Straight and Twisted Shofarot (Rosh Hashanah 26b)

Are rituals -- and the objects we use to practice them -- symbolic of the prevailing spiritual mood? Or do we choose ritual objects to cultivate in ourselves an attitude or mood appropriate to the occasion? The mishnah on Rosh Hashanah 26b concerning shofar discusses the source, shape, and embellishment of the horns used on Rosh Hashanah, fast days (declared in the case of drought or disaster) and to announce the Yovel (Jubilee) year at the end of Yom Kippur. )

The shofar of Rosh Hashanah is of a wild goat that is a straight [horn] and its mouth is plated with gold, and two trumpets [are blown] at its sides. The shofar [blasts] long and the trumpets [blow] short, because the commandment of the day concerns a shofar. On fast days: [we blow] with [horns of] males, bent, and their mouths are plated with silver, and two trumpets [are blown] in between them. The shofar [blows] short and the trumpets [blow] long, because the commandment of the day is with trumpets. The Yovel (Jubilee) year: is identical to Rosh Hashanah [with respect to] the blowing and the blessings. R. Yehudah says: On Rosh Hashanah we blast with [horns of] males and on the Yovel (Jubilee) years with [horns of] wild goats.

If that’s a lot to take in on first glance, I’ve prepared the text in an outline form with the hope that it makes the structure easier to follow:

A. The shofar of Rosh Hashanah:
a. is of a wild goat that is a straight [horn]
b. and its mouth is plated with gold,
c. and two trumpets [are blown] at its sides.
d. The shofar [blasts] long and the trumpets [blow] short, because the commandment of the day concerns a shofar.

B. On fast days:
a. [we blow] with [horns of] males,
b. bent,
c. and their mouths are plated with silver,
d. and two trumpets [are blown] in between them.
e. The shofar [blows] short and the trumpets [blow] long, because the commandment of the day is with trumpets.

C. The Yovel year: is identical to Rosh Hashanah [with respect to] the blowing and the blessings.

D. R. Yehudah says:
a. On Rosh Hashanah we blast with [horns of] males
b. and on the Yovel years with [horns of] wild goats.

What strikes me first and foremost is the concern with the shape of the horn. For Rosh Hashanah and to announce the Yovel (Jubilee year) we are to use a straight horn, but for fast days, a bent or twisted horn is prescribed.

(Time out for Jewish “trivia”: The Jubilee year occurs every 50th year at the end of seven cycles of shemittah (sabbatical years) and its announcement is made at the close of Yom Kippur by blowing a shofar. Leviticus 25: 8-16 explains the requirement to blow the shofar on the tenth day of the seventh month and to observe the Yovel as a sabbatical year. This is why shofar is blown in synagogues at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. No doubt you’re now thinking: but we blow the shofar every year following Yom Kippur. Yes, this is true, and that is because we have lost track of when the Jubilee year falls. Therefore we blow the shofar each year in case that year is the Yovel.)

(Second time out for background on fast days: Talmud, in masechet Ta’anit, prescribes special fasts and prayers in the case of severe drought and actual or imminent disaster. Blowing a shofar is covered in chapter 2.)

In the case of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we are engaged in the process of teshuvah (repentance), confident that if our repentance is sincere and thorough, God will forgive and our atonement will cleanse. Many people mistakenly think Yom Kippur is a somber day akin to a day of mourning, Not so. While it is certainly a serious occasion, Yom Kippur is a joyous day because we are assured that sincere teshuvah (repentance) brings forgiveness. Hence we – like the shofar -- stand straight: confident and joyful that our relationships with God and people in our lives can be repaired, reconciled, and renewed. Similarly, the Jubilee is a joyous occasion and the straight shofar announces rest for the land and release from debts.

On fast days, however, there was a sense of fear in the air in ancient times because the theology held that drought and disaster resulted from the people’s sins. Fasts – with their accompanying prayers and shofar blasts – were intended to remediate the situation and inspire repentance. People were encouraged by the bent shofar to bend themselves in repentance, but there is no sure confidence that their efforts will be successful.

These days, one is as likely to see a twisted shofar used on Rosh Hashanah as a straight one. The distinction made in the Mishnah is no longer observed in most communities.

Are rituals -- and the objects we use to practice them -- symbolic of the prevailing spiritual mood? Or do we choose ritual objects to cultivate in ourselves an attitude or mood appropriate to the occasion? Perhaps it both operating simultaneously.

© 2009 Rabbi Amy Scheinerman