumpets. The Shofar [blows] short...and the trumpets [blow] long...for the primary commandment is with trumpets.”

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 (Yom Teruah).” “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,” pp 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.)

http://www.messianicisrael.us/news/teachings/yom-teruah-and-the-two-silver-trumpets.html?Itemid=39

History of the Uses of the Trumpet and Shofar Reverse Roles

The marshalling signals are described in Numbers 10, though in war the Shofar seems to have been the signaling instrument par excellence. All these functions, and their calls, seem later to have been appropriated by the Shofars. The encyclopedic Psalm 150, for example, makes no mention of the trumpet. Only lately (in the last century or so B.C.) do trumpets appear to come back into their former favor; but, due to Greco- Roman influence, their use is primarily military. Indeed the roles of the two instruments seem to have become reversed; the Talmud says 'what was called a trumpet has become a Shofar, and what was called a Shofar has become a trumpet' (Bab. Talmud Shabbat 36a; also Sukkoth 34a; and Rosh HaShanah 36a; Targum version of Hosea 5:8). A
passage in the Mishnah (Gittin 3:6) indicates much the same thing, in saying that a 'trumpet' can be made of animal horn. So the Shofar eventually took on the ceremonial function originally performed by the trumpet.

This confusion of usage makes the task of reconstructing the trumpet and Shofar calls simpler rather than the reverse, for the instruments and their traditional signals may be treated summarily. Since the Shofar calls themselves are the subject of some differences in our own times and were disputed in Talmudic times.

The Shofar had specifications according to the Mishnah. For example, it could not have holes; it could be not be valid if there was a split in the horn. The horn should be from a preferably kosher animal but never a cow (reminding one of the worship of the Golden Calf during Moses’ journey to receive the Ten Commandments for the first time.) It should be sounded from the small end of the horn. Horns could not be placed inside other horns; and there were restrictions as to decorations on the Shofar itself. (See Rosh HaShanah Mishnah and Talmud)

Further it is not clear whether the Shofar was used originally for ritual (as Leviticus 25 suggests) or for war purposes (Joshua 6). We do know, however, that Tractate Shabbat 35b provides that the Shofar sounded six times to prepare for the Sabbath.

Eventually, after the destruction of the second Temple, the Shofar was identified with Rosh HaShanah (the beginning of the religious year, sometimes known as Yom Teruah (Day of the blast) or Chag HaShoforot (the Shofar festival).

In addition, no minor authority, Cyrus Adler, indicated that cornet (a type of trumpet) and Shofar were used interchangeably.

Further Confusion

In “Sound The Shofar - "Ba-Kesse" Psalm 81:4,” Solomon B . Freehof, a a professor at Hebrew Union College, follows the strange history of translation. The preponderance of
traditional (Jewish) commentators agree on one translation of it and all the non-traditional commentators (non-Jewish) unanimously agree on another. One partial exception to this strange lineup is Rashi (11^th century commentator), who translates "Ba-Kesse" as ‘here’ and in Proverbs 7:20 as ‘the special day,’ or ‘the appointed day.’ But he, too, in his commentary to Rosh HaShonah 8a-b, agrees with all the traditional
commentators, beginning with the Talmud and the Midrash, Leviticus Rabba 29:6, taking the word to be a synonym of the word "Chodesh" in the first part of the sentence, meaning: The New Moon.

However, the non-traditional commentators of the 19th century, Wellhausen in Proverbs, Duhm in Psalms, and Briggs and Toy in the International Critical Commentary, and our modern English translation, all agree to translate the word "Kesse" not as "New Moon" but as Full Moon.

Accordingly, the evidence seems to be on the side of the traditional commentators who legitimized the appearance of the New Moon in the Seventh month as the Rosh HaShanah (Beginning of the Religious New Year)

Blasts in the Holy Temple

There is much ambiguity between the words “Shofar” and “Hatzorot” in Scriptures and later writings. Indeed, at some point, scholars used Shofar interchangeably.

Indeed, in Tractate Mishnah, Tractate, Arakhin, Chapter Two, Mishnah Three, Section one: There was a minimum of 21 daily trumpet blasts in the Temple and a maximum of 48. The explanation of this section can be found in Sukkah 5:5 (Harvest Festival – 15 days after Rosh HaShanah). The maximum number of blasts was sounded on erev (evening) Shabbat (Sabbath) during Sukkot.

1) There are never less than twenty-one blasts in the Temple and never more than forty-eight.

More Incidents of Shofar in Scriptures

The Shofar used to proclaim Solemn Assemblies and Special feasts Joel 2:15

Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment (Messianic Age) is proclaimed by the sound of the Shofar. See Is. 27:13

When Ark moved in its almost 40-year journey in the desert, their horns sounded See 2 Sam 6:15; and 1 Chron. 25:28.

Numbers 10:5 When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.

Numbers 10:6 When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

When giving praise, the horns sounded. See Ps 150; 78:6

And, lest we forget, when Moses was at the foot of the mountain on the way to receive the Giving of law, the Shofars sounded. In Exodus, 19:12, instructions are issued to build a boundary around Mt Sinai, and the next pasuk specifies laws

"לֹא תִגַּע בּוֹ יָד כִּי סָקוֹל יִסָּקֵל אוֹ יָרֹה יִיָּרֶה אִם בְּהֵמָה אִם אִישׁ לֹא יִחְיֶה בִּמְשֹׁךְ הַיֹּבֵל הֵמָּה יַעֲלוּ בָהָר - No hand shall touch it, for he shall be stoned or cast down; whether man or beast, he shall not live. When the ram's horn (Shofar) sounds a long, drawn out blast, they may ascend the mountain."

