Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

20 Ellul 5762 - August 28, 2002 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

Opinion & Comment
The Call To Freedom: Understanding Mitzvas Shofar

by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis

"You shall sanctify the Yovel (fiftieth) year [with the blowing of the shofar], declaring emancipation of slaves throughout the land" (Vayikra 25,10). On the Yovel year a shofar blast signals the freeing of all Jewish slaves. Three times a day a Jew prays in Shemoneh Esrei, "May You blow the great shofar for our freedom." The shofar will once again be used as an instrument to proclaim freedom at the end of days with the advent of Moshiach and the emancipation of the entire world. What is the connection between the shofar and freedom?

A Jew has only one Master: Hashem. One of the most dramatic demonstrations of this concept involves the nirtzah, a Jewish slave who willfully extends his slavery until Yovel. The Torah commands that his ear (that heard on Har Sinai that we should only be slaves of Hashem) be nailed to the door posts. In an allegorical sense, these posts testify to Hashem's infinite power, for they witnessed the slaying of the firstborn when the Jews were taken out of Egypt. Through this powerful gesture, we hope that the nirtzah will begin to understand who his real Master is.

After such an act of rebellion, how can the nirtzah bring himself completely back to Hashem?

Chazal explain that the shofar calls us to become total slaves of Hashem by joyfully accepting all Divine actions, even His punishments (Zohar, Pinchas 31b). Therefore the Torah links the freeing of the nirtzah at Yovel to the blowing of the shofar, in order to instruct slaves how to return to Hashem.

The message of the shofar of Yovel, the shofar of Moshiach, and the shofar of Rosh Hashanah are all the same: return to Hashem through complete acceptance of His ways. Once we are His slaves, we are protected from all other forces and, as a result, we will have attained absolute freedom.

Bent and Straight

An item used to perform a mitzvah is more than a cold ceremonial object. Its very structure tells us something about the nature of the mitzvah, and the intentions that one should have in mind during its performance.

When the gemara cites a dispute regarding if a shofar should be straight or bent, it is clearly reaching beyond the simple aesthetic parameters. The alternatives tell us how to view ourselves in relation to the mitzvah.

Divine honor is significantly magnified when man completely humbles himself before Hashem. The use of a bent shofar shows that our hearts are bent before our Creator.

Others maintain that since Rosh Hashanah is a day of tefilloh, we should lift our hearts up to Hashem. The use of a straight shofar shows that our hearts are directed straight to Shomayim (Rosh Hashanah 26b.)

The halachah follows the first viewpoint, and the custom is to use a bent shofar on Rosh Hashanah (Shulchan Oruch 586:1). If possible one should obtain a shofar which is naturally curved. A shofar which was originally straight and was bent via human processing may not be what the gemora was referring to when it required a "bent shofar" (Glosses of Rav Yitzchok Bamberger on the Tur 586).

Defense and Prosecution

The type of animal that a shofar may be taken from, also reveals the nature of the mitzvah. The optimum shofar to use is that of an ayil (a one-year-old sheep). This reminds us of the Akeidoh, where an ayil was sacrificed in place of Yitzchok Ovinu (Rosh Hashanah 16a).

In general our Sages advise that one should try to fix a transgression with the same limb or item that the sin used (Shemos Rabba 23:3). The spiritual damage that was caused by the original act is to a certain extent rectified by using the same item for a mitzvah. Since the Golden Calf was one of the most serious transgressions in the history of the Jewish people, we would think that a cow's horn would be one of the first choices for mitzvas shofar.

Surprisingly, the halachah is just the opposite. "All shofars are kosher with the exception of a cow's horn, for a prosecutor cannot become a defense attorney." The same item which brought us to prosecution for idol worship cannot turn around and be used to provide us with merit on Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah 26a). Should an item that we transgressed with be used for a mitzvah or not?

Every relationship has its highs and lows, and certainly any effort to compensate for the lows is seen as a noble gesture by the offended party. However the guilty party must be wary of two situations. He should not bring up the misdeed during times of intimacy, for this spoils the atmosphere of extreme closeness. Similarly he should not "show off" the object of transgression, for this reflects an insensitivity as to the gravity of his act.

