Shofar

A shofar (ʃoʊˈfɑr ; from שׁוֹפָר, 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 end of Yom Kippur; it is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish. The shofar is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. In the first instance, in , 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 and the Jubilee year. The first day of Tishrei (now known as Rosh Hashana) is termed a "memorial of blowing", or "day of blowing", the shofar. Shofars were used for signifying the start of a war. They were also employed in processions as musical accompaniment, and were inserted into the temple orchestra by David. Note that the "trumpets" described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word for 'trumpet' (ḥaṣoṣrah), not (שופר). 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, with the instrument 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. On Yom Kippur of the jubilee year, the ceremony was performed with the shofar as on New Year's Day. 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.