Torah for Christians; The Shofar (revisited

TORAH FOR CHRISTIANS

 SEASON TWO        EPISODE TWELVE

THE SHOFAR

          Have you ever heard a shofar? Do you even know what a shofar is? After this episode, you will be able to say yes to both questions. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.

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          Welcome to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr

          One of the most iconic symbols in Judaism is the Shofar. A shofar is technically a ram’s horn, although we can also use the horns of goats, antelopes or other kosher, horned animals. A kosher animal, in brief, is one which has a cleft hoof and chews its cud.

          Once the animal is slaughtered, the horns are taken and boiled. The marrow is removed, and a hole is drilled in the narrow, closed end, making it possible to sound it. Then, the horn can be polished and used.

          Shofarot, the plural of shofar, come in all shapes and sizes. Most shofarot are small, about 10-12 inches, since the ram’s horn is typically small. Longer shofarot, which can be over 70 inches, are often twisted and come from larger animals. Since these horns are larger, their sounds are also deeper.

          Where does the tradition of sounding the shofar come from? In Genesis 22, the story of the Binding of Isaac, Abraham discovers a ram caught by its horn in a thicket. He sacrifices this ram in place of Isaac, whom God spared at the last moment. This is the origin of the shofar ritual; there is even a tradition that God created the ram of the Akedah just before the first Shabbat of creation, that it waited generations until Abraham called upon it for a sacrifice.

          In Jewish tradition, the story of the Binding of Isaac is read in the sanctuary on either the first or second morning of Rosh HaShanah, depending upon the customs of the congregation. So naturally, the Shofar is sounded on these days.

          As is often the case, Jewish law follows the narrative. Leviticus 23.24 reads as follows: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a complete rest, a sacred occasion, commemorated with loud blasts.  The Hebrew word for loud blasts is Teruah; Rosh HaShanah, the first day of the seventh month, is also called Yom Teruah, the day of the sounding of loud blasts. Leviticus therefore commands us to sound the Shofar on Rosh HaShanah.

          Psalm 81 also alludes to Rosh HaShanah. “At the new moon, at the full moon, for our feast day, sound the shofar. For this is the law of Israel, the way of the God of Jacob.” And of course, we read in Psalm 150, the concluding Psalm of the entire book, “Hallelujah! Praise God with the sounding of the Shofar.” In this Psalm, the shofar is included as one of the musical instruments that the Levites played in the Temple.

          Rabbi Uziel Meisels, a 19th C European rabbi, understands the sounding of the shofar this way. “The reason for the sounding of the shofar was revealed to me in a dream. It is as though two friends, or a father and son, who do not wish that what one writes to the other should be known to others, have a secret language, known only to themselves. So it is on Rosh HaShanah … God made up a language for us, that is the ram’s horn, which is understood only by God.” The Shofar is the secret language that connects the Jewish people to God.

          We have been talking a lot about sounding the shofar. And indeed, this is the high point of the Rosh HaShanah Morning Service. But you might be surprised to know that sounding the shofar is not the Mitzvah. While the person who sounds the shofar, receives a great honor, the mitzvah is in hearing the shofar. Not all people can sound the shofar but aside from our deaf community, almost everyone else can hear the Shofar sounds.

          In a moment, we will talk about the three parts of the Shofar Service and then we’ll sound a shofar so that you can experience the sounds for yourself. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.

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Welcome back to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr. Before we return to our discussion of sin and repentance, I want to thank you for listening to the podcast. Please remember to rate and review this episode, as well as previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, and other great podcasting sites. Also, you can like us on Facebook.

There are three parts to the Shofar service, called in Hebrew Malchuyot, Zichronot and Shofarot. Let’s talk about each of them.

Malchuyot means Kingdom, specifically God’s Kingdom. In this part of the servce, we recite specific verses from Torah, Prophets and Writings which speak of God’s rule. We also chant a prayer called the Aleinu, which states that we should bow down and prostrate ourselves before the Holy and Blessed One.

Following these verses, we recite a blessing that acknowledges the mitzvah of hearing, not sounding, the shofar. Then, we recite a second blessing, a blessing of thanksgiving, thanking God for bringing us to this day. With the congregation standing, the Baal Tekiah, the one who sounds the shofar, offers 33 blasts of the horn.

The second part of the shofar service is called Zichronot, Remembrance. The structure of this section is the same as Malchuyot, except we now quote verses that call upon God to remember the Divine Covenant that God made with the Jewish people. At the end of this section, we again sound 33 blasts.

The third section is called Shofarot. Technically Shofarot is the plural of Shofar. But in reality, this section is all about redemption. In the tripartite structure of our service, the verses quoted deal with the shofar in the context of God redeeming the world, with the inference that God will be sending the Messiah to earth, hopefully soon and in our day. The shofar will announce his arrival. Then, the Baal Tekiah sounds 34 blasts of the shofar, making 100 sounds in total.

So, what are the 4 shofar calls? Three of them are sounded during each of the three sections; the fourth is only sounded once, and then as the final blast of Shofarot. The four calls are Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah and Tekiah Gedolah. Let’s unpack this.

Tekiah is a solid blast of the shofar. According to Moses Maimonides, the great 13th Century Spanish philosopher and legalist, Tekiah is a wake-up call, like an air raid siren. Tekiah wakes us up and reminds us that it is time to do teshuvah, to repent. (sound tek.)

Shevarim means broken. We sound three shorter blasts. Maimonides writes that Shevarim indicates that we are broken, that we need to repent and ask forgiveness from each other and from God. (sound shev.)

Teruah lowers us to the depths of our souls. The nine staccato notes of Teruah indicate that we can do nothing else but appeal to God for forgiveness. (sound ter.)

Tekiah Gedolah, the Great Tekiah, is only sounded at the end of the Shofarot section. The Baal Tekiah sounds this note and holds it for as long as he or she can. Often, the Baal Tekiah also modulates during the sounding, raising the tone up a third or even an octave. In jest, many people sitting in the congregation time, and jokingly complement the shofar sounder for his or her great work. But as Maimonides writes, this sound indicates that God is willing to forgive, if we only do the necessary work. If Tekiah is an air raid siren, Tekiah Gedolah is the all-clear. (Sound t.g.)

Just for fun, let me sound these four calls again.

I want to thank you for listening to Torah for Christians. You can listen to and rate previous episodes on Apple, Spotify or other popular podcast outlets. Also, you can like us on Facebook and Instagram. Next week, we will delve into Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish Year, which occurs 10 days after Rosh HaShanah. 

Have a great day and remember: (Hebrew) How good and how pleasant it is for us to dwell together in unity. L’hitra’ot. Till we see each other again. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this has been Torah for Christians.