SHOFAR
- YOM TERUAH
The shofar is an animal horn we blow like a trumpet.
It is usually a ram's horn, but a shofar can be
made from the horn of any kosher
animal except a cow. Today the use of a long and beautiful
antelope horn is popular. Unlike a trumpet, the shofar
has no mouthpiece. It is difficult to blow. Shofar
blowers spend many hours practicing before Rosh Hashana.
The shofar blower should be someone who is
admired in the community, a person who is well liked
and does good deeds. The shofar blower is called
the ba'al tekiah. Another person stands next
to the ba'al tekiah and calls out the notes.
There are three kinds of notes. The
tekiah is a single blast. The
shevarim is a set of three blasts. The
teruah is a set of nine very short blasts.
During the shofar service the ba'al tekiah
blows three notes in different combinations as
they are called out. At the end of the shofar
service, a very long tekiah, the tekiah
gedolah is blown.
When it is time to blow the shofar, the whole
congregation stands. They recited the blessing for the
mitzvah of hearing the shofar :
Baruch atah, Adonai elohainu, melech haolam, ahshair
keedshanu bimetzvotav vtzevanu leeshmoah kol shofar
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe,
who makes us holy with mitzvot and calls us to hear
the sound of the shofar.
Baruch atah, Adonai elohainu, melech haolam, shehecheyanu
vikeemanu v'heegeanu lozzmon hazeh.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe,
for giving us life, for sustaining us, and for enabling
us to reach this season.
There are many reasons why we blow the shofar
on Rosh Hashanah. According to Maimondies,
the great Jewish scholar, we blow the shofar
on Rosh Hashanah to say, "Wake up! Wake up, everyone
who is asleep! Remember God, your Creator! Instead of
going around doing things that are not important or
worthwhile, take some time to think about what you can
do to make yourself into a better person. Give up doing
bad things!"
Rabbi Saadia
Gaon gave some reasons for blowing the shofar
:
Other names for Rosh Hashanah: Yom
HaZikaron , Yom
Hadin
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