Judaica - A magnificent and luxurious deer horn ( shofar ) with silver decorations- Horn / sterling silver- Israeli artist- Israel - Mid 20th century

Judaica - A magnificent and luxurious deer horn / shofar / שופר Decorated with sterling silver ( signed) plaque - Jerusalem text Large - very nice quality - made from a kosher animal Hand crafted by an Israeli artist - 1950 Shofar For the academic journal, see Shofar (journal) . For the Shofar Organization, see Amnon Yitzhak. A shofar (pron. /ʃoʊˈfɑːr/, from Hebrew: About this soundשׁוֹפָר (help·info) , pronounced [ʃoˈfaʁ]) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the very end of Yom Kippur, and is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. [1] Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish. Bible and rabbinic literature Shofar (by Alphonse Lévy [fr] Caption says: "To a good year" The shofar is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. In the first instance, in Exodus 19, the blast of a shofar emanating from the thick cloud on Mount Sinai makes the Israelites tremble in awe. The shofar was used to announce the new moon[2] and the Jubilee year. [3] The first day of Tishrei (now known as Rosh Hashana) is termed a "memorial of blowing",[4] or "day of blowing",[5] the shofar. Shofars were used for signifying the start of a war. [6] They were also employed in processions[7] as musical accompaniment,[8] and were inserted into the temple orchestra by David. [9] Note that the "trumpets" described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word for 'trumpet' (Hebrew: חצוצרה , romanized: ḥaṣoṣrah) , not shofar (Hebrew: שופר ) . [10] In the Temple in Jerusalem, the shofar was sometimes used together with the trumpet. On Rosh Hashana the principal ceremony was conducted with the shofar, which instrument was placed in the center with a trumpet on either side; it was the horn of a wild goat and straight in shape, being ornamented with gold at the mouthpiece. On fast days the principal ceremony was conducted with the trumpets in the center and with a shofar on either side. On those occasions the shofarot were rams' horns curved in shape and ornamented with silver at the mouthpieces. [11] On Yom Kippur of the jubilee year the ceremony was performed with the shofar as on New Year's Day. [12] Shofar first indicated in Yovel (Jubilee Year—Lev. 25: 8–13) . Indeed, in Rosh Hashanah 33b, the sages ask why the Shofar sounded in Jubilee year. Rosh Hashanah 29a indicates that in ordinary years both Shofars and trumpets are sounded, but in the Jubilee Year only the Shofar blasts. The Rabbi's created the practice of the Shofar's sounding every Yom Kippur rather than just on the Jubilee Year (once in 50 years) . Otherwise, for all other special days, the Shofar is sounded shorter and two special silver Trumpets announced the sacrifice. When the trumpets sound the signal, all the people who were within the sacrifice prostrate themselves, stretching out flat, face down and on the ground. [citation needed] The shofar was blown in the times of Joshua to help him capture Jericho. As they surrounded the walls, the shofar was blown and the Jews were able to capture the city. [13] The shofar was commonly taken out to war so the troops would know when a battle would begin. The person who would blow the shofar would call out to the troops from atop a hill. All of the troops were able to hear the call of the shofar from their position because of its distinct sound. [citation needed] Post-Biblical times At Old Jerusalem's Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai Synagogue, a flask of oil and a shofar await the Mashiach. [14] While the shofar is best known nowadays for its use on Rosh Hashana, it also has a number of other ritual uses. It is blown each morning during the month of Elul,[15] and to mark the end of the day of fasting on Yom Kippur, once the services have been completed in the evening. [16] In Talmudic times it was also blown to introduce Shabbat. [17] At the inception of the diaspora, during the short-lived ban on playing musical instruments, the shofar was enhanced in its use, as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the temple. The declaration of the ban's source was in fact set to music itself as the lamentation "Al Naharoth Bavel" within a few centuries of the ban. (A full orchestra played in the temple. The ban was so that this would not be taken for granted, hence the wording of the ban, "if I forget thee O Jerusalem, over my chiefest joy. . . ".) [citation needed] The shofar is generally no longer used for secular purposes (see a notable exception in a section further down) . [18] Halakha (Jewish law) rules that the Rosh Hashana shofar blasts may not be sounded on Shabbat, due to the potential that the ba'al tekiah (shofar sounder) may inadvertently carry it, which is in a class of forbidden Shabbat work. [19] Originally, the shofar was