This document discusses the shofar, an ancient Hebrew musical instrument made from a ram's horn. It was the most frequently mentioned instrument in the Hebrew Bible and had ritual, military, and signaling uses. The shofar is still blown today on holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It has different calls and serves as a cultural symbol in Judaism that represents ideas like monotheism and a call to action.

1. By: Ben Issler and Katherine Salcedo-Concepcion

2. Introduction
 16 instruments mentioned in the Hebrew
Bible
 Shofar appears 72 times
 Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible
 Most frequent instrument
 Instrument developed by the ancient
Hebrews
 Specific manufacture instructions given by rabbi
 Made from Ram’s right horn
 Smooth Horn
 Crescent shaped

3. The Shofar
 Etymology means
“trumpet”
 First used inHebrew
Bible(Exodus 19:16,19)
 On Mount Sinai
 Camp trembled with fear

4. Forms of the Shofar
 Ritual
 Memorial of blowing of trumpets (Leviticus 23:24)
 Day of Atonement (Leviticus 25:9)
 Transfer of the Ark (2 Samuel 6:15)
 War
 Walls of Jericho (Josh 6:4,6,8,13)
○ Symbolic meaning
○ Perceived as being supernatural
 Signal
 Commands and ceremony (1 Kings 1:34,39)
 Feast of New Moon (Psalm 81:3)
 Alarm (Ezekiel 33:3)
 Solomon’s Succession to the Throne (1 Kings 1:34)
 Confounding Evil
 Solomon's prayer (1 kings 8:37, Leviticus 26:6)

5. Instrumentation
 Two forms:
 Linear Shofar
 Yemenite Shofar

6. Calls of the Shofar
 Tekiah
 Teruah
 Shevarim
 TekiahGedolah
 Others calls

7. Rosh Hashanah
Tekiah – shevarim – teruah – tekiah
Tekiah – shevarim – tekiah
Tekiah – teruah – tekiah
 Numbers 10:6-8
describes these blasts

8. Movie:
The Four 4 Traditional Shofar Blasts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkThNw210is

9. Modern Representation
throughout the world
 Differences when it’s used
 Differences in how it’s made
 Different calls used

10. Symbolism
 Monotheism
 Transcendental powers (sound of the
neshama)
 References in Hebrew bible to the sound
God makes while walking
 Part of a dominant cultural symbol
 During Rosh Hashanah
 Different sounds symbolize different
meanings
 Tekiah
 Teruah
 Shevarim
 TekiahGedolah

11. Oriental Fantasy
 Stage performance sound clip.

12. How it is used in modern Israel
 Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur
 Presidency
 Welcoming Shabbat
 Holocaust
 Siren sounded for two minutes on Yom
Hashoah (Day of Remembrance)
 Meant to match the Shofar wail
 Shofar as a call for action

13. Resources
 Braun, Joachim. Music in Ancient Israel/Palestine: Archaeological, Written, and
Comparative Sources. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002. Print.
 David, Hillel. “The Significance of the Shofar.” 6 Apr. 2012.
http://www.betemunah.org/shofar.html
 Greene, Virginia. “Accessories of Holiness": Defining Jewish Sacred Objects.” Journal
of the American Institute for Conservation, 31 no. 1. Spring 2009
 Hammer, Rabbi Dr. Reuven. “Shofar History and Tradition.”
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/In_the_Co
mmunity/Shofar.shtml.
 Montagu, Jeremy. Musical Instruments of the Bible. Boston: Scarecrow Press, 2002.
Print
 Rosenbloom, Lila. “Jewish Remembrance: Yom Hashoah, the Zionists, and the Shofar.”
University of Maryland. 2009
 Sendry, Alfred. Music in Ancient Israel. New York: Philosophical Library., 1969. Print.
 Wulsat, David. “Sounding of the Shofar” The Galpin Society Journal. May, 1973
 “Shofar.” Mid-East Mfg., Inc. 2001-2006. Web. 5 Apr. 2012. http://www.mid-
east.com/Info/shofars.html.
 http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13602-shofar