Since the shofar is used to bring the prayers of the Jewish people before Hashem it has the same status as the vessels used for Divine service in the Beis Hamikdosh, where the relationship between the Jewish people and Hashem is most intimate. It is therefore improper to use a shofar from a cow's horn and rekindle memories of our past transgressions. Furthermore, using a cow's horn as a musical instrument is to a certain extent flaunting the object of transgression (ibid. according to the commentary of Tosafos; Shulchan Oruch 586:1).

No Frills

The halachah is that the tekios must be produced exclusively by a single shofar. Therefore one may not plate the mouthpiece or the inside of the shofar with gold.

Other places may only be coated with gold if this will not change the sound of the notes. One may not even add onto the shofar from another one, since this will cause the sound to be produced by more than one shofar. The same reason disqualifies a shofar made of many pieces of shofar glued together (Shulchan Oruch 586:10- 11).

May a split shofar be used for the tekios? A shofar which is cracked along a majority of its length may not be blown, for this is also like two shofars. Some poskim invalidate a shofar with a small crack, as it is very likely that the split will lengthen to its entirety. Although many rule that this problem can be rectified by gluing the split, some consider this to be adding to the shofar, and only permit one to seal the crack by heating the shofar (ibid. 586:8).

Beautifying The Mitzvah

The story is told of a king who owned one of the most exquisite looking shofars that man's eyes have ever seen. Of all his belongings he treasured this, and he was heartbroken when it fell down and was badly scratched.

One day an artisan passed through his kingdom and heard about the king's prized possession. He took the shofar and, to the delight of the king, incorporated the scratch into an exquisite design.

The halachah is that a shofar decorated with such an engraving may be used on Rosh Hashanah, even if doing so changes its sound (Mishna Berurah 586:73). This is because carving a picture or a name is not considered to be adding onto it. However the custom is not to decorate the shofar in this way, unless there is a chance that it might get lost or stolen and an identification mark is needed (Kaf HaChaim 586:122).

It is preferable not to paint or draw a picture on the shofar (Shulchan Oruch 586:17). Although the addition is nominal, some poskim rule that it is significant enough to be considered an addition which disqualifies it. Therefore one should remove any stickers or labels from the shofar before using it.

In a case where there is a doubt if the sound of the shofar was changed, some poskim are lenient in the case of a very slight addition (Shulchan Oruch HaRav 586:16 in the name of the Rosh).

Although the Torah is extremely sensitive not to cause additional expenses, our Sages found exception in the shofar of Rosh Hashanah, and required the upper part of the shofar used in the Beis Hamikdosh to be gold- plated. The exquisite luster of gold enhanced the majestic atmosphere of the Beis Hamikdosh, and added a regal air to the Rosh Hashanah service (Rosh Hashanah 26b-27a).

Shofar On Shabbos

When Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos (like this year), our Sages feared that someone might carry the shofar in a public domain and violate a Torah prohibition of carrying on Shabbos. They shouldered tremendous responsibility, and canceled mitzvas shofar on Shabbos. The only place where the mitzvas shofar remained on Shabbos was in the Beis Hamikdosh, following the general principle that Rabbinic decrees do not apply there.

When the Temple was destroyed, Rebbe Yochonon ben Zakai extended this mitzvah to any place which had a beis din (Rosh Hashanah 29b). The reasoning behind this is that the Jewish court of law would insure that the prohibition to carry on Shabbos was public knowledge (Rambam Hilchos Shofar 2:9). So too in Yerushalayim and all its surrounding areas, the shofar was sounded in those days.

Connected To The Source

The word "shofar" stems from the Hebrew word shfoferes, a hollow tube. This implies that a shofar is only kosher if it already fits this description. A horn which needs to be hollowed out after it has been removed from the animal, is unfit for the mitzvah. What is the deeper meaning behind this halachic requirement?

The ba'al tokeah literally connects himself to Hashem when he blows into the shofar. As a representative of the entire congregation, he returns all of the Jewish people back to the true source of life, the King of Kings. In order for this hookup to be effective, an undisturbed pipeline is required. Once connected, we can hope to reap the fruit of our prayers (heard from HaRav Shlomo Brevda).

By using a preexisting pipe we show that this hookup is something beyond the capacity of human hands. The only hope we have is to make use of a prefashioned pipe, and connect ourselves to Hashem, the true Source of life.

In the merit of mitzvas shofar, may the entire Jewish nation be hooked up to the Source of all existence, and be signed immediately into the Book of Life for a year of spiritual and physical prosperity.


All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.