The shofar is a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a trumpet. One of the most important observances of this holiday is hearing the sounding of the shofar in the synagogue. A total of 100 notes are sounded each day. There are four different types of shofar notes: tekiah, a 3 second sustained note; shevarim, three 1-second notes rising in tone, teruah, a series of short, staccato notes extending over a period of about 3 seconds; and tekiah gedolah (literally, "big tekiah"), the final blast in a set, which lasts (I think) 10 seconds minimum. Click the shofar above to hear an approximation of the sound of Tekiah Shevarim-Teruah Tekiah. The Bible gives no specific reason for this practice. One that has been suggested is that the shofar's sound is a call to repentance. The shofar is not blown if the holiday falls on Shabbat.
The Sound of a Silent Shofar:
The Problem of Rosh Ha-shana which Falls on Shabbat
By Harav Yehuda Amital
Adapted by Rav Ronnie Ziegler
Translated by David Silverberg
Each year on Rosh Ha-shana, we fervently recite the verse from Tehillim (89:16), "Ashrei ha-am yodei terua," "Fortunate is the nation that knows the blast [of the shofar]." Rashi explains the verse as follows:
"[The Israelite nation is fortunate] in that they know how to APPEASE (leratzot) their Creator on Rosh Ha-shana by blowing [the shofar] and reciting in conjunction with it [the three special blessings of the Mussaf Amida:] Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot."
Rashi draws his explanation of the verse from Yalkut Shimoni (Parashat Emor 645, as well as Parashat Pinchas 782 and Tehillim 840; see also Vayikra Rabba 29, Pesikta De-Rav Kahana 23, and Midrash Tehillim, mizmor 41). The Midrash reads:
"Rabbi Yoshiya said: It is written, 'Fortunate is the nation that knows the blast' - do the gentile nations not know how to sound the blast? How many horns and trumpets they have! Rather, fortunate is the nation that knows how to PERSUADE (lefatot) its Creator by means of a shofar blast. And when? In the seventh month [i.e. Tishrei]."
According to Rashi, when the midrash says the Jewish People "persuade" the Almighty on Rosh Ha-shana, it means that they appease Him by means of the shofar blowing and the accompanying recitation of Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot. If so, then what happens on Rosh Ha-shana which falls on Shabbat, when we do not blow the shofar? How do we appease the Almighty then?
The Gemara (Rosh Ha-shana 29b) cites Rabba's assertion that as far as Torah law is concerned, we should blow the shofar on Rosh Ha-shana even if it occurs on Shabbat. The Sages, however, decreed that the shofar not be blown on Shabbat, as one may neglectfully carry his shofar through the public domain (which is forbidden on Shabbat) in order to practice blowing under the tutelage of an expert. The Gemara adds that this same concern prompted Chazal to cancel the mitzva of lulav when Sukkot falls on Shabbat and to delay Megilla reading when Purim occurs on Shabbat.
However, as Tosafot (Sukka 43a) note, there exists a difference in this regard between the mitzva of shofar and that of lulav. After the destruction of the First Temple, Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai instituted that the shofar be blown on Shabbat Rosh Ha-shana in every locale where an authoritative Bet Din (rabbinic court) sat. Yet no such provision exists with regard to the mitzva of lulav; Rabban Yochanan never decreed that the mitzva of lulav be performed on Shabbat in a region with a Bet Din. (What's more, during the time of the Temple, the shofar was blown only in the Temple itself when Rosh Ha-shana fell on Shabbat, whereas the lulav was taken on Shabbat everywhere. After the destruction, however, the mitzva of lulav suddenly became more limited than that of shofar!)
Why did Rabban Yochanan draw this distinction between these two mitzvot, if the same concern motivated both decrees? Tosafot answer,
"The shofar, which serves to bring the [favorable] memory of Israel before their Father in Heaven, they [Chazal] did not want to cancel entirely."
Our original question, then, becomes even more pointed: What about us today? Why did Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakai not worry about those of us who do not have an authoritative Bet Din nearby? How do we deal with the urgent need for divine compassion? Why, on Shabbat Rosh Ha-shana, are we denied the ability to "bring our memory before our Father in Heaven" by means of the shofar?
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Just a side note, I prefer it on the weekend.
Speaking of the High Holidays, I prefer it when Yom Kippur falls on a weekend. I usually feel wiped out after the fast.
Speaking of the High Holidays, I prefer it when Yom Kippur falls on a weekend. I usually feel wiped out after the fast.
