Shofar
The shofar or the shofar horn (from Hebrew שׁוֹפָר šōfār ), also written Schaufor (aschk.), sophar (sef.), shoyfer ( Yiddish ) and shofar (English), and also called reverb year trombone or reverb trombone, is an old musical instrument from the Middle East.
The instrument made from the horn of a ram or a kudu has its origins in the Jewish religion and is used for ritual purposes. The shofar is blown like a brass instrument according to the principle of the upholstered pipe and thus belongs to the natural horns , it is in fact the original form of the natural horn. It is the only ancient instrument that is still in use in the synagogue today.
application
The shofar recalls the planned sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham for God . A ram was sacrificed instead of Isaac, the horns of which are supposed to remind God of Israel's vicarious atonement ( Genesis , chapter 22).
During the conquest of Jericho under Joshua ( Jos 6,4 LUT ) there were seven reverb trumpets that were blown before the city walls collapsed.
The custom of blowing the shofar for the coronation of a king also became the symbolic ritual of blowing the shofar for the solemn recognition of God as king, protector and judge and is generally intended to shake people out of a thoughtless way of life. The shofar is blown according to the mitzvot laid down in the Torah and Talmud . Among other things, for the morning prayer at the Jewish New Year festival Rosh Hashanah, as well as at the end of the day of atonement Yom Kippur , precise instructions regarding the tone sequence and how to blow are specified.
If a festival falls on a Shabbat , the shofar is not blown as the use of musical instruments is prohibited during this time.
Slichot prayers with shofar horn before the Day of Atonement ( Yom Kippur ) - Western Wall , Jerusalem Old City, 2008.
A Yemeni style shofar
Mouthpieces of a shofar in the Yemeni style
Small shofar in the Ashkenazi style
Mazewa with shofar at the Jewish cemetery in Buttenheim , Upper Franconia
Mazewa with shofar at the Jewish cemetery in Essingen , Palatinate
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Basic tones
There are a total of four basic beeps:
| Surname | description | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Teki'a | a long tone | the king is coming |
| Shevarim | three short beeps | God have mercy (grace) |
| Teru'a | nine to twelve very short tones (sounds like crying) | broken heart |
| Teki'a gedola | very long tone (until you run out of air) | the Lord is coming again |
The shofar in the Temple of Jerusalem was blown along with the trumpet-like chazozra on many occasions . In post-biblical times, the shofar gained in importance, as musical instruments were banned from the liturgy out of mourning over the destruction of the temple. The secular use of the shofar declined, even when the reunification of Jerusalem was announced in 1967.
Manufacturing
The shofar is made from a horn, the mouthpiece-like opening for blowing with the lips is usually created by sawing off the horn tip and then shaping it into a somewhat cup-shaped shape. The blowing method corresponds to that of a brass instrument.
The simply curved ram's horn of the Ashkenazi Jews has no mouthpiece, but the Sephardic Jews can have a simple mouthpiece. According to the Talmud Jeruschalmi , the mouthpiece for the shofar to be used for the New Year should be coated with gold on the outside, but in no case on the inside. Later regulations forbid again to provide the mouthpiece with gold or silver. The horn of the kudu is longer and coiled in a spiral.
Kudu (an antelope) and rams were originally also native to Canaan , but are now only found in large numbers in South Africa .
The shofar can be made from the horn of any kosher animal, even if it was not ritually slaughtered . An exception is made with the horns of cattle : Since these are too reminiscent of the golden calf , the horn of a cow or an ox is not used.
In 2011 there were three factories in Israel that produced shofaroth (the plural).
See also
- Day of the Shofar
- Shringa (Sanskrit), ancient Indian animal horn, now a curved metal trumpet in India
literature
- Joachim Braun: Biblical musical instruments. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Volume 1, Bärenreiter, Kassel 1994, Sp. 1503-1537, here Sp. 1523-1525.
- David Wulstan: The Sounding of the Shofar. In: The Galpin Society Journal , Vol. 26, May 1973, pp. 29-46.
Web links
- Gil Yaron : The Shofar - Chronicle of the ignored symbol of Judaism . In: AudiaturOnline , September 28, 2011 (amended version of the article in the FAS)
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Talmud of the Land of Israel . Volume 16 - Rosh Hashanah . University of Chicago Press, 1988, p. 77
- ↑ Gil Yaron : The Most Jewish of All Sounds . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung , September 25, 2011