Gateway Travel
. .
1 .
We Welcome Travel Max --I
to
S pir it uallt y
Our Office and
We wish our loyal clients a
Sweet New Year filled with
health happiness and peace
around the world.
president, Rochelle Lieberman
and staff of Gateway Travel
USHANAH TOVALI
2007 5768
F
s o.
VIRTu ()
www,ilatewaytridcom
I+; TIU AkT Ot- TRW1.1.
Call us for all your travel needs
1300920
181 S. Old Woodward
70611
oft Downtown Birrningham
248 642 1690
*Am" th Vow*
eittotommtrif happy and
ins' rein /
1295980
Carpt, Hard4,imica,
kotiteltherg
all 140f at Hersid wipit our frielas and
fiust4 a, Ham. & Healthy New Yuri
.
ON THE BOARDWALK
248-626-7776
1300370
subscribe today
online or phone
JNonline.us 1800.875.6621
78
September 13 2007
How To Blow The Shofar
New York
28470 13 MILE ROAD
Farmington Hills
Tel: 248-432-8600
Mitzvah Notes
ew people become really pro-
ficient at blowing the shofar.
The Talmud (Shabbat 1 17b)
refers to blowing the shofar as cho-
chmah ve-einah melachah — a skill,
rather than hard work — but master-
ing it does demand a lot of intensive
practice.
If you're serious about learning to
blow the shofar and acting as a baal
tekiah, it's important that you select
your shofar with great care. You need
to find one that is right for you per-
sonally. For reasons that I imagine are
purely commercial, stores charge more
for a bigger shofar than a smaller one.
But the size and appearance of the
shofar should not be factors in your
choice — the way the shofar feels and
the way it sounds are what count.
Since the shofar has no reed, finger
holes or valves such as you would find
on other wind or brass instruments,
the only control you have over the
notes is how you use your lips and
your tongue. So it's important to find
one that sits comfortably on your lips,
as the shapes of the mouthpieces vary
greatly. One mouthpiece may be too
round for you; the edges on another
may feel too sharp.
How It's Done
To produce a note, first use your
tongue to moisten the extreme right-
hand corner of your lips and place
the shofar firmly against them in that
spot. With the lips tightly closed, make
a tiny hole in them where the shofar
is and then force air into it as if you
were making a Bronx cheer (a rasping
sound) but without actually producing
such a rude noise.
If you get it right, a bright and pow-
erful note will emerge from the shofar.
It's not necessary to puff out your
cheeks; breathe in and hold the breath
in your chest, letting it out slowly to
control the length of the note. Many
baalei tekiah use two fingers to hold
the shofar against their lips, which
helps to keep the lips steady.
Most shofarot can produce two (or
more) notes, a higher note and a lower
one. The higher note requires more
effort, but is far more attractive and
impressive a sound. Squeeze your lips
more tightly against the mouthpiece
until you locate the note you want.
David Olivestone
Special to the Jewish News
Try to blow without expelling too
much saliva into the shofar. A wet sho-
far sounds hoarse; that's why you often
see a baal tekiah shaking the shofar or
using long pipe cleaners to dry it out
after each set of notes.
Once you have found a shofar that
feels right and sounds good, keep
blowing it for several minutes. This
is not only to make sure that you
are happy with your choice, but also
because some shofarot do not have
"staying power;" that is, they tend to
lose strength after a few minutes.
It's possible that your new shofar
will still have the odor of the ram from
which it comes; this will disappear
in time. Some say to wash the shofar
out with vinegar in order to get rid of
the smell. In my experience, however,
this just makes it smell like vinegar.
Keep your shofar clean and dry, and it
should last a lifetime.
The rest is practice, perfecting the
notes and strengthening the muscles
of the lips and the capacity of the
lungs. And if you succeed in mastering
the shofar and want to blow it on Rosh
Hashanah, you will need to learn the
halachic details regarding the length
and sequence of the notes, either by
studying them with your own rabbi, or
by apprenticing yourself to an experi-
enced baal tekiah.
As a baal tekiah, you will enjoy the
fulfillment of a very special mitzvah as
few others can. For me, at least, being
in control of the shofar's power is an
extraordinary privilege and respon-
sibility, and sounding it in the syna-
gogue on Rosh Hashanah is the high
point of my year.
David Olivestone, national director of plan-
ning and communications at the Orthodox
Union, was a finalist in the 2005 Great
Shofar Blast Off organized by the National
Jewish Outreach Program.