I am taking an extra 2 days off from work just to recover from the YK Fast...
Yom Kippur falls out on Monday this year...
In the 25 hour range.Speaking of the High Holidays, I prefer it when Yom Kippur falls on a weekend. I usually feel wiped out after the fast.
I am taking an extra 2 days off from work just to recover from the YK Fast...
Yom Kippur falls out on Monday this year...
How long is the fast?
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Also, what if there is an eruv? Don't people also say you CAN carry on Shabbat if there is an eruv?
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
I heard someone say once that the shofar can't be blown on shabbat because someone may forget to bring it to the shul before shabbat.
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Also, what if there is an eruv? Don't people also say you CAN carry on Shabbat if there is an eruv?
It depends who you hold by. In most ashkenazic communities an eruv is the green light for carrying.
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Also, what if there is an eruv? Don't people also say you CAN carry on Shabbat if there is an eruv?
It depends who you hold by. In most ashkenazic communities an eruv is the green light for carrying.
But the same ashkenazi communities say you can't blow shofar because of carrying? That makes no sense.
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Also, what if there is an eruv? Don't people also say you CAN carry on Shabbat if there is an eruv?
It depends who you hold by. In most ashkenazic communities an eruv is the green light for carrying.
But the same ashkenazi communities say you can't blow shofar because of carrying? That makes no sense.
Shofar blowing is not allowed on Shabbos, therefore you can't CARRY anything that is not allowed to be used on Shabbos.
Anybody here ever gone to Umman for Rosh Hashana?
Why not put the shofar into the shul beforehand? And then after blowing the shofar and the service ends, leave it there in the shul, so there is no danger of carrying anything.... ?
Pirkei Avot 1:1- ".... and make a fence for the Torah"
I am guessing this is one of those fences.
Also, what if there is an eruv? Don't people also say you CAN carry on Shabbat if there is an eruv?
It depends who you hold by. In most ashkenazic communities an eruv is the green light for carrying.
But the same ashkenazi communities say you can't blow shofar because of carrying? That makes no sense.
So it's settled. Next year, if chas v'shalom Moshiach doesn't come by then, all the JTF members will go to Umman.
So it's settled. Next year, if chas v'shalom Moshiach doesn't come by then, all the JTF members will go to Umman.
That would be quite interesting, considering the differences betwenn the philosophy of the average Jewish JTF member, and that of the ever-joyous, never-angry Breslovers.
Breslovers find the good in everything and everyone. No matter what terrible things befall you, they will always convince you that everything is for the best.
So it's settled. Next year, if chas v'shalom Moshiach doesn't come by then, all the JTF members will go to Umman.
That would be quite interesting, considering the differences betwenn the philosophy of the average Jewish JTF member, and that of the ever-joyous, never-angry Breslovers.
Breslovers find the good in everything and everyone. No matter what terrible things befall you, they will always convince you that everything is for the best.
Yes, one of my closest friend's dad is a Breslover and he's always saying how everything is all for the best. Although, Judaism in general teaches that Gam Zo L'tova.
So it's settled. Next year, if chas v'shalom Moshiach doesn't come by then, all the JTF members will go to Umman.
That would be quite interesting, considering the differences betwenn the philosophy of the average Jewish JTF member, and that of the ever-joyous, never-angry Breslovers.
Breslovers find the good in everything and everyone. No matter what terrible things befall you, they will always convince you that everything is for the best.
Yes, one of my closest friend's dad is a Breslover and he's always saying how everything is all for the best. Although, Judaism in general teaches that Gam Zo L'tova.
Very true, unfortunately the despicable self-pitying "woe is me" ungrateful attitude is so rife in the Western World, that it has affected many people. Unfortunately, we are told by the media and the leftists that we're all getting screwed, and these same people have imbued a general ungratefulness that is now common amongst North Americans and Europeans.
Unfortunately, this has now affected many Jews, who have no idea how lucky they are and how grateful they should be for every breath they take.
Because the shofar is an instrument of melacha, you cannot carry it on Shabbes regardless of whether there is an eruv.
"The Gemara (Rosh Ha-shana 29b) cites Rabba's assertion that as far as Torah law is concerned, we should blow the shofar on Rosh Ha-shana even if it occurs on Shabbat. The Sages, however, decreed that the shofar not be blown on Shabbat, as one may neglectfully carry his shofar through the public domain (which is forbidden on Shabbat) in order to practice blowing under the tutelage of an expert."