– See Ex 19:19; 20:18;

Excommunication

Scripture cites that Barak used 400 Shofars to excommunicate Meroz (Judges v. 23; Mishnah Kiddushin 16a. www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=653&letter.., Accessed March 2, 2010-03-02

Excommunication was commonly referred to in the Torah as herem (banishment). To be banished was a terrible thing in ancient days because there was no protection outside your tribe or kingdom. See San 7b. Line 5.

The Talmud alludes to twenty-four offenses punishable by excommunication.

Some examples include:

• uttering the name of God in vain
• luring another person to sin
• refusing to testify before a court at the allotted time
• selling nonkosher meat as kosher meat
• marrying a non-Jewish individual

The excommunication began with the announcement of the blowing of the Shofar in front of an open ark. The community gathered, lamented and the assembly leader would articulate curses derived from the Scriptures. And a public warning forbade anyone associating with the ex-communicant.

Examples of famous excommunications include Maimonides,
Spinoza, The Lubachiter Chisisdim and Mordecai Kaplan founder of the Reconstructionist movement

Sources: Ariel Scheib, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Excommunication.html, Accessed March 2, 2010. Eisenberg, Ronald L. The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2004; Wigoder, Geoffrey , Ed. The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. NY: Facts on File; 1992; Kolatch, Alfred J. The Jewish Book of Why/The Second Jewish Book of Why. NY:

In post-biblical times, the Talmud tells us that member so the Jewish Court has a duty to, "Take out the tools of my trade, my cane, strap, Shofar, and sandal. [Rashi: The cane was for beating those who refused to abide by judicial decisions, the strap for biblically-prescribed lashes, the Shofar for excommunication, and the sandal for the ritual of halitza in the case of a levirate marriage.] See Talmud Sanhedrin 7b.

Funeral

Some communities utilized the announcement of a funeral by th e Shofar, Indeed,
it was customary in some localities to blow the Shofar to announce a death in the community and to summon the citizens to attend the funeral (Moed Katan 27b)

War Horn

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Joshua 6:20

Significant Events

When Jonathan defeated the Philistines. See 1 Samuel 13:3

“It came about when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them.” See Judges 3:27

So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him. See Judges 6:34

Signal of War

Numbers 10:9 And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.

Festivals

A second a procession of the people led by the High Priest carried palm branches and the other fragrant branches processed, singing the Hallel Psalms 113-118, from the Temple through the Water Gate to the pool of Siloam. At the pool of Siloam the High Priest filled a golden pitcher with the water from the pool [Mishnah: Sukkah, 4:9B]; then the procession returned to the Temple, the Shofar, ram’s horn trumpet, announcing their arrival. The Mishnah records that no fewer than 21 (3 x 7) trumpet blasts on the Shofar we given in a liturgical service. There were three blasts at the opening of the Temple gates at 9AM, nine (3 + 3+3) at the offering of the Tamid morning sacrifice and nine more at the Tamid evening sacrifice. On the feast days when additional offerings were made, nine additional Shofar blasts were given and on the eve of the Sabbath 6 (3: 3) more [Mishnah: Sukkah 5:5].

Shabbat

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, 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.

http://www.Shofars.org/theShofararticle.htm. Accessed March 1, 2010.

Magical Symbolism

Apart from its liturgical uses the Shofar was closely connected with magical symbolism. Its blast destroyed the walls of Jericho, and in the Dead Sea scrolls we read that during battles Shofar blowers sounded a powerful war cry to instill fear into the hearts of the enemy while priests blew the six trumpets of killing. Historically the Shofar has also served in a number of popular usages: it was sounded during rites to bring rain, in the event of local disasters, and so on. In our times its liturgical use is restricted to New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

If the Shofar and its tones, like the Law of Moses, must be preserved unaltered, this would seem to prevent its "improvement" to become a true musical instrument to sound concurrent with worship. After the destruction of the Temple the Shofar was permitted specificially because it was not a musical instrument.

"Only in Ps 150:3 is it (shophar) mentioned with most of the other really musical instruments. Hence, we must conclude that the function of the shophar was to make noise--be it of earthly or of eschatological character--but not to make music. After the destruction of the temple and the general banishment of all instrumental music, the shophar alone survived, just because it was not a musical instrument."(International Dictionary of the Bible, p. 473, Abingdon).

Alfred Edersheim, The Temple and Its Ministry and Services at the Time of Jesus Christ (London, 1874); Gregal Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1997, Reprint Of Original 1874.

For a full references to the Shofar, see Appendisx on page

Jewish Liturgical Music

"The Shofar is the ritual instrument of the ancient and modern Hebrews, the only Hebrew cultural instrument to have survived until now. Of martial origin, the Shofar was a priestly instrument in Biblical times. According to the Mishna, two different forms of Shofar were used in the Temple: one made of ibex horn, its bell ornamented with gold, was sounded at New Year and during the Yovel Days; one made of ram's horn, with silver ornamentation, was sounded on fast days.