sounded on Shabbat in the Temple in Jerusalem. After the temple's destruction, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was restricted to the place where the great Sanhedrin was located. However, when the Sanhedrin ceased to exist, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was discontinued. [20] Mitzvah Jewish "Slichot" prayer service with shofar during the Days of Repentance preceding Yom Kippur at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, 2008. The Sages indicated that the mitzvah was to hear the sounds of the shofar. If a shofar was blown into a pit or cave, one fulfilled the mitzvah if they heard the original sound, but not if they heard the echo. [21] Thus, most modern halakhic authorities hold that hearing a shofar on the radio or the Internet would not be valid to satisfy the mitzvah because "electronically reproduced sounds do not suffice for mitzvot that require hearing a specific natural sound. . . . However, one should consult a competent rabbi if an unusually pressing situation arises, as some authorities believe that performing mitzvot through electronically reproduced sound is preferable to not performing them at all. "[22] According to Jewish law women and minors are exempt from the commandment of hearing the shofar blown (as is the case with any positive, time-bound commandment) , but they are encouraged to attend the ceremony. If the ba'al tekiah (shofar sounder) blows with the intention that all who hear will perform the mitzvah, then anyone listening—even someone passing by—who intends to hear the Shofar can perform the mitzvah because the community blower blows for everybody. If the listener stands still, it is presumed he intends to hear. [23] If one hears the blast but with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled. Qualifications Yemenite Jew blowing the shofar, late 1930s The expert who blows (or "blasts" or "sounds") the shofar is termed the ba'al tokeah or ba'al tekiah (lit. "master of the blast") . Being a ba'al tekiah is an honor. Every male Jew is eligible for this sacred office, providing he is acceptable to the congregation. The one who blows the shofar on Rosh Hashanah should be learned in the Torah and shall be God-fearing. The Shulchan Aruch discusses who is fit to blow the shofar on behalf of a congregation: Anyone not obligated to fulfill the mitzvah of sounding the shofar cannot fulfill the commandment for (cover) another whose duty it is to perform the mitzvah. Although a woman (who is exempt from this mitzvah because it is time bound) may not blow the shofar for men (whose duty it is to perform the mitzvah) , a woman may intone the shofar for herself and other women. Similarly, she may say a blessing over the mitzvah even though it is not mandatory (the requisite blessing contains the words "asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu", "who sanctified us with His commandments [mitzvot] and commanded us to . . . ", but women are not commanded in this mitzvah) . Only a freeman (not even a slave who will become free in the next month) can be a Ba'al Tekiah. [24] Shape and material Cross section of an animal's horn. To make a shofar, the bone (cross hatches) and fleshy sheath (white) are removed, leaving the actual horn. Choice of animal According to the Talmud, a shofar may be made from the horn of any animal from the Bovidae family except that of a cow,[25] although a ram is preferable. [26] Bovidae horns are made of a layer of keratin (the same material as human toenails and fingernails) around a core of bone, with a layer of cartilage in between, which can be removed to leave the hollow keratin horn. An antler, on the other hand, is made of solid bone, so an antler cannot be used as a shofar because it cannot be hollowed out. There is no requirement for ritual slaughter (shechita) . Theoretically, the horn can come from a non-kosher animal, because under most (but not all) interpretations of Jewish law, the shofar is not required to be muttar be-fikha ('permissible in your mouth') ; the mitzvah is hearing the shofar, not eating the animal it came from. [27] The shofar falls into the category of tashmishei mitzvah – objects used to perform a mitzvah that do not themselves have inherent holiness. [28] Moreover, because horn is always inedible, it is considered afra be-alma ('mere dust') and not an unkosher substance. [29] The Elef Hamagen (586: 5) delineates the order of preference: 1) curved ram; 2) curved other sheep; 3) curved other animal; 4) straight—ram or otherwise; 5) non-kosher animal; 6) cow. The first four categories are used with a bracha (blessing) , the fifth without a bracha, and the last, not at all. [30] A Dall Sheep with horns. Greater Kudu, Namibia. Construction In practice two species are generally used: the Ashkenazi and Sefardi shofar is made from the horn of a domestic ram, while a Yemeni shofar is made from the horn of a kudu...