Hearing the Sound of Shofar
Leviticus 23:23-25 tells us that on the first day of the seventh month, Israelites are to blow trumpets. This day is called Yom Teruah, "the day of the alarming sound." Besides the proper festival sacrifices, the people are commanded to produce and experience the sound of the Shofar, a horn. It's a crude and natural ancient trumpet. Have you wondered why people were instructed to sound such an alarm using animal horns as they celebrated the new year? This simple custom has some deep and interesting roots.
This video explores some of the traditions associated with sounding the Shofar, its meaning, purpose, and what the ritual is supposed to accomplish. Not an academic lecture but an interactive shiur (lesson), a discussion with live audience participation that explores the custom.
Though people often think of a Shofar as a trumpet, it's not treated today as just another musical instrument, but rather as a sacred object. Mainstream Jewish tradition tends to limit the use of the Shofar to special occasions, to the month of Elul, and to the Tishrei festivals of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) to make its use spiritually impactful. The logic is simple: if we hear its sound too often, it becomes mundane and stops having the intended effect on us.
Pinchas Shir
Pinchas Shir
Pinchas Shir