When do Jews blow the Shofar?
• Throughout Ellul, the month before Jewish New Year ( Rosh Hashanah), the Shofar is to be blown every weekday at the end of the morning prayer except for the day before Rosh Hashanah. The Shofar tells people that Rosh Hashanah is getting closer each day and reminds them to get on with putting things right. Most importantly, the Shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah (the 1 st day of the Hebrew month of Tishri). • At the end of Neilah (the last of the 5 Yom Kippur services) the Shofar is blown to announce that Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) has ended. Is it hard to blow a shofar? NO! Anyone can do it. But, to make it sound good takes a little practice. You blow into it with pursed lips, the way one would play a trumpet or a bugle. Generally, you need to moisten your lips and hold the Shofar such that ALL the air goes into the Shofar. Depending on the size (length) and kind (Ram’s horn or Yemenite), you’ll get from 1 to 3 notes (generally speaking). Ram’s horns tend to make more tooting or
