Blast From the Past

“Nothing so much enhances a good as to make sacrifices for it”.

George Santayana (1863-1952) American philosopher and poet

Arthur L. Finkle

Early Horn Uses

Pre-historic humankind utilized whatever was useful in their

environment. Wherever the primitive lived, they utilized the
available materials to signal. Those in the Indian and Caribbean
Seas used the Conch shell. The Australian aborigines, the
didjeridoo (a bamboo hollowed out by fire ants).

Hindus also utilize the Conch Trumpet. In ancient China, the

primitives played the Yu – a reed wind instrument made of
bamboo.

Where is the Shofar in the Bible?

Commentators 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

13 . . . Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to
the mountain."

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).

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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. (16;Matthew 24:29-31; I Thessalonians
4:16-17; I Corinthians 15:51-52 .

Temple Sacrifices

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.

1. Burnt offering (olah). The burnt offering of certain animals 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).

2. Grain offering (minchah; “meat offering” in KJV). An offering

from the harvest of the land is the only type that required no
bloodshed. (Leviticus 2:13),

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. 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.

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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.

Interestingly the sacrifice system is found in the New

Testament.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.

The Sounds

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.

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

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sounds; others, three weeping wounds. The Rabbis compromised
by adding all both sounds in the service.

Reasons for Sounding the Shofar

The 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 desire the Shofar to touch
our consciences (Abudarham [Jerusalem, 1959 ed.], 269f.).