Cantorial Comments by
Cantor Elihu Feldman
At this time of year, when we stand at the precipice of the High Holiday season, I thought it would be interesting to investigate the history of the shofar, that age old, wonderful, instrument sounded on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kippur to mark the end of the fast. Of all the musical instruments used by our people, the shofar is mentioned most frequently in the Bible (72 times), thus indicating its paramount importance in the religious as well as secular life of our people. The shofar is the only instrument of our people that has survived the millennia in its original form and which is still used in the liturgy, although with greatly curtailed functions.
Although the Torah commands us to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and on the Jubilee year, some Jewish musicologists believe that the ancient Hebrews borrowed the shofar from the Assyrians. The rationale for this position is that the word shofar is derived from the Assyrian word shapparu, "wild goat" (of the ibex family). However mainstream historians maintain that the shofar is entirely Jewish in origin. They base their belief on the fact that the shofar is made of a ram's horn and the shofar was named for the source of material of which it was made. Another approach to the word shofar is that it is derived from the Semitic words shu and far which correspond to the words hollow and empty which after preparation would accurately describe a shofar.
The original form of the shofar was a curved one like that of the ram’s horn. Later, a special procedure was used to produce straight shofarot with a distinct bend close to the bell. In the time of the Second Temple we find both curved and straight shofarot were in use.
"The shofar blown in the Temple at New Year was made from horn of the wild goat, straight with its mouthpiece overlaid with gold. At the side of those blowing the shofar were two others who blew chatzotrot (trumpets made of silver). The shofar blew a long note and the chatzotrot short notes." "The shofarot used on the days of fasting were ram's horns rounded with their mouthpieces overlaid with silver.... (Talmud Tractate Rosh Hashanah)"
After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans the embellishment of shofarot with gold or silver or with showy ornaments was prohibited. Consequently we find the shofarot in use at B'nai Shalom to be unobtrusive, and unadorned. For those who can, it is well worthwhile to visit our alternative service where a curled shofar almost two feet long will be blown. This shofar is the natural shape of the horn of the ibex and is quite beautiful to look at and to listen to.
Although secularists discount the religious symbolism related to the shofar and maintain that the blowing of a horn made of an animal was a practice of all primitive people, we place special significance on the blowing of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Some of these reasons include: to remind us symbolically of God's promise to our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (that the people of Israel shall number as the sands of the Earth and the stars in the heavens), to remember the close relationship between Abraham and God and the acceptability and provision of a ram as a sacrifice in by Abraham in lieu of his son, and to connect us with the providential hope that at some future time the prophet Elijah will sound the shofar of deliverance to herald the coming of the Messiah.
Although we primarily associate the shofar with Rosh Hashana, its use on other occasions of importance in Jewish History deserves mention. The shofar was blown to call the people to arms and to signify that the encampment of the people was to be moved. It was blown by King Asa to renew the covenant, and Joshua and the people at Jericho. In the time of the Talmud, the shofar was blown on all fast days, on the holiday of Sukkoth and to mark the end of the Sabbath. More recently the shofar was blown by the Chief Chaplain of the Israeli Army when Jerusalem was recaptured in the Six Day War, by Rabbi Avi Weiss at his frequent protests on behalf of Soviet Jewry and at the Isaiah Wall of the United Nations to protest the current Peace Accord efforts. As we listen to the sounds of the Shofar let us pray for health and prosperity; for the ennoblement of our lives and perfection of our actions and our prayers; so that this forthcoming year will be a year of peace and prosperity for us, for Israel and throughout all the world. At this time Marcia, Vivian, Saul, Leah, Ester, Alexander and I extend our sincerest personal wishes to you for a happy, healthy and fulfilling New Year. L’Shanah Tova Tekatayvu!
Sept 2000