The shofar is mentioned frequently in the Torah, the Talmud and rabbinic literature. The blast of a shofar emanating from the thick cloud on Mount Sinai made the Israelites tremble in awe (Exodus 19:16).

The shofar was used to announce holidays and the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:9). The first day of the seventh month (Tishri) is termed "a memorial of blowing" (Lev. 23:24), or "a day of blowing" (Num. 29:1), the shofar. They were for signifying the start of a war (Josh. 6:4; Judges 3:27; 7:16, 20; I Sam. 8:3). Later, it was also employed in processions (II Sam. 6:15; I Chron. 15:28), as musical accompaniment and eventually it was inserted into the temple orchestra by David (Tehillim. 150:3). Note that the 'trumpets' described in Numbers 10 are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word 'trumpet' (Hebrew: חצוצרה‎; ḥaṣoṣrah), not the word for shofar (Hebrew: שופר‎).

The Torah describes the first day of the seventh month (1st of Tishri = Rosh ha-Shanah) as a zikron teruˁah (Hebrew: זכרון תרועה‎; memorial of blowing) and as a yom teruˁah (Num. 29). This was interpreted by the Jewish sages as referring to the sounding of the shofar.

In the Temple in Jerusalem, the shofar was sometimes used together with the trumpet. On New Year's Day the principal ceremony was conducted with the shofar, which instrument was 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.

On Rosh Hashanah and other full holidays (Day of Atonement, Ingathering of the harvest (Sukkot), Passover and the Feast of Weeks ) a single Priest perfected two sacrifices in honor of the full holiday, (Note that festivals such as Hanukah and Purim, are not considered full holidays requiring an extra sacrifice). On Rosh Hashanah, something special occurred during the special sacrifice. Arguably two Shofar Sounders played the long notes and one Trumpet player played the short note. Accordingly, Rosh HaShanah is called Yom Teruah (the day of the blast) Otherwise, the Trumpets had "top billing." Rosh Hashanah27a, supports this claim: "Said Raba or it may have been R. Joshua B. Levi: What is the scriptural warrant for this? – Because it is written, "With trumpets and the sound of the Shofar shout ye before the King in the Temple, we require trumpets and the sound of the Shofar; elsewhere not." [1]

Indeed, on Yom Kippur, the Shofar was sounded to announce the Jubilee Year (every 50 years, Jews were granted forgiveness, debts were forgiven, indentured Israelites were granted freedom, and the fields "shall become owned by the priests." 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. Further support (clarification needed support of what?) is found in Rosh Hashanah 29a, where the Talmud talks of trumpets for sacrifices but Shofar in the Jubilee Year does not apply to priests who are exempt from the obligations of the jubilee. Perhaps,[citation needed] we have the first mention of Shofar Sounding by non-Priests. Perhaps the first distancing away from the Sacrificial Cult.[citation needed]

Otherwise, for all other special days, the Shofar is sounded shorter and two special silver Trumpets announced the sacrifice. When the trumpets sound the signal, all the people who were within the sacrifice prostrate themselves, stretching out flat, face down and on the ground.

The shofar was blown in the times of Joshua to help him capture Jericho. As they surrounded the walls, the shofar was blown and the Jews were able to capture the city. The shofar was commonly taken out to war so the troops would know when a battle would begin. The person who would blow the shofar would call out to the troops from atop a hill. All of the troops were able to hear the call of the shofar from their position because of its distinct sound

the blasts of the shofar are also wake-up calls. Rosh Hashanah is the time to shake out of our spiritual slumber, reconnect to our source, and recommit to our divine mission in this world.

Who: All Jewish men, women and children. All of us need to reconnect.

Where: Venue of preference is your local synagogue. There, the shofar is blown after the Torah reading. Click here to find a synagogue closest to you. No way you can make it? Contact your local Chabad rabbi. He’ll do his best to arrange for a shofar-blower to pay you a personal visit.

How: It may look simple, but you’ve got to play by the rules. Unless you know all the rules, leave it to your rabbi or another professional. Here are the basics:

The shofar-blower recites two blessings, and then blows a set sequence of three kinds of blasts: 1) Tekiah—an uninterrupted blast lasting for several seconds. 2) Shevarim—three medium-length blasts. 3) Teruah—a minimum of nine very short blasts.

Do it right, and you end up with thirty such blasts on the shofar. That’s the minimum requirement. In the synagogue, we blow a total of one hundred blasts, with the additional blasts distributed over the course of the prayers that follow the Torah reading.

Rav Kook delivered the following sermon in Jerusalem's Old City on Rosh Hashanah 1933. It was a time of mixed tidings. On the one hand, ominous news of Hitler's reign in Germany became more troubling with each passing day. On the other hand, the Jewish community in Eretz Yisrael was flourishing. Immigration from central Europe was increasing, bringing educated immigrants with needed skills and financial means. It seemed that the footsteps of redemption could be heard.

