"Sound first and ask questions later” Can you blow the Shofar on Shabbat?

(1) With regard to the Festival day of Rosh HaShana that occurs on Shabbat, in the Temple they would sound the shofar as usual. However, they would not sound it in the rest of the country outside the Temple. After the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted that the people should sound the shofar on Shabbat in every place where there is a court of twenty-three judges. Rabbi Elazar said: Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted this practice only in Yavne, where the Great Sanhedrin of seventy-one judges resided in his time, but nowhere else. They said to him: He instituted the practice both in Yavne and in any place where there is a court.

(2) The mishna adds: And Jerusalem in earlier times had this additional superiority over Yavne after Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai instituted this practice, for in any city whose residents could see Jerusalem and hear the sounding of the shofar from there, and which was near to Jerusalem and people could come to Jerusalem from there, they would sound the shofar there as well, as it was considered part of Jerusalem. But in Yavne they would sound the shofar only in the court itself, not in the surrounding cities.

(6) [When] the holiday of Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbat, we may not blow the shofar in any place. [This is the case] even though blowing [the shofar] was forbidden only on account of a Shabbat decree; so it would have been appropriate that we would blow — a positive commandment of the Torah would come and override a Shabbat decree from the words [of the Sages]. So why do we not blow? [Because of] a decree lest one take it in his hand and carry it to someone to blow for him, and [in the process,] carry it four ells in the public domain, or transfer it from one domain to another — and come to a prohibition [punishable by] stoning. [This is necessary because] all are obligated in blowing [the shofar], but not all are expert at blowing [it].

(7) We do not prevent infants that have not reached [the age of] education from blowing [the shofar] on a Shabbat that is not the holiday of Rosh Hashanah in order that they learn [how to blow]. And on a holiday, it is [even] permissible for an adult to be involved with them in order to teach them — whether it is a child that has reached [the age of] education or whether it is a child that has not reached [the age of] education. For blowing is only forbidden on account of a Shabbat decree.

(8) When they made a decree not to blow on Shabbat, they only decreed about a place where there is no court. But at the time that the Temple existed and the High Court was in Jerusalem, everyone in Jerusalem would blow on Shabbat [that was Rosh Hashanah] the whole time that the court was seated [there]. And it was not only the people of Jerusalem, but rather every city that was within the perimeter of Jerusalem — and could see it, [which excludes one] in a ravine; and could hear it, [which excludes one] on a mountaintop; and that was able to come to Jerusalem, [which excludes one with] a river separating them — the people of that city would blow on Shabbat, like Jerusalem. But in the other cities of Israel, they did not blow.

(9) But at this time [after] the Temple was destroyed, we may blow on Shabbat in any place that has a permanent court — and that is so long as it was ordained in the Land of Israel. And we only blow on Shabbat in a court that has sanctified the moon (ratified the new month). But we may not blow in other courts, even though they were ordained. And we only blow exclusively in front of the High Court, so long as they are seated. And even if they moved to get up but did not [yet] get up, we may blow in front of them. However we may not blow outside of the court. And why may we blow in front of the court? Because the court is alacritous and the blowers would not come to transport a shofar in the public domain in front of them. For the court would warn the people and inform them [of the prohibition].

(10) At this time that we make two days [of Rosh Hashanah] in the Exile — in the same way that we blow on the first, so too do we blow on the second. And if the first day fell out on Shabbat and there was no court fitting to blow in that place, we blow only on the second.

…and Shabbat is not the time for blowing, as it is taught in the Mishnah… because not everyone is expert in blowing Shofar and we are concerned lest someone comes to take up the shofar in their hand and walk to an expert to learn and end up carrying it 4 cubits in public. The Rif (Rabbi Yitzchak Alfasi 11th C.) used to blow in his Beit Din, and relied on that which is taught: “when the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai decreed that they should blow in every place with a Beit Din” as long as it was in front of them, and the Rif wanted to interpret as ‘every court’, even one of 3 judges. But we don’t do this, for all the commentators explain that it means a Beit Din of 23, which is the Small Sanhedrin…

(5) 5. If the holy day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat we do not sound the shofar. Note (Rema): and it is even forbidden to handle a shofar, unless if needed for itself (i.e. in an allowed Shabbos act like to carry water) or it’s place (i.e. on a chair that one wants to sit).