The shofar is made from the horn of an animal, usually a ram. In the Bible, the shofar was blown as a trumpet in battle and, today, is used primarily during Rosh Hashanah services and at the end of Yom Kippur as a “wake up call” to repentance or to announce God the King.
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A Day When the Horn is SoundedTANAKH
A Day When the Horn is Sounded
TANAKH
The Torah commands that the first day of the seventh month be a day of blasts, understood to be shofar blasts. In the biblical calendar, the first month is Nissan, and so the seventh is Tishrei, the first two days of which are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
A “Shofar” WordplayMIDRASH
A “Shofar” Wordplay
MIDRASH
Why is the shofar called a shofar? What does it mean? This ancient midrash from the land of Israel points out that the word “shofar” is spelled in the same order and the same letters as the Hebrew verb that means “to improve” and thereby suggests its meaning.
Shofar as Alarm HALAKHAH
Shofar as Alarm
HALAKHAH
Imagine the shofar as an alarm to awaken our souls to self-examination. In Rambam’s monumental twelfth-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, he offers insight into the functions of the shofar.
From the Throne of Judgment to the Throne of MercyMIDRASH
From the Throne of Judgment to the Throne of Mercy
MIDRASH
The rabbis explain the power of the shofar to transform God’s justice to mercy and when it is effective. This early medieval midrash makes its argument from a verse from Psalms.
Definition of a ShofarMISHNAH
Definition of a Shofar
MISHNAH
How do we know what a shofar is? The Mishnah, the first codification of Jewish law, from the early 3rd-century land of Israel, sets out some of the differences between a shofar and a horn or a trumpet.
Announcing the Jubilee YearTANAKH
Announcing the Jubilee Year
TANAKH
Besides on Rosh Hashanah, when else does the Torah command that the shofar be blown? The book of Leviticus instructs that the shofar is sounded to announce the jubilee year.
Purification through HeartbreakCHASIDUT
Purification through Heartbreak
CHASIDUT
Once one’s heart is purified, there are no sins left for the prosecuting angel, the Satan, to prosecute in the heavenly court. This early twentieth-century chasidic sermon likens the sound of the shofar to the wailing of a broken heart and assumes that one’s heart is purified by being broken.
The Merit of the Binding of IsaacMIDRASH
The Merit of the Binding of Isaac
MIDRASH
How can Abraham’s descendants invoke the merit of the Binding of Isaac, the Akeidah? The background to this medieval midrash is the primary connection between the story of the Akeidah and the shofar, a ram’s horn.
The Order of the Blasts HALAKHAH
The Order of the Blasts
HALAKHAH
Jewish legal texts detail the order of the different shofar blasts (referred to with acronyms) of the additional service of Rosh Hashanah. The first part of the text is that of the authoritative sixteenth-century legal code, the Shulchan Aruch, followed by Rabbi Moses Isserles’ commentary, which elaborates on the practice in the lands of Ashkenaz.
A Mitzvah to Hear the What? HALAKHAH
A Mitzvah to Hear the What?
HALAKHAH
Since the mitzvah (commandment) of the day of Rosh Hashanah is to hear the shofar, it is important to know how we know that the blasts must come from the shofar, and what a shofar is. Rambam, in his late twelfth-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, explains what qualifies as a shofar and how the rabbis know this.
Announcing the King TANAKH
Announcing the King
TANAKH
On Rosh Hashanah, one element of the symbolism of the shofar is that, like a trumpet, a shofar announces God, the King, as in this verse from Psalms. This verse appears in the Rosh Hashanah liturgy amidst other verses that talk about sounding the shofar.
An Intention to Hear CHASIDUT
An Intention to Hear
CHASIDUT
When fulfilling a mitzvah (commandment), in this case, hearing the shofar, it helps to set an intention. Intention-setting prayers such as this one — written in the 19th century by Rabbi Nathan Sternhartz, a student of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov — are a popular chasidic practice.
Louder and LouderTANAKH
Louder and Louder
TANAKH
The first mention of the shofar by name in the Torah is in the description of the overwhelming sensory experience of the revelation at Sinai. Notably, it is not clear in these verses from the book of Exodus from where the sound was coming, but the shofar is associated with God’s presence.
When the Walls FellTANAKH
When the Walls Fell
TANAKH
Shofars were used in biblical times on the battlefield. Perhaps the best-known biblical story involving shofars, their blasts seem to have contributed to the fall of the walls of Jericho just after the Israelites entered the land of Israel after forty years in the desert.
Whether or Not to Blow Shofar on Shabbat TALMUD
Whether or Not to Blow Shofar on Shabbat
TALMUD
After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, practical questions arose as to how to fulfill the mitzvot in the absence of the Temple, including whether to blow the shofar when Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat. The Talmud recounts how the question was settled.
From the New Moon of the Month of Elul MIDRASH
From the New Moon of the Month of Elul
MIDRASH
Why is the shofar blown from the new moon of the month of ElulWhy is the shofar blown from the new moon of the month of Elul? This early medieval midrash suggests an answer drawn from the biblical narrative. This early medieval midrash suggests an answer drawn from the biblical narrative.
The Mouth of the DivineKABBALAH
The Mouth of the Divine
KABBALAH
The Zohar explains that the letters that represent the blasts of the shofar are the symbols of divine expression. The Zohar, the central work of Jewish mysticism, endeavors to explain the relationship between the patriarchs, the shofar blasts, and the Divine Presence.
The Obligation to Hear One Hundred BlastsHALAKHAH
The Obligation to Hear One Hundred Blasts
HALAKHAH
How and when during the Rosh Hashanah service does one fulfill the obligation to hear the one hundred shofar blasts? Rabbi Jacob ben Asher, author of the Arba’ah Turim (“The Four Rows”) offers some of the laws of when and how the blasts should be heard.
The Symbolic Shape of the Shofar TALMUD
The Symbolic Shape of the Shofar
TALMUD
The ancient rabbis debate whether a shofar should be curved or straight and how that relates to the shape of our prayers. The different opinions of the rabbis reflect their different understanding of the essence of these holidays, and their rituals and symbols.
The Shofar Blasts Before Shabbat TALMUD
The Shofar Blasts Before Shabbat
TALMUD
The Talmud teaches that the shofar was blasted in the moments before Shabbat. The rabbis explain the meaning of each of the pre-Shabbat shofar blasts.
