(א) וּבַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֗דֶשׁ מִֽקְרָא־קֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם כָּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֑וּ י֥וֹם תְּרוּעָ֖ה יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃
And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be unto you a calling of holiness. All work of labor you shall not do; a day of teruah (blowing the shofar) shall it be for you.
(כג) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (כד) דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜י בְּאֶחָ֣ד לַחֹ֗דֶשׁ יִהְיֶ֤ה לָכֶם֙ שַׁבָּת֔וֹן זִכְר֥וֹן תְּרוּעָ֖ה מִקְרָא־קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ (כה) כָּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֣א תַעֲשׂ֑וּ וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֥ם אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַיהוָֽה׃ (ס)
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The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
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Speak to the Israelite people thus: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts.
You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an offering by fire to the LORD.
Click on the citation and find the context of these verWhat is missing from the Torah's description of the Holiday?
- What surprises you about these two descriptions of Rosh Hashanah?
- What - if any differences - do you find between these two description of the holiday?
(א) זכרון תרועה. זכרון פסוקי זכרונות ופסוקי שופרות, לזכור לכם עקידת יצחק שקרב תחתיו איל:
a memorial... (referring to the) verses of Zichronot and the verses of Shofarot, to remind you of the binding of Isaac in whose place a ram was offered (to God).
- Is there an implicit question that Rashi is addressing here? If so what is it...
- What do we learn from this comment on our text?
(16) And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a shofar exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. (18) Now mount Sinai was altogether on smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
(8) And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths of years, even forty and nine years. (9) Then shalt thou make proclamation with the blast of the shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month; in the day of atonement shall ye make proclamation with the shofar throughout all your land. (10) And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
- What is the context of the verses from Exodus?
- What does the shofar symbolize in these Exodus verses? What is it coming to tell the people?
- What is the context of the verses from Leviticus?
- What does the shofar mean there?
- Where do these words appear on an American symbol? hint Philadelphia
- What other biblical images of the Shofar can your recall?
- How might those contexts inform our experience of the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah? 2-3 sentences
Part II - What's a Shofar?
(ב) כל השופרות כשרין חוץ משל פרה, מפני שהוא קרן. אמר רבי יוסי: והלא כל השופרות נקראו קרן, שנאמר (יהושע ו) במשוך בקרן היובל.
(2) All shofars are fit [to be blown on Rosh Hashanah], except for that of a cow because it is [called] a horn [and not a shofar]. Rabbi Yose said, "But are not all shofars [also] called a horn, as it is stated (Joshua 6:5), 'upon a long blast from the ram’s horn'?”
- What is the subject of the disagreement in the Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah?
- What kinds of evidence do the two perspectives bring in their defense?
- What is the context of the verse from Joshua? (Hint: click on the citation and read the first openin gverses of chapter 6)
- What might that image of the Shofar do for our worship on Rosh Hashanah?
(5) And it shall be, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the shofar , all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.’
היינו טעמא דרבנן כדרב חסדא דאמר רב חסדא
מפני מה אין כהן גדול נכנס בבגדי זהב לפני ולפנים לעבוד עבודה לפי שאין קטיגור נעשה סניגור
The reason of the Rabbis [who exclude the cow's horn from the category of kosher shofarot in our Mishnah] is to be found in the saying of R. Hisda; for R. Hisda said: Why does not the High Priest enter the inner precincts in garments of gold to perform the service there? Because the accuser may not act as defender.
How does the statement of Rav Hisda, supplied by the Gemara, support the view of Mishnah's first opinion?
אין קטיגור - זהב העגל ושופר של פרה נמי קטיגור דעגל הוא:
The accuser may not act - the gold of the Golden Calf, and a horn of calf are both called accusers for they are identified with "the Calf".
How does Rashi's comment clarify - or complicate - the words of the Gemara?
(א) שופר של ראש השנה מצותו בשל איל וכפוף
ובדיעבד כל השופרות כשרים בין פשוטים בין כפופים
ומצוה בכפופים יותר מבפשוטים
ושל פרה פסול בכל גוונא וכן קרני רוב החיות שהם עצם אחד ואין להם מבפנים זכרות פסולים. (וכן שופר מבהמה טמאה פסול).
The shofar for Rosh Hashanah which is the most desirable for the mitzvah is a shofar that is from a ram and is bent.
After the fact, all shofars are kosher, irrespective of whether they are straight or bent.
The mitzvah is beter fulfilled with bent shofars rather than straight shofars.
The horn of a cow is invalid in all circumstances and likewise, horns of most non-domestic animals are invalid. The reason is that they consist of a single bone and don't have a male bone on the inside. (Likewise, a shofar from an unclean animal is invalid.)
- How does the Shulchan Aruch codify as a legal opinion the words of the Mishnah and Gemara?
Part 3 :How is it made?
Part 4 How is it played?