The Shofar could be used to call the assembly (Qahal or Synagogue) in the wilderness. However, the ALARM could not be blown which included "making a joyful noise before the Lord." This was not musical worship but the universal warrior's cry that their god was superior.

Shofar as Music?

We learn from the Mishna, the Talmud and later commentaries, that the Rabbi’s proscribed improvements or modifications that might affect the tone. The ban included no gold-plating of its interior, no plugging of holes, no alteration of its length (the minimum permissible length of a ritually approved horn was 3 handbreadths).

So, of all the instruments used in the Temple (there was Temple Orchestra), only the Shofar remains extent. See Alfred Edersheim, The Temple and Its Ministry and Services at the Time of Jesus Christ (London, 1874); Gregal Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1997, Reprint Of Original 1874.

Today’s Shofar Sounder carries on an ancient Tradition. The Shofar sounder stands in the footsteps of the holy priests, the great warriors, the talmudic sages, the great editors, and the great philosophers. Indeed, the Shofar represents the mystery of the survival of the Jewish people. And the nascent herald of the Messianic Age.

Christian Usage

A proselytizing South African church that has not only taken Shofar as their name, but among other things says the instrument is used to mobilize “God’s army.” Another website full of pictures and videos of men and women blowing Shofars use the shofar to “announce” their ideologies from gay marriage to abortion. From the buzz words on most of these websites they all appeared to be part of the Evangelical movement (or “born again” Christians).

My terribly unscientific survey of my experts involved calling my mom (a lay minister in the Lutheran church) and my sister, who has done missionary work abroad and has close ties to the Evangelical church. Although my mom consulted with a few of her pastor friends, none were aware of any liturgical use of the shofar in Christian worship. My sister however put me in touch with her Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) Worship Director. We had a delightful chat, and he offered a little more insight into why some Christians seem to like to blow the shofar. Although he also confirmed that he was unaware of a regular use of the shofar in any standard Christian worship, he in fact had once used a shofar blast for dramatic purposes at the start of a special musical piece they were performing at his church. He also said that three of his congregants owned and played the shofar.

http://www.jewcy.com/post/christians_blame_jews_bad_economy_then_play_shofar

The New Testament cites the Shofar used as the Shofar (Trumpet) of Righteousness blown 1 Corinthians 15:52. Indeed, it heralds the “end-Times.” Rev. 11. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and 1 Corinthians 15:72. This is the trumpet to herald the return of the Messiah.

Jim Barbarossa, The Ministry of the Shofar: Blow the Trumpet in Zion, Action Publications, Keiser, OR, 2000

There are some who use the shofar As a connection to Christianity’s Jewish roots and as a way of spiritual awakening which could lead to spiritual healing as well as physical healing. Indeed, Shofar Ministries

(http://tinyurl.com/2fzqghy) commits to the Shofar’s Judaic roots into the Christian. Pastor Barbarrossa preaches that the Shofar is a Prayer Sound reaching the heavens. .
vcfvernon.org/Shofarmin.html.

My Experience

My own esxper3einces have taken me to Christian ceremonies in which the celebrants asked me to sound the Shofar. Indeed, at the Synod of the Trenton (N.J.) Diocese in 1988, the Shofar announced the commencement of the synod.

A Pentecostal conference of 50+ churches in Philadelphia and Africa also requested my services to begin their conference for several years.

In truth, there might be some spiritual, therapeutic value on the sound of the Shofar.

If anyone wants to learn more about this ancient instrument, please get in touch with me at shofar19067@hotmail.com.

Appendix - Scriptural References to Trumpet, Shofar and Ram's horn
*Scriptures containing "TRUMPET"*
Exodus 19:13	1 Kings 1:39	Ezekiel 33:4
Exodus 19:16	1 Kings 1:41	Ezekiel 33:5
Exodus 19:19	Nehemiah 4:18	Ezekiel 33:6
Exodus 20:18	Nehemiah 4:20	Hosea 5:8
Leviticus 25:9	Job 39:24	Hosea 8:1
Numbers 10:4	Psalm 47:5	Joel 2:1
Joshua6:5	Psalm 81:3	Joel 2:15
Joshua 6:20	Psalm 150:3	Amos 2:2
Judges 3:27	Isaiah 18:3	Amos 3:6
Judges 6:34	Isaiah 27:13	Zephaniah 1:16
JUdges7:15	Isaiah 58:1	Zecharia9:14
Judges 7:18	Jeremiah 4:5	Matthew 6:2
Samuel 13:3	Jeremiah 4:19	Matthew 24:31
Samuel 2:28	Jeremiah 4:21	1 Corinthians 14:8
Samuel 6:15	Jeremiah 6:1	I Corinthians 15:52
Samuel 15:10	Jeremiah 6:17	Hebrews 12:19
Samuel 18:16	Jeremiah 42:14	Revelation 1:10
Samuel 20:1	Jeremiah 51:27	Revelation 45:1
Samuel 20:22	Ezekiel 7:14	Revelation 8:13
Kings 1:34	Ezekiel 33:3	Revelation 9:14
Scriptures	containing	"TRUMPETS"
Lev 23:24	Joshua 6:8	Judges 7:22
Numbers 10:2	Joshua 6:9	2 Kings 9:13
Numbers 10:8	Joshua 6:13	2 Kings 11:14
Numbers 10:9	Joshua 6:16	2 Kings 12:13
Numbers 10:10	Joshua 6:20	1 Chronicles 13:8
Numbers 29:1	Judges 7:8	1 Chronicles 15:24
Numbers 31:6	Judges 7:18	1 Chronicles 15:28

