The shofar
is mentioned frequently in the Hebrew Bible, 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, 20).
The shofar
was used in to announce holidays (Ps. lxxxi. 4), 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. xxix.
1), the shofar. It was also employed in processions (II
Sam. 6. 15; I Chron. 15. 28), as a musical accompaniment
(Ps. 98. 6; comp. ib. xlvii. 5) and to signify the start
of a war (Josh. 6. 4; Judges 3. 27; 7. 16, 20; I Sam.
8. 3). Note that the 'trumpets' described in Numbers 10
are a different instrument, described by the Hebrew word
'trumpet' not the word for shofar.
The Torah describes the first day of the seventh month
(1st of Tishri = Rosh ha-Shanah) as a zikron teruah (memorial
of blowing; Lev. xxiii) and as a yom teru'ah (day of blowing;
Num. 29). This was interpreted by the Jewish sages as
referring to the sounding 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. Rosh Hoshana is
the Jewish
New Year. A ceremonial horn, called a “shofar” is
blown, reminding Jews that God is king. A feast with
symbolic food is eaten on Rosh Hashana, and the next
ten days are spent in repentance. Rosh Hashana ends
on Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is a day of judgment, during
which prayers are made asking for forgiveness.
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 noise.