We say in our daily prayers, "Sound the great shofar for our freedom, and raise the banner to bring our exiles together."

What is the significance of this 'great shofar'?

Three Shofars

There are three types of shofars that may be blown on Rosh Hashanah. The optimal shofar is the horn of a ram. If a ram's horn is not available, then the horn of any kosher animal other than a cow may be used. And if a kosher shofar is not available, then one may blow on the horn of any animal, even one which is not kosher. When using a horn from a non-kosher animal, however, no blessing is recited.

These three shofars of Rosh Hashanah correspond to three 'Shofars of Redemption,' three Divine calls summoning the Jewish people to be redeemed and to redeem their land.

The preferred Shofar of Redemption is the Divine call that awakens and inspires the people with holy motivations, through faith in God and the unique mission of the people of Israel. This elevated awakening corresponds to the ram's horn, a horn that recalls Abraham's supreme love of God and dedication in Akeidat Yitzchak, the Binding of Isaac. It was the call of this shofar, with its holy vision of heavenly Jerusalem united with earthly Jerusalem, that inspired Nachmanides, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevy, Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura, the students of the Vilna Gaon, and the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov to ascend to Eretz Yisrael. It is for this 'great shofar,' an awakening of spiritual greatness and idealism, that we fervently pray.

There exists a second Shofar of Redemption, a less optimal form of awakening. This shofar calls out to the Jewish people to return to their homeland, to the land where our ancestors, our prophets and our kings, once lived. It beckons us to live as a free people, to raise our families in a Jewish country and a Jewish culture. This is a kosher shofar, albeit not a great shofar like the first type of awakening. We may still recite a brachah over this shofar.

There is, however, a third type of shofar. (At this point in the sermon, Rav Kook burst out in tears.) The least desirable shofar comes from the horn of an unclean animal. This shofar corresponds to the wake-up call that comes from the persecutions of anti-Semitic nations, warning the Jews to escape while they still can and flee to their own land. Enemies force the Jewish people to be redeemed, blasting the trumpets of war, bombarding them with deafening threats of harassment and torment, giving them no respite. The shofar of unclean beasts is thus transformed into a Shofar of Redemption.

Whoever failed to hear the calls of the first two shofars will be forced to listen to the call of this last shofar. Over this shofar, however, no blessing is recited. "One does not recite a blessing over a cup of affliction" (Berachot 51b).

The Great Shofar

We pray that we will be redeemed by the 'great shofar.' We do not wish to be awakened by the calamitous call of the shofar of persecution, nor by the mediocre shofar of ordinary national aspirations. We yearn for the shofar that is suitable for a holy nation, the shofar of spiritual greatness and true freedom. We await the shofar blasts of complete redemption, the sacred call inspiring the Jewish people with the holy ideals of Jerusalem and Mount Moriah:

"On that day a great shofar will be blown, and the lost from the land of Assyria and the dispersed from the land of Egypt will come and bow down to God in the holy mountain in Jerusalem." (Isaiah 27:13)

Shofar

A shofar is an instrument made from the horn of a ram or other kosher animal. It was used in ancient Israel to announce the New Moon (Rosh Chodesh) and call people together. It was also blown on Rosh Hashanah, marking the beginning of the New Year, signifying both need to wake up to the call to repentance, and in connection with the portion read on the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Binding of Isaac (Genesis, chapter 22) in which Abraham sacrifices a ram in place of his son, Isaac.

Today, the shofar is featured most prominently in the Rosh Hashanah morning services. It is considered a commandment to hear the shofar blown.

There is a great deal of symbolism tied in with the legal requirements for what constitutes a proper shofar. The shofar of Rosh Hashanah, whose purpose it is to rouse the Divine in the listener, may not be constructed of an artificial instrument. It must be an instrument in its natural form and naturally hollow, through whom sound is produced by human breath, which God breathes into human beings. This pure, and natural sound, symbolizes the lives it calls Jews to lead. What is more, the most desirable shofar is the bent horn of a ram. The ram reminds one of Abraham's willing sacrifice of that which was most precious to him. The curve in the horn mirrors the contrition of the one who repents.