2 Chronicles 5:13	2 Chronicles 23:13	Job 39:25
2 Chronicles 7:6	2 Chronicles 29:26	Psalm 98:6
2 Chronicles 13:12	2 Chronicles 29:27	Revelation 8:2
2 Chronicles 13:14	Ezra 3:10	Revelation 8:6
2 Chronicles 15:14	Nehemiah 12:35
Scriptures containing *'RAM'S* HORN"
Joshua 6:4	Joshua 6:6	Joshua 6:13
Joshua 6:5	Joshua 6:8
Scriptures containing "CORONET or CORONETS"
2 Samuel 6:5	Psalm 98:6	Daniel 3:10
1 Chronicles 15:28	Daniel 3:5	Daniel 3:15
2Chronicles 15:14	Daniel 3:7	Hosea 5:8

Evidence of Shofar Usage in the Holy Temple

2010-12-26T20:42:00.000-08:00

Evidence of Shofar Usage in the Holy Temple

Arthur L. Finkle

In the Mishnah, Arakhin, 2:3 provides evidence that the shofar was sounded never less than 21 blasts nor more than 48 blasts each day.

1) There are never less than twenty-one blasts in the Temple and never more than forty-eight.

There was a minimum of 21 daily trumpet blasts in the Temple and a maximum of 48.

The explanation of this section can be found in the Mishnah, Sukkah 5:5. The shofar sounded:

· one blast in the Temple

· three at the opening of the gates

· nine at the morning daily burnt offering

· nine at the evening daily burnt offering.

At the additional offerings, they added another nine.

At the eve of the Sabbath they added six more; three to cause the people to lay down their work and three to mark the distinction between the sacred and the profane.

If the eve of a Sabbath were within the Festival of Tabernacles (Succot), there were forty eight:

· three at the opening of the gates

· three at the upper gate

· three at the lower gate; three at the drawing of water

· three at the Altar

· nine at the morning daily burnt offering

· nine at the evening daily burnt offering

· nine at the additional offerings, three to make the people cease work, and three to differentiate between the sacred and the profane.

On Rosh HaShanah, the shofar was sounded at the additional sacrificial service for the New Year. Rosh HaShanah 28a

Sounds of the Shofar

The Bible refers to two kinds trumpet sounds: teki'ah and teru'ah (Num. 10:5–8). The Mishnah (RH 4:9) describes the teki'ah as a long blast and the teru'ah as three yevavot, a wavering crying blast. It prescribes three sets of shofar sounds since the word teru'ah is mentioned in the Bible three times (Lev. 23:24, 25:9 and Num. 29:1), each set to consist of a teki'ah, a teru'ah and teki'ah thrice repeated (RH 33bf.).

In the talmudic period, doubt arose as to the exact nature of the teru'ah. Some held that it was a moaning sound (genuhei genah) and others that it was an outcry (yelulei yelal). According to the first opinion the sound was shevarim (broken sounds), while in the second view it was teru'ah—a tremolo of nine staccato notes. Rabbi Abbahu reconciled the difference by deciding that the first set of sounds should include both shevarim and teru'ah, i.e., teki'ah, shevarim—teru'ah tekiah, while the other two sets were to be composed as follows: teki'ah, shevarim, teki'ah; and teki'ah, teru'ah, teki'ah (ibid.). The teki'ah (blowing) is a glissando which begins on a lower note and swells into a higher. The teru'ah (alarm) is a series of staccato blasts upon the lower note. The shevarim (tremolo) is an alternation of higher and lower notes. The concluding note of each of the two series is a teki'ah gedolah (great blast); this is a long drawn-out note explained as a sign of the removal of the Divine Presence, hermeneutically deduced from Exodus 19:13: "When the ram's horn soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

On Yom Kippur, the shofar heralded the beginning of the Jubilee Year (wherein debts are forgiven, slaves freed, lands returned, etc)

Leviticus 25:8 provides that every 50th year is the Jubilee Year. The Jubilee Year provides for

1 No work land

2 All slaves go free

3 All land goes to original people

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.

The Sefer HaChinuch (#342) suggests that part of the purpose behind the mitzvah of blowing a shofar during the Yovel ceremony is to strengthen the spirit of the slave owners. These men have to endure economic hardship when they release their slaves. As well, the blast of the shofar is also a call to the slaves to prepare them to leave the homes that they had with their previous owners. Expanding upon this, the Chinuch concludes by explaining that, at the end of the day, the shofar is a call to everyone to return to God. The shofar is meant to shake the foundations of an individual and remind him of where he comes from and to where his is going.

There also 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 associated the Yovel with the year 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 inhabitantas.”

Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof,’ derived from Lev 25:10in explaining the Jubilee year and is also the inscription 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 retuns 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.

Shofar: Heavenly Voice?

2010-12-22T12:37:00.000-08:00

Shofar: Heavenly Voice?

Arthur L. Finkle

CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Many Jewish scholars have written about the shofar, its uses, its significance, its vestigial survival of the Holy Temple sacrifices at the Jewish New Year, and have pondered the numerous Jewish Laws surrounding the shofar. See Tractate Rosh Hashshanah.

