Did you know that "Return of the Jedi" features a scene of ewoks playing shofars? While obviously it would not make sense to watch Star Wars on Rosh Hashanah, could this be a way of fulfilling the mitzvah of hearing the shofar during the month of Elul, and if so in what circumstances?
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Relevant halachos of hearing/blowing the shofar (primarily following the rulings of the Modern Orthodox community)
Who can blow the shofar?
- The shofar blower must be halachically obligated to the mitzvah of the shofar [i.e. above the age of b'nai mitzvah and Jewish, and traditionally only men], or else the listeners have not fulfilled their mitzvah (Rambam, Mishneh Torah).
- Hearing the shofar fulfills the mitzvah for the listeners, even if the shofarist has already heard the shofar blasts that day (Talmud, Rosh Hashanah). As long as even one Jew has not fulfilled this mitzvah, all Jews are still "obligated," because "all Jews are responsible for one another" (Ritva on Rosh Hashanah 29a).
Blowing the shofar, or just listening?
- Is the essential mitzvah on blowing the shofar oneself, or merely hearing it? This discussion takes place around a case of a stolen shofar, but we won't get into those details now. The Rambam seems to hold that the mitzvah is on hearing the sound, while the Raavad, the Semag, and the Ra'ah seem to hold that it is on blowing the shofar. The Ran suggests that this dispute is between the Talmud Yerushalmi and the Bavli. The Shulchan Arukh rules that one does not need to blow the shofar themself but merely must hear it (and that stealing a shofar is a bad thing to do).
- Even if the mitzvah is only on hearing and not on blowing, the mitzvah is only fulfilled if both the shofarist and the listener have the intention to do the mitzvah (Rambam, Mishneh Torah). It is not necessary that the shofarist have in mind the person/people listening.
Shofar blowing requirements
- The shofarist must not speak between reciting the blessing and completing the whole shofar call. R' Soloveitchik suggests that the mitzvah is different for the shofarist than the congregation (the mitzvah being on blowing vs hearing), and that the congregation may speak between blasts.
What kind of listening is necessary?
- "If a person was traveling on a journey or was sitting in his home and heard the teki'ot from the person leading the congregation, he has fulfilled his obligation if he had that intention, since the leader of the congregation had the intention of enabling the many to fulfill their obligation" (Rambam, Mishneh Torah). The Mishnah specifies that this is only true when the listener had the intention of fulfilling the mitzvah.
- One who blows the shofar into a pit and only hears his echo has not fulfilled the mitzvah (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah).
- The majority opinion holds that hearing the shofar using a microphone or hearing aids, or listening to a live broadcast, does not fulfill the mitzvah and therefore one does not say the blessing (R Chaim Jachter, Torah Academy of Bergen County; R' Ben-Zion Uziel). However, the Chazon Ish and R' Moshe Feinstein argued that it does count and is especially acceptable if there is "great need," such as if a person cannot leave their room for health reasons. R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach wrote that it would count if one is in the same room as the shofarist (such as in the case of a microphone or hearing aids) but not over radio or video broadcast.
Does watching "Return of the Jedi" fulfill the mizvah, and, if so, how?
The stakes of this argument must be very high, as it would seem that the halacha is extremely against this premise. There must be both a "great need," as Feinstein put it, and watching "Return of the Jedi" would need to be the only option for a person. As such, let us assume that our hypothetical person, Ploni Almoni, was necessarily stuck at home, perhaps due to poor health. However, this is not extreme enough, as one could call upon a neighbor or clergy person to visit and play the shofar for them (a mitzvah which we are expected to do for others).
What if Ploni is required to stay in isolation? (For example, Ploni might have COVID and must be in isolation for the greater good of the community). For safety, one may not be in the same room. However, this is still not extreme enough, as Ploni could open his window as his neighbor plays the shofar outside the house.
If we go too extreme (like, for example, if Ploni is a POW or in hiding, and is not able to get a real shofar or even a radio to broadcast, but is somehow still able to watch the Star Wars film), we run into a new problem. Besides the issue of whether the scenario would ever happen (an issue that I am choosing to ignore for the sake of the discussion), a POW or someone hiding for fear of his life is obviously not expected to fulfill this mitzvah. According to ___, only free people are obligated to hear the shofar, so Ploni the POW would be (temporarily) categorically released from the mitzvah. And, in the case of one who is in hiding, the question enters the realm of pikuach nefesh- if even going out to a synagogue or blowing a horn is a risk to Ploni's life, then he is not expected to fulfill the mitzvah at that time. Even in a case where Ploni is living as a crypto-Jew or in a relationship with an antisemite who doesn't want Ploni to practice Judaism, pikuach nefesh would still kick in and Ploni's obligation to the mitzvah would be nullified.
This precept creates an interesting system of halakhic obligation and fulfillment. If one is completely unable to fulfill a mitzvah, they are temporarily or permanently exempt from it. If one suddenly becomes able again, their obligation kicks in as soon as they are aware of the change.
Another problem we face is the limitations of the echo and the shofarist's intention. Even if a live broadcast were permissible, as in the rulings of the minority, Star Wars was filmed decades ago and is certainly considered an echo (and therefore would not fulfill the mitzvah). And, though it could be possible that the ewok shofarists were playing with the intention of all watchers in 1983 hearing them, it is unlikely they were envisioning anyone in 2024.
Based on these reasons, I do not believe that watching "Return of the Jedi" could in any case fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the shofar.
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Thank you to R' Zvi Sobolofsky, R' Doniel Schreiber, R' Chaim Jachter, and R' Avram Schwartz for your articles, which explained the halachos of tekiat/shemiat shofar in a simpler and more comprehensive way.