* The Shofar is a musical instrument that hasn’t changed in over 5000 years.
* The first mention of the Shofar is in the biblical story of the Akeda, the binding of Isaac. Abraham sacrificed a ram in place of his son.
* The shofar is blown 100 times on Rosh Hashanah.
* “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls came tumbling down!” Joshua had 7 priests with 7 ram’s horns circle the city walls for 7 days and then they blasted the Shofar. And the walls came tumbling down.
* Thousands of years ago, a Shofar was sounded to annouce the beginning of Shabbat.
* A Shofar must be at least 4 inches long.
* The average length of a Shofar is about 15 inches.
* It’s a mitzvah to hear the Shofar blasts on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
* A Shofar should be made from the horn of a Kosher animal that chews it’s cud and has cloven hoofs.
* Shofarot are commonly made from the horn of a goat, ram, sheep, antelope, and gazelle.
* A Shofar cannot be made from the horn of the cow, in deference to the incident of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32).
* The Ashkenazi Jewish community commonly uses a curved horn while the Sephardi commonly use a spiral shaped horn.
Check out http://www.shofarshop.com/ for all of your Shofar needs!
Click here for a Shofar vocabulary and coloring page!
2 Responses to “Fast Facts About the Shofar”
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Posted in Holidays, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur
September 5th, 2007 at 9:51 am
[...] These may symbolize the sounds of weeping and short breaths expressing remorse and regret. For more info on the shofar, click here. click here for a Hebrew Vocabulary Coloring [...]
September 5th, 2007 at 9:51 am
[...] These may symbolize the sounds of weeping and short breaths expressing remorse and regret. For more info on the shofar, click here. click here for a Hebrew Vocabulary Coloring [...]