Christian writers have discussed the phenomenon of the thunder, lightning and sound arising from the Mt. Sinai during a special moment in humankind’s history. They attribute heavenly qualities to this mystical sound.

the Lord Makes the sound

Some say that the horn was sounded by the Lord.

Then the Lord will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south”

Zechariah 9:14

Blown to release angels

Others indicate that the sound releases angels to perform miracles.

“And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:31

sounded by the angels

Still others indicate that the Angels will sound the shofar at the end of time. Indeed, seven angels will herald the Messiah by performing some of the rites of the Holy Temple,, including sounding the horn.

Revelation 8:2, 3 - “And I saw the seven angels who stand before God and to them were given seven trumpets. 3) Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

9:1, 13-14 - Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.13) Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14) saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.”

10:7 - But in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

11:15 - Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

http://www.battleaxe.org/Shofar.html

Sounded By God

Some theologians claim that THE RUMBLINGS OF THE MOUNTAINT IN PREPRATION FOR Moses’ ascent of Mt. Sinai was in fact the saound (voice) oif God.

the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking; and

when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar

off (Exod 19:16,19; 20:18; d. Heb 12:19).

The shofar signals a theophany: God appears in His glory and majesty! While Exodus 19 and 20 do not make clear which heavenly being was blowing' the shofar on Sinai, the one other theophanic passage in the Old Testament referring to the shofar, explicidy states that God Himself is the shofar blower!( Zechariah 9:14)

Indeed, the shofar sounds serves as a cosmic reminder of the theophany at Sinai, the importance of the Law for God's people, and points us forward to the final theophany at the end of time.

Richard M. Davidson, "Blow The Ram's Horn In Zion!" Toward A Biblical Theology Of The Shofar http://www.thesourcehh.org/pdf/Contributors%20Documents/Richard%20Davidson/ Blow_the_Rams_Horn.pdf

2010-12-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

Qualifications for a Shofar Sounder (Ba'al T'kiyka)

Arthur L. Finkle

BEING A BA^'AL T^'KIYAH (SHOFAR SOUNDER) IS AN HONOR.

"The one who blows the shofar on Rosh ha-Shanah...should likewise be learned in the Torah and shall be God-fearing, the best man available. However, every Jew is eligible for any sacred office, providing he is acceptable to the congregation. If, however, he sees that his choice will cause dissension, he should withdraw his candidacy, even if the improper person will be chosen^"

(Shulhan Arukh 3:72). The Ba'al T'kiyah shall abstain from anything that may cause ritual contamination for three days before Rosh ha-Shanah (Shulhan Arukh 3:73).

When I train Shofar Sounders, I make sure that they all participate in the service and that no one is highlighted at the expense of another. I have also declined invitations to sound the shofar at other congregations if I know that I will displace another sounder. The democracy of each congregation is important. And it only enhances a sense of participation of as many people as possible can participate in a service.

Finally, the Ba^'al T^'kiyah shall recite the benedictions before the shofar ceremony.

Arthur L. Finkle, Easy Guide to Shofar Sounding, Torah Aura, 2002

Moreover, the Talmud indicates that a woman can sound the Shofar but only for other women because this positive mitzvah (obligation) is time bound for which women are exempt.. Mishnah Berurah 588:6.

To which I would now add that, in the preponderance of non-Orthodox synagogues, women have achieved ritual equality as men. Accordingly, there is no prohibition for a man to sound the Shofar in these synagogues.

Arthur L. Finkle

The general rule is that women are exempt from mitzvahs which are time-dependant.¹ This would include the Mitzvah of hearing the Shofar -- which has a very specific time designation; it must be fulfilled during the daytime hours of Rosh Hashanah.

Nevertheless, there are certain time-contingent mitzvahs which women have accepted upon themselves to observe. Hearing the sound of the shofar is one of these. Indeed, there are Halachic authorities which maintain that because it has become a universally accepted custom for women to hear the shofar, today it is has become mandatory -- as is the case with any custom which has become accepted practice.

Footnotes

· 1. See http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/411,2512/Which-mitzvahs-are-women-obligated-to-fulfill.html

On Women (and Hermaphrodites) Blowing the Shofar

By Rebecca Honig Friedman

One of the highlights of the High Holy Days is the blowing of the shofar, and the best shofar-blowing I ever heard was by a woman. Her tekiah gedolah was — the long blast sounded at the end of each shofar-blowing sequence on Rosh Hashanah and at the very end of the Neilah service on Yom Kippur — was sublime. She held the note longer than anyone else I’ve ever heard, until her face turned so red I was sure a blood vessel would burst, or worse.

But it wasn’t in shul that I heard this impressive, lung-busting performance. Rather, it was during an interview for The Jewish Channel’s “Holy Dazed” program, where various Jewish personalities share their thoughts, both thoughtful and humorous, about the Jewish holidays. And the woman in question was no rabbi or cantor but the owner of Davida’s Aprons, a purveyor of kitschy, Jewish-themed gifts. She just happened to blow a damn good shofar, and she said she did so every year at her synagogue, where congregants were invited to blow their own shofar along with the official “shofarist” (a term coined by Tablet’s Jesse Oxfeld in another episode of “Holy Dazed”).

