Robin Harris Brass

No Sacrifice Is Too Much . . . Shofar

 

No Sacrifice Is Too Much . . . Shofar

Arthur L. Finkle

The Shofar is one of the oldest continuous instruments in the world. It is a genuine ancient instrument. As I will indicate later, it arguably played in the Temple sacrifices.

Early Horn Uses

Pre-historic humankind utilized whatever was useful in their environment. For example, they crafted animal horns to signal battle, prayers, and other valued activities. In recent times, the bugle acts a military signal. These horns were both the actual bones of animals, such as a dear or tusk or the keratin development of ruminants (sheep, goat, mountain goat, etc.). These protrusions are called horns but they are made keratin, the stuff that makes your fingernails. These horns were the beginning of an instrument. The primitives constructed horns by hollowing the “bone” and shaping some of that bone to make a mouthpiece and a bell (where the sound emanates)…

Moreover, wherever the primitive lived, they utilized the available materials to signal. Those in the Indian and Caribbean Seas used the Conch shell (large sea snails having a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal). The Australian aborigines, the didjeridoo (a bamboo hollowed out by fire ants).

The Buddhist and Hindu traditions also sound a horn (or conch shell in this instance) The instrument is called a Sankh. Hindus also utilize the Conch Trumpet as part of their symbolic religious tradition. In ancient China, the primitives played the Yu – a reed wind instrument made of bamboo.

In the Middle Ages, Europeans used horns, made into metal, for the gentlemanly sport of hunting.

Where is the Shofar in the Bible?

The Shofar goes back far into biblical history. It is believed that the Shofar Commemorates the Ram caught in the thicket by its horn (Hebrew: Keren).

The word “Shofar” can be found in the book of Joshua, chapter 6 in numerous places and in Judges, chapter 7.

Some writers have tracked the word “Shofar” in 7 parts of the Hebrew Scripture: Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua Chronicles and 5-psalms

In the first five books of Moses, Shofar is cited:

Exodus 19:12-14

12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

13 He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.’ Only when the ram’s horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain.”

14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes.

In Leviticus 23 and 24, there is a priestly commandment:

“In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with loud blasts” (Lev. 23:24).

Numbers 29:1: “You shall observe it as a day when the horn is sounded.”

Maimonides (the famous 12th century commentator, cites the Isaiah scripture (Isa. 27:13) regarding the Messiah.

And in that day, a great Shofar shall be sounded; and the strayed, who are in the land of Assyria, and the expelled, who are in the land of Egypt, shall come and worship the Lord on the holy mount, in Jerusalem. [Isa.  27:13]

There are references to the Shofar in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, that Gabriel will announce the Messiah with the sound the Shofar. (Zech 9:14, 16;Matthew 24:29-31; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:51-52 .

What Did The Levites Use In The Holy Temple?

The Hebrew word is Chotzotzerah. The Chotzotzerah (plural: Chotzotzerot) where ram’s horns, ornamented by brass and silver overlaid on a mandrel and hammered into shape. There also is a close nexus between the binding Isaac, when a close by ram is substituted for Isaac)

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Rosh_Hashana/Overview_Rosh_Hashanah_Community/Origins_Shofar_616.htm

Temple Sacrifices

The Priests consecrated two different types of sacrifices: meat and dough. For both of these ceremonial rites, When the Priests stood on top of the ramp holding the parts of sacrifice, placing them into the fire as he carried them up. He then throws the sacrifice into the great fire; he walks over and places it neatly on the burning logs.

Accompanying this ritual were a choral group and a small orchestra. Special lyrics and songs played according the time of the week and the type of sacrifice (the Bible counts 5 different types of sacrifices in Leviticus 1:1).

Leviticus 1-7 gives the most detailed description of Israel’s sacrificial system. Rituals performed after childbirth (Leviticus 12:6-8), for an unclean discharge (Leviticus 15:14-15) or hemorrhage (Leviticus 15:29-30), or after a person who was keeping a Nazirite vow

1. Burnt offering (olah). The burnt offering was offered both in the morning and in the evening, as well as on special days such as the Sabbath, the new moon, and the yearly feasts (Numbers 28-29; 2 Kings 16:15; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 2 Chronicles 31:3; Ezra 3:3-6). was defiled (Numbers 6:10-11) required a burnt offering, as well as a sin offering.

The animal for this sacrifice could be a young bull, lamb, goat, turtledove, or young pigeon; but it had to be a perfect and complete specimen. The type of animal chosen for this sacrifice seems to be dependent on the offerer’s financial ability.

2. Grain offering (minchah; “meat offering” in KJV). An offering from the harvest of the land is the only type that required no bloodshed. It was composed of fine flour mixed with oil and frankincense. Sometimes, this offering was cooked into cakes prior to taking it to the priest. These cakes, however, had to be made without leaven. Every grain offering had to have salt in it (Leviticus 2:13), It may have symbolized the recognition of God’s blessing in the harvest by a society based to a large degree on agriculture. The bringing of a representative portion of the grain harvest was another outward expression of devotion.

3. Peace offering . This consisted of the sacrifice of a bull, cow, lamb, or goat that had no defect. As with the burnt offering, the individual laid a hand on the animal and killed it. The priests, in turn, sprinkled the blood around the altar. Only certain parts of the internal organs were burned. The priest received the breast and the right thigh (Leviticus 7:28-36), but the offerer was given much of the meat to have a meal of celebration (Leviticus 7:11-21).

4. Sin offering was designed to deal with sin that was committed unintentionally. The sacrifice varied according to who committed the sin. If the priest or the congregation of Israel sinned, then a bull was required. A leader of the people had to bring a male goat, while anyone else sacrificed a female goat or a lamb. The poor were allowed to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons.