In the Talmud, we read: Rabbi Abbahu said:

Why do we sound the shofar? Because the Holy One, blessed be God, said: Blow me a ram's horn that I may remember to your credit the binding of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and I shall account it to you as a binding of yourselves before Me. The Torah tells us: Abraham look up and behold, he saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns [Genesis 22:13]. This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be God, showed our ancestor Abraham the ram tearing himself free from one thicket and becoming entangled in another. Said the Holy One, blessed be God, to Abraham: Thus are your children destined to be caught in iniquities and entangled in misfortunes, but in the end they will be redeemed by the horns of a ram. Therefore the prophet Zechariah said of the time of redemption: And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth like the lightning; and the Lord God shall blow the shofar, and shall move in stormy winds of the south [Zechariah 9:14]. [Rosh Hashanah 16a]

In post-Biblical times, the shofar was enhanced in its religious use because of the ban on playing musical instruments as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the temple. (It is noted that a full orchestra played in the temple.) The shofar continues to announce the New Year,[2] and the new moon,[dubious – discuss], to introduce Shabbat,[dubious – discuss] to carry out the commandment to sound it on Rosh Hashanah, and to mark the end of the day of fasting on Yom Kippur once the services have completed in the evening. Secular uses have been discarded (see a notable exception in a section further down).

The shofar is primarily associated with Rosh Hashanah. Indeed, Rosh Hashanah is called "Yom T’ruah" (or "Yom Teruah") (the day of the shofar blast). In the Mishnah (book of early rabbinic laws derived from the Torah), a discussion centers on the centrality of the shofar in the time before the destruction of the second temple (70 AD). Indeed, the shofar was the center of the ceremony, with two silver trumpets playing a lesser role. On other solemn holidays, fasts, and new moon celebrations, two silver trumpets were featured, with one shofar playing a lesser role. The shofar is also associated with the jubilee year in which, every fifty years, Jewish law provided for the release of all slaves, land, and debts. The sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah announced the jubilee year, and the sound of the shofar on Yom Kippur proclaimed the actual release of financial encumbrances.

The halakha (Jewish law) rules that the shofar may not be sounded on Shabbat due to the potential that the ba’al tekiyah (shofar sounder) may inadvertently carry it which is in a class of forbidden Shabbat work. The historical explanation is that in ancient Israel, the shofar was sounded on Shabbat in the temple located in Jerusalem. After the temple’s destruction, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was restricted to the place where the great Sanhedrin (Jewish legislature and court from 400 BCE to 100 C.E.) was located. However, when the Sanhedrin ceased to exist, the sounding of the shofar on Shabbat was discontinued.

The shofar says, "Awake, sleepers from your sleep, and slumberers arise from your slumber!" Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 3:4.
Mitzvah

The Sages indicated that the mitzvah was to hear the sounds of the shofar. They went so far as to consider a shofar blown into a pit or cave and to decide whether a person who hears the original sound or the echo has fulfilled the mitzvah. Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 27b). The Shulchan Aruch sums up that if the hearer hears the reverberation, the mitzvah is not valid. However, if the listener perceives the direct sounds, he fulfils the mitzvah.[8] Thus, most modern halakhic authorities hold that hearing a shofar on the radio or the Internet would not be valid to satisfy the mitzvah because "electronically reproduced sounds do not suffice for mitzvot that require hearing a specific natural sound. . . . However, one should consult a competent rabbi if an unusually pressing situation arises, as some authorities believe that performing mitzvot through electronically reproduced sound is preferable to not performing them at all."[9]

According to Jewish law women and minors are exempt from the commandment of hearing the shofar blown (as is the case with any positive, time-bound commandment), but they are encouraged to attend the ceremony.

If the Baal Tekiyah (shofar sounder) blows with the intention that all who hear will perform the mitzvah, then anyone listening—even someone passing by—who intends to hear the Shofar can perform the mitzvah because the community blower blows for everybody. If the listener stands still, it is presumed he intends to hear.[10] If one hears the blast but with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled.

It is customary to hear 100 or 101 sounds in the synagogue, although the minimum requirement is to hear 30 sounds.

The shofar is sounded just before, during and after the Musaf prayer on Rosh HaShanah. For the sounding just before Musaf, after the Torah reading, relevant verses from the Bible are recited, followed by two blessings: one on the Biblical commandment of "hearing the sound of the shofar" and the blessing of Shehecheyanu. After that, thirty shofar blasts are sounded. In the Musaf prayer itself, the shofar is sounded three times during the silent prayer, and then again three times during the leader's repetition. For each of these soundings, ten appropriate selections from the Bible are recited, followed by a benediction, followed finally by a series of ten shofar blasts. After leader's repetition of the Musaf prayer is completed, a final series of ten (or eleven, depending on the community's custom) shofar blasts are sounded, yielding a total of 100 or 101 blasts. (Some communities do not blow the shofar during the silent Musaf prayer, instead blowing the 30 blasts after the leader's repetition.) After the service is over, it is customary to blow another series of thirty blasts "to confuse the Adversary."[

According to the Sephardic tradition, a full 101 blasts are sounded, corresponding to the 100 cries of the mother of Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army who did not return home after being killed by the Yael (Judges 5:28). One cry is added to symbolize the legitimate love of a mother mourning her son.