As I was recalling Davida’s shofar prowess, I remembered an anecdote shared by the Reform movement’s Rabbi David Ellenson about how as a young assistant rabbi assigned to blow the shofar for High Holiday services, he ran out of steam and was saved by his fellow assistant rabbi, Sally Priesand, the first woman ever ordained as a rabbi. That story made me realize that, having gone to Orthodox synagogues my whole life, I have never heard a woman blow the shofar in shul. With all the strides that Orthodox women have made in synagogue and ritual life — reading Torah, leading services (albeit for women only), and even serving in rabbinic positions — shofar-blowing is one ritual role that Orthodox women, to my knowledge, have yet to go after.

Is that because women blowing shofar is halachically problematic, I wondered, or is this simply a case of tradition left unchallenged? I put the question to a halachic authority I thought would be sympathetic to my cause, Mahara”t Sara Hurwitz of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. She filled me in: “Women do not have the same obligation as men to blow shofar. They cannot blow on behalf of men. But a woman can blow for other women.”

To expound on that, because shofar-blowing is a time-bound mitzvah, women, who are exempt from most time-bound mitzvot, are exempt from blowing or hearing the shofar. Since they’re not obligated in the mitzvah, they cannot fulfill the mitzvah for those who are, namely, men. But there is no problem if a woman wants to blow the shofar for other women, who are also not obligated in the mitzvah. In fact, when I asked another rabbi for a second opinion (always good practice in halachic-decision and medical-prognosis seeking), Rabbi Joshua Yuter of the Stanton Street Shul noted that the Talmudic commentator “Machzor Vitry (written around 1105) #316 writes explicitly that if women want to blow shofar, we do not prevent them.”

How progressive of him.

So, according to Orthodox halacha, for a woman to blow the shofar in an Orthodox shul, she would have to do it in a special women’s-only service, similar to what is done in many shuls on Simchat Torah when women read from the Torah. But on the High Holidays, when congregational unity is a theme of sorts, I wonder if a breakaway women’s minyan just for the sake of shofar-blowing is the best idea. And then, as Rabbi Yuter noted, there is the further-divisive question of whether a woman blowing shofar for other women should say the requisite blessing, containing the words “asher kiddishanu bemitzvotav v’tzivanu” [who sanctified us with the commandments that he commanded us], since she is not technically commanded in this particular mitzvah.

And as I learned from Wikipedia, woman aren’t the only ones who can only blow the shofar for each other: “A hermaphrodite may make his shofar sounding serve for other hermaphrodites.”

I’m not sure what to make of that except that the rabbis really do seem to have thought of everything, and that there is a consistency in their thinking, at least where women and hermaphrodites are concerned.

So my next question is, can a woman blow shofar for hermaphrodites, and can a hermaphrodite blow the shofar for women? And what would be the status of a hermaphrodite vis à vis participating in a women’s minyan?

Anyone who can give me a satisfying answer to these questions gets a free shofar.

Larry Lennhoff

Oct 14, 2009

http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/115479/

All who are obligated to hear the shofar can blow the shofar for others to fulfil their obligation. A child (meaning under the age of bar mitzvah), a mentally incompetent person and women are exempt from the Torah's obligation of hearing the shofar. A child is exempt since he has not reached the age of mitzvahs, nevertheless, parents bring children to hear the shofar in order to educate them in this important mitzvah. A mentally incompetent is not required to hear the shofar, since the Torah does not obligate someone who is severely lacking in intelligence. A women is relieved of her obligations to hear the shofar since it is a mitzvah that is time orientented. Even so, most (if not all) woman have the custom to hear the shofar, just like a man. However a woman does not blow the shofar for a man, since she is not obligated by the Torah to hear it and a man is.

The person who blows the shofar must have in mind that everyone who hears it will fulfil their obligation to hear it. Therefore, we do not practice blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah; perhaps someone will hear the practice blast and think that by hearing those sounds he has fulfilled his obligation.

http://www.jewishmag.com/71mag/shofar/shofar.htm

Qualifications for Sounding the Shofar

The Shulchan Aruch begins its exploration of fitness by citing excluding classes of people:

Whoever is not obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of sounding the shofar should not substitute his efforts for another whose duty it is to perform a mitzvah. For example, the Baal Tekiah sounds a shofar for a synagogue in Chelm cannot perform he same mitzvah when another in the town of Lodz can fulfill the mitzvah.
The mitzvah is not valid for a deaf mute (cannot hear), moron (lacks the capacity) and a child (lacks the adult status).
Women are exempt because the mitzvah is time bound.
A hermaphrodite may make his shofar sounding serve for other hermaphrodites.
Women should not be Baal Tekia’s because they would be substituting her efforts for another whose duty it is to perform a mitzvah. However, if a female Baal Tekiya has already intoned the shofar for other women, it is valid. However, women should not make a blessing.
Only a freeman (not even a slave who will become free in the next month) can be a Baal Tekiya. MB 590:1–5