5. Guilt offering. This is hard to distinguish from the sin offering (Leviticus 4-5). In Leviticus 5:6-7, the guilt offering is called the sin offering. Both offerings also were made for similar types of sin. The guilt offering was concerned supremely with restitution. Someone who took something illegally was expected to repay it in full plus 20 percent of the value and then bring a ram for the guilt offering. Other instances in which the guilt offering was prescribed included the cleansing of a leper (Leviticus 14:1), having sexual relations with the female slave of another person (Leviticus 19:20-22), and for the renewing of a Nazirite vow that had been broken (Numbers 6:11-12).

The burnt, grain, peace, sin, and guilt offering composed the basic sacrificial system of Israel. These sacrifices were commonly used in conjunction with each other and were carried out on both an individual and a corporate basis. The sacrificial system taught the necessity of dealing with sin and, at the same time, demonstrated that God had provided a way for dealing with sin.

Although the Prophets excoriated the sacrificial rites because the people seemed to be more impressed with ritual than why the rituals were offer3ed, the prophets did not want to abolish the sacrificial system.

Interestingly the sacrifice system is found in the New Testament. The New Testament consistently describes Jesus’ death in sacrificial terms. Hebrews portrays Jesus as the sinless high priest who offered himself up as a sacrifice for sinners (Leviticus 7:27). The book ends with an encouragement to offer sacrifices of praise to God through Jesus.

After the Romans destroyed the Holy Temple, the sacrificial cult terminated. During this time, moreover, the early Church also disbanded the sacrificial rites because Christianity began to differ materially form Judaism.

Thereafter, two Priests stood atop of a marble stand near the altar signaling trumpet blasts: tekiah, tekiah and teruah. A long note followed a series of short notes; then another long note.

On Rosh Hashanah and other full holidays(Day of Atonement, Ingathering of the harvest [Succot], Passover and the Feat of Weeks – Pentecost) a single Priest stood between the two trumpets sounding the Shofar. During these special days, the Shofar is sounded longer than the two special silver trumpets. The Shofar is sounded, longer than he trumpets, thus ending the sequence.

When the trumpets sound the signal, all the people who are within the sacrifice prostates themselves, stretching out flat, face down and on the ground.

Holman Bible Dictionary: http://www.studylight.org/

In the Mishnah (gathering the laws of the Bible, written in 200 CE by great-grandchildren of those who worshipped at The Temple in Jerusalem) there is a difference of opinion when reciting the manner of Shofar sounding in the Temple in Jerusalem. The Sages indicate that on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) Two Shofars and one trumpet are sounded at the sacrifices. The remainder of the year, two trumpets and one Shofar. There are others who contend that the Shofar was sounded only on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur during the Jubilee Year (every 50-years when debts and servitude is forgiven). The fact is that whatever was the system was forgotten in three generations.

There is also a dispute as to what the Shofar sounds should be. The Sages agreed on the “Teki’ah” blast) but differed in “Teruah” note. Some of the Rabbi’s indicated that Teruah was 9 staccato sounds; others, three weeping wounds. The Rabbis compromised by adding all both sounds in the service. See Art Finkle, author of Shofar Sounder’s Reference Manual (LA: Torah Aura, 1994)

In addition, its shape (twisted neck) is prescribed by the Rabbi’s AFTER the destruction of the Temple. The manner of making the Shofar is not prescribed in any Jewish Law. However, the horns are boiled to get the impurities out. When they are warm, the horns are pliable and can be twisted and the configuration of the mouthpiece and bell can be shaped. http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Rosh_Hashana/Overview_Rosh_Hashanah_Community/Origins_Shofar_616.htm

Reasons for Sounding the Shofar

Later commentators in the Talmud (codified in 525 CE) submit that the sound of the Shofar chases away the devil. The Shofar, thus, scared off Satan and other evil spirits (cf. RH 16b). Accordingly, it is fitting that the Shofar be used on Rosh Ha-Shanah to frighten away the “prosecuting attorney” (who determines life or death in the next year) www.jewishencyclopedia.com/systems.jsp

Many Jewish philosophers attempted to explain what the sound of the Shofar meant. Saadiah Gaon (10th century CE, head of a famous Babylonian university) offers ten reasons, two of which are cited below:

(1) as a reminder to be faithful to the teachings of the Torah, since the Shofar was heard at the giving of the Torah;

(2) as a reminder of the prophets, the teachers of righteousness, who raised their voices like the Shofar to touch our consciences;

Abudarham (Jerusalem, 1959 ed.), 269f.).

Maimonides gives a moving interpretation of the sounding of the Shofar: Maimonides writes:

Awake from your slumbers, ye who have fallen asleep in life, and reflect on your deeds. Remember your Creator. Be not of those who miss reality in the pursuit of shadows, and waste their years in seeking after vain things which neither profit nor save. Look well to your souls and improve your character. Forsake each of you his evil ways and thoughts.” (Yad, Teshuvah 3:4) www.jewishencyclopedia.com/systems.jsp

About the Author

Designated as an Advanced Practitioner by the Association for Conflict Resolution, and practicing 30 years in human resources administration, ARTHUR L. FINKLE specializes in labor relations’ mediation. Listed in Who’s Who in Government and Who’s Who in American Education and Who’ s Who in American Law, he has authored 5-books; 4-book chapters and 150+ articles on human resources issues. Director of Mediation for the New Jersey Department of Personnel, he also teaches at Kean University and Mercer County Community College. He appears on the N.J. Court Roster as a Mediator and as a Mediator Mentor. Graduating from The Wharton School, he has taught numerous business and social science undergraduate and graduate courses at Rutgers University, Rider University, Kean University and Mercer County Community College. One of his books is a human resources text published by Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich.

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