Why is shofar blown

When tekiah sounds, it brings everyone to attention. Your browser does not support the audio element. The next type of sound made with the shofar is called shevarim. The three, broken blows of shevarim , sound like crying. Some scholars believe that shevarim is our tears of sadness, or joy, at another year passing.

The third type of sound made by the shofar blower is called truah , and involes nine or more rapid fire, or staccato, blows. Think of this sound as an alarm clock that you can't hit snooze on. Truah is the wake up call to the new year. The three sounds above are played all throughout the Rosh Hashanah service. And during the final combination, the shofar player concludes with tekiah gedolah , the great blast, one last, long tekiah to wrap up.

Therefore, when we hear the shofar blasts during our services they make us remember to march forward boldly, unafraid to contend with our past bad habits and to bravely seek self-improvement and betterment for others. Commentators often talked about the impact of the shofar sound, acting as a wake up call, the noise that stirs you, much like a car horn startles you into action. There are indeed numerous possible explanations.

However, this year, I am drawn to one of the ways the Jewish Mystics came to understand the hidden lesson of blowing the shofar.

To the Kabbalists, it was all about breath. Humankind began when the Creator blew a breath of life into Adam and Eve. All the required shofar blasts- called Tekiah, Shevarim, and Teruah - can only be made by forcing air through the wind instrument, literally breathing into it. Since March, how many have struggled to breathe on ventilators? And, the valiant women and men fighting the conflagrations have to deal with smoke filling their lungs, compromising their ability to breathe.

This year let the shofar inspires us to seriously ponder each breath we are granted, about how it is a gift each time we inhale and exhale. Each of us is given a finite number of breaths over our lifetime. What will we do with our lives to make life better for all people in need, to make our earth a place where everyone can breathe a little easier, free from any obstruction. May the ancient sounds of the shofar, caused by the strong flow of oxygen, serve as an aural and awesome reminder to resolve to do the right thing with every breath we take.

Now more than ever, we need your help to ensure nothing but the best in hyperlocal community journalism comes straight to you. Consider supporting the Herald with a small donation. To donate or for more information, click here. But a shofar is taken from a living being.

Every shofar sounds different, just like every community, and every listener, is different. Rabbi Feigelson is a trained tubist, and he wrote to me about some of the differences between playing the tuba a brass instrument, like a trumpet and blowing the shofar,:. Pitch is not so much an issue in playing the shofar. It is a battle cry, or a mournful cry, but its symbolism comes from its sound and the fact that it is the shofar making the sound on the day of Rosh Hashanah.

The tuba has no inherent symbolism, and its sounds are ultimately judged and understood within the context of a melody or a larger work. Also, he reminded me that shofars are notoriously stinky. Other brass instruments do not tend to carry quite the same level of aroma.

It is nature-made. It is simple. Many people think that a teruah sounds like a voice crying out.