Being a Baal Tekiya (Shofar Sounder) is an honor.
"The one who blows the shofar on Rosh Hashanah . . . should likewise be learned in the Torah and shall be God-fearing; the best man available. Nevertheless, every Jew is eligible for any sacred office, providing he is acceptable to the congregation. If, however, he sees that his choice will cause disruption, he should withdraw his candidacy, even if the improper person will be chosen” See Shulchan Aruch 3:72.
Moreover, the Baal Tekiya shall abstain from anything that may cause ritual contamination for three days prior to Rosh Hashanah. See Shulchan Aruch 3:73
A Baal Tekiya can sound the shofar for shut-ins and home-bound women who have had baby.
If a blind blower was dismissed, but the community did not find a blower as proficient, he should be appointed as community blower. The touchstone is proficiency not disability.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shofar

The Shofar was Sounded on the Sabbath

2010-11-21T04:42:00.000-08:00

The Shofar was Sounded on the Sabbath

Arthur L. Finkle

The shofar was sounded six time before the Sabbath. In Shabbos 35b, we find that cites a braisa (legal decision not codified in the Mishna) providing for six shofar blasts on the eve of the Sabbath to stop people form their labor and to prepare for the Sabbath.

The first call instructs those in the fields to cease their work and return home.

The second call tells people in the cities to cease their work and return home. Tana d'vei R. Yishmael, a transmitter of Jewish law in the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation) indicates that Stores may remain open with merchandise on removable doors outside until the second blast. It is added that, after the second blast, the doors are removed and the stores are closed - pots and hot water may be left on ovens;

The thirds tells the people to light the Sabbath candles. Judah Na-Nasi, the great codifier of the Mishna in the third century, answers that people also remove their tefillin (phylacteries) and that there is also time to roast a fish or make bread. R. Shimon ben Gamliel, the religious leader of the Jewish Legislature/Judiciary (Sanhedrin) in 50 CE, just before the destruction of the Second Temple, also cites the practice in Babylonia that even before the series of shofar sounds occurs, the people must cease work. It is also noted that pots and hot water for the evening meal are taken off the oven.

The Talmud is then astonishingly silint of the fourth, iffth and sixth blast.

Thereafter the Rabbi’s debated the question of whether one could move a shofar during the Sabbath. R. Abaye, a commentator to the Talmud who lived in Babylonia at the close of the third century, indicates a unique use of the shofar. He cites that one may move a shofar on the Sabbath so that it could be used as a receptacle to give water to a child to drink. In addition the shofar of the (community) can be used to give water to an poor to drink.

Then, the Rabbi’s debate the meaning of the word ‘shofar.’ After some discussion, Rav Chisda indicates that the meanings of three pairs of words changed after the destruction of the Temple. – one of these changes was trumpet became shofar and shofar, trumpet. To which someone asks: What difference does it make?

The Rabbi’s answered that on Rosh Hashanah we must blow what was initially called a shofar but commoners now call it a trumpet. This explanation leaves us in more confusion.

Are we to sound the trumpet today or the shofar which is mentioned in Jewish Law?

Real Origin of the Shofar’s Significance: The Rabbi’s Rule

2010-11-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

Real Origin of the Shofar’s Significance: The Rabbi’s Rule

Arthur L. Finkle

Although the Mishnah cites the origin for the sounding of the Shofar based in the Hebrew Scripture, the actuality is that the Mishnah and Talmud regularized and legitimatized the Shofar’s predominance at both Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur after the destruction of the Second Temple.

Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 3:3 cites that the Shofar is played on Yom Teruah (Day of Blasting or Rosh HaShanah) because it was sounded at the special sacrifice at Rosh HaShanah. Additionally, it was sounded on Yom Kippur to announce to Jubilee Year (every 50 years, Jews could reclaim their sold lands; Jewish slaves were freed; debts forgiven; etc.). Mishnah Rosh HaShanah 3:3 says in part:

The Shofar [blown in the Temple] at the New Year was [made from the horn] of the wild goat, straight, with its mouthpiece overlaid with gold. And at the sides [of them that blew the Shofar] were two (that blew upon) trumpets. The Shofar blew a long note and the trumpets a short note, since the duty of the day fell on the Shofar.

The Mishnah thus emphasizes that in Rosh HaShanah symbolized the Shofar; the trumpets, the other special days.

However, Hoenig does not trace a specific sacrifice relating to the sound of the Shofar at the Temple ritual for Rosh HaShanah.

Zeitlin traces the history of prayer as essential for history of religion because it traces the evolution of humankind’s relationship to God.

He indicates that, biblical horns blasts indicate a plague or another calamity. In many cases such blasts called an assembly, blew the Shofar and fasted, (Joel 2.15-16.)

Indeed, we learn that the Holiness Code that set apart a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts (Lev 24) as Zikhron tru’ah (commemoration by blasting) Also found in Num 29:1. The sounding of horns had various functions in Ancient Israel, as well as elsewhere in the Middle East. Usually, it was a method of assembling the people before moving on to a new location or of mustering troops for battle. Cultic uses as well. Here it is hint that there is a pilgrimage day at full moon (Sukot) (JPS Torah Commentary, Leviticus, p 160.)

The later prophets, however, preached the universality of God. They ceased calling the Temple, the house of God. Indeed, the universality bespeaks omnipotence and omnipresence. Isaiah declares: "Thus, said God, the heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool; where is the house that ye may build unto Me? Where is the place that may be My resting place?" (Isa. 66.1).

In the Book of Psalms repentance is connected with prayer. In the Books of Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah confession was already a part of prayer. (Ps. 32.5; 41.5; 51.3-7).

