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Shofar Sounds Preparation For Jewish Holy Days

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By CHERYL BENTLEY

The Suncoast News

Published: September 27, 2008

It's all in the notes.

Rabbi Shalom Adler has been practicing his shofar skills, making sure he blows the perfect note.

Shofars are the ram horns that are blown in synagogue services during the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

This year, the holy days will begin with Rosh Hashana at sunset on Monday, and end with Yom Kippur an hour after sunset Oct. 9.

The 10 days from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur are the Ten Days of Repentance, a time when Jews examine their lives and ask for forgiveness from anyone they have hurt.

Blowing the shofar is no simple thing, said Adler, who is a rabbi with the Palm Harbor-based Young Israel-Chabad of Pinellas County.

Young Israel is part of Chabad-Lubavitch, the Orthodox Hasidic movement.

"It's complex," he said. "You have to make sure the sound is not too short or too long."

Adler has already taken out his seven shofars for inspection and cleaning. He and his synagogue have been preparing for the High Holy Days for the past month in services in which Adler blows the shofar - although in a different pattern than on the High Holy Days.

The sound of the shofar in these preholiday services is designed to remind worshippers of the coming holidays so that they can prepare spiritually and mentally for the introspection that is meant to accompany the New Year, said Rabbi Yossi Eber of Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco.

"Every morning, after prayers, we sound the shofar to waken our soul to remind you Rosh Hashana is coming and it's time to shape up," Eber said.

The custom of blowing the ram's horn reminds Jews of the Biblical story of God's replacing Abraham's son Isaac with a ram at the moment Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac because of a command from God to do so.

Shofars heralding the New Year will sound Tuesday instead of at the beginning of Rosh Hashana at sunset the evening before. Jewish law specifies they should be blown only in the day, Eber said. Followers are commanded to hear the shofar blown during the two days of Rosh Hashana.

It also is customary to eat apples with honey during Rosh Hashana.

As the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana is the first day of the Jewish month of Tishrei. Unlike the light-hearted festivities associated with the Western New Year, Rosh Hashana ushers in a time of introspection and repentance.

"It's not just a calendar New Year," Eber said. "The New Year is the most important part of the year because you think about the past year. You make resolutions to strengthen your commitment to the Torah and to become a more spiritual person."

The Torah, Judaism's main religious text, corresponds to the first five books of the Old Testament portion of a Bible.

Religious self-examination continues between the ending of Rosh Hashana and the beginning of Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is one of the most solemn of Jewish holidays. This year, it begins at sunset Oct. 8, and ends an hour after sunset the next day. It is the ninth day of Tishrei.

Jews abstain from food and drink during Yom Kippur and spend the day in prayer. They break the fast an hour after sunset in meals often enjoyed at synagogues.

The High Holy Days are "days of awe," Eber said, because worshippers are meant to think about their relationship with their higher power. "When you think about God, you are in awe of God," he said.

HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES

Synagogues have a variety of services associated with the High Holy Days. Please contact them for individual schedules.

Chabad Jewish Center of West Pasco (Hasidic), New Port Richey, telephone (727) 376-3366.

Congregation Beth Tefillah (Conservative), Port Richey, telephone (727) 847-3814.

Congregation B'nai Emmunah (Reform), Tarpon Springs, telephone (727) 938-9000.

Young-Israel Chabad of Pinellas County (Hasidic), Palm Harbor, telephone (727) 789-0408.

Temple Ahavat Shalom (Reform), Palm Harbor, telephone (727) 785-8811.

Beth El-Shalom (Messianic), New Port Richey, telephone, (727) 375-7502.

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