The Hebrew Scriptures note that the first day of the seventh month shall be one of remembrance by sounding the blast of the horn (teruah). Though the practice of blowing trumpets is generally associated with the offering of sacrifices, as recorded in Numbers 10: 10: "And in your day of gladness and in your appointed seasons and in your new moons, ye shall sound with the trumpets (hatzotzerot) over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings, and they shall be to you for a memorial before your God,"

The Scriptures are support that “the blast of the horn" (tekiat shofar) is singled out on the first day of the seventh month (Rosh HaShanah) as an exceptional rite. Nevertheless, there are numerous verses that cite hatzotzerot (trumpets) associated the sacrificial cult, performed by Hezekiah, hatzotzerotin deed play a significant role. 4 Yet the Bible generally associates "blasts of sound" with Shofar, announcing assembly, travel or war. (Num. 10:1 ff.; 1 Chron. 15: 24.

Apparently hatzotzerot were the usual Temple musical instruments whereas Shofar was only for special occasions. Cf. "Musical Instruments," Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, p. 472.

ORIGINS OF THE ROSH HASHANAH LITURGY

The delineation of Shofar for Rosh Hashanah and hatzotzerot for customary sacrifice became an early biblical norm. Hatzotzerot (trumpets) were used at every new moon at the sacrificial service; Shofar was an added distinction of the new moon of the seventh month, based upon the biblical nomenclature, Yom teruah, "a day of sounding the horn" or "trumpet day."

Indeed, Philo (a 1st century Jewish/Hellenistic historian/philosopher mentions that there was a double sacrifice on Rosh HaShanah (The Special Laws I, I80 (Vol. VII, Loeb Classical Library). However, Josephus, former Israeli general who became allied with the conquering Roman authorities, does not mention the blowing of the Shofar for the seventh month. ((Ant. 3. Io. 2 [239]))

At this point, we introduce some ambiguity of language. Though Hebrew usage distinguishes between Shofar and hatzotzerot, the Greek word is the translation for both instruments. Accordingly, when Philo uses the expression "trumpet day," it is definite that he refers here not to hatzotzerot but to Shofar, (Zeitlin).

Philo's reasons for the blowing of Shofar on "trumpet day," therefore, are: a) a reminder of the Sinaitic revelation. b) an instrument of war. c) a thanks-offering to God, the peace-maker and peace-keeper.

On that occasion too the Levites sang Psalm 8I which contains the passage "Blow the Shofar on the new moon, etc." (Jerusalem Talmud R.H. 59c; R.H. 30b).

After the destruction of the Temple, Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai proclaimed the Shofar be sounded in Jabneh (where his school was located) on Rosh Hashanah, even if Rosh HaShanah occurred on the Sabbath, continuing the practice of the Temple. His subsequent takkonot (proclamations) in this emergency of losing the Temple and replacing it with the synagogue. Expanded the situs to any place in Israel where there was an official Bet Din ( Zeitlin, "The Takkanot of Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai," JQR (Oct. 1964), p. 290.)

The practice of sounding the notes of the traditional Shofar sounds finds some support in bible for tekiah and teruah. However, there is no order given as to the order or pitch, timbre, or intensity. The manner of observance of Yom Teruah (day of blasting) or Zikron Teruah (memorial of sound) is not specified. Such is set forth only in the Mishnah Rosh Hashanah where a third note was instituted by Rabbi Abbahu of Caesarea (circa 300 C.E.) was accepted as the correct mode to be followed. RH 34a

In Jabneh and in Usha, the predominant cities for the Jewish communities after the destruction of the Temple, the now dominant Rabbi’s issued takkonot to ease the transition of society to a diasporac condition. Among the ritual changes were the designating benedictions accompanying this ancient rite of Shofar sounding, known as Malkuyot (Kingship), Zikronot (Remembrance) and Shoforot (horn blasting).

Since Rabbi Johanan ben Nuri and Rabbi Akiba discuss its place in the liturgy, hence it must have been inaugurated about I20 CE after the Amidah (standing prayer integrtal to Jewish worship) was instituted. Interestingly Rabbi Akiba's practice was followed in Judea; Galilean Jewry followed Rabbi Johanan ben Nuri's mode. (Jerusalem Talmud R.H. 59; Saul Lieberman,(1898-1983), Tosefta Moed R.H. [midrashic literature coterminous with the Talmud), p. 316).

Indeed, an examination Psalm 81 reveals that basically it contains the elements of Malkuyot, Shofrot and Zikronot, though not so named or even stressed. (Hoenig)

References

Arthur L. Finkle.. Easy Guide to Shofar Sounding, LA: Torah Aura, 2002.

Sidney B. Hoenig, Origins of the Rosh Hashanah Liturgy, The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 57, The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Volume of the Jewish Quarterly Review (1967), pp. 312-331, University of Pennsylvania Press http://www.jstor.org/stable/1453499

JPS Torah Commentary – Leviticus, Commentary Baruch A. Levine, Philadelphia: JPS, 1989

David Wulstan, The Sounding of the Shofar Author(s): Source: The Galpin Society Journal, Vol. 26 (May, 1973), pp. 29-46,Galpin Society. http://www.jstor.org/stable/841111

Solomon Zeitlin, An Historical Study of the First Canonization of the Hebrew Liturgy,The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jan., 1946), pp. 211-229, University of Pennsylvania Press

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