Search results for: ""Shofar""
Practicing Shofar on Rosh Hashana
You may practice blowing a shofar on Rosh Hashana (unless it coincides with Shabbat!).
Practicing Shofar on Rosh Hashana
You may practice or even play with a shofar on Rosh Hashana (unless it coincides with Shabbat!).
Interruptions after Shofar Blessing
Once the blessings have been said before (and for) blowing the shofar on Rosh HaShana, no one in the congregation may speak or do any action (hefsek) that will interrupt the entire process of blessings and the series of blowing the shofar. Any speaking that is not related to the shofar blowing or to the prayer service is forbidden.
Woman Blowing Shofar
A woman who knows how, may blow the shofar for herself and for other women but not for men.
Reason This is because women, who are not required by the Torah to hear shofar but who have universally accepted that custom, may not fulfill the obligation for men, who are required by the Torah to hear the shofar.
Reason This is because women, who are not required by the Torah to hear shofar but who have universally accepted that custom, may not fulfill the obligation for men, who are required by the Torah to hear the shofar.
Women: Blowing Shofar
For women and blowing shofar, see Woman Blowing Shofar.
Women: Hearing Shofar
For women and hearing shofar, see Rosh Hashana: How Many Shofar Blasts To Hear.
Woman Blowing Shofar
A woman who knows how, may blow the shofar for herself but not for men.
Reason This is because women, who are not required by the Torah to hear shofar but who have universally accepted that custom, may not fulfill the obligation for men, who are required by the Torah to hear the shofar.
Reason This is because women, who are not required by the Torah to hear shofar but who have universally accepted that custom, may not fulfill the obligation for men, who are required by the Torah to hear the shofar.
Rosh Hashana: How Many Shofar Blasts To Hear
Men are required to hear at least 60 shofar blasts on Rosh Hashana (l'chatchila) in order to fulfill the commandment of hearing shofar: 30 before the musaf amida and 30 afterward. But they fulfill their requirement (b'di'avad) if they have heard at least 30 on each day of Rosh Hashana.
Women only need to hear 30 shofar blasts on each day of Rosh Hashana.
Women only need to hear 30 shofar blasts on each day of Rosh Hashana.
Note Although 100 shofar blasts are blown each day of Rosh Hashana, hearing all 100 is a non-binding custom. You do not need to hear the first blasts or any other particular set, but you must hear blasts that include:
- 3 tashrat (teki'a-shevarim-teru'a-teki'a) +
- 3 tashat (teki'a-shevarim-teki'a) +
- 3 tarat (teki'a-teru'a-teki'a).
SheHecheyanu
A mourner (avel) is permitted to say she'hecheyanu for himself but should not say she'hecheyanu if required for the congregation. An avel should say she'hecheyanu on:
- Eating a “new” fruit.
- Wearing a new garment.
- Lighting Chanuka candles at home for the first time that year.
- Light Chanuka candles in synagogue.
- Read the megila.
- Blow shofar on Rosh Hashana.
Hidur Mitzva/Mehadrin
Almost all mitzvot may be enhanced by:
- Making them beautiful (hidur mitzva), or
- Observing non-required stringencies (mehadrin).
Hidur Mitzva
Examples
- Women baking challa for Shabbat and Jewish festivals (and separating challa as a remembrance of the challa that was given to the priests/cohanim in the Temple).
- Wearing especially nice clothes and eating special foods on Shabbat and Jewish festivals.
- Using beautiful fragrances, tastes, textures, colors, and artistry in serving God.
Beautiful
Examples
- Shabbat/Jewish festival table (set with beautiful challa cover, silver, kiddush cups).
- Havdala set and pleasant-smelling spices for havdala.
- Sukka and putting your finest things in it.
- Etrog/etrog case.
- Shofar.
- Seder plate, matza holder, and matza cover.
- Illuminated hagadas (hagadot) and megilas (megilot).
- Chanuka candle-holder (menora, chanukiya).
- Torah scroll written with a fine pen and beautiful script and wrapped in beautiful silks.
- Mezuza covers.
- Ketuba.
- Wimple (to wrap baby in prior to brit mila; then donated to hold the two parts of the Torah together).
- Elijah's Chair/Kisei Eliyahu.
- Synagogues.
- Chuppa.
Mehadrin
Examples
- Chalav Yisrael--When consuming milk and milk products, eating or drinking only those items whose production was supervised by religious Jews;
- Pat Yisrael—When eating bread, only eating bread baked by Jews (not necessarily by religious Jews);
- Glatt meat—When eating meat, eating only meat that had no lesions on the animal's lungs;
- Lighting more than one Chanuka candle each night (beginning on the 2nd night) and having more than one person in each house light their own candles.
Women: Time-Based Positive Commandments/Mitzvot: Obligations
In addition to prayer obligations (see Women: Minimal Prayer), women and girls 12 years old and up are required to keep these time-dependent positive commandments, among others:
- Candle-lighting for Chanuka (see Chanuka: Candles: Who Should Light )
- Candle-lighting for Shabbat, Jewish festivals, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur.
- Havdala (say or hear) after Shabbat, Jewish festivals, Rosh Hashana, and Yom Kippur.
- Kiddush (say or hear) on the first night (or first two nights outside Eretz Yisrael) of every Jewish festival, and also the next morning.
-
Passover (all commandments, including eating matza at the Passover seder).
Note Because she must eat matza, she must therefore say birkat ha'mazon afterward (so if a woman omits ya'ale v'yavo in birkat ha'mazon at the seder, she must repeat birkat ha'mazon!).
- Megila on Purim.
- Shabbat (For why women must keep time-dependent, positive commandments on Shabbat, see Introduction to Shabbat )
-
Shofar on Rosh Hashana.
Note Jewish women universally accepted upon themselves to hear shofar on Rosh Hashana, but they only need to hear 30 blasts.
- Hearing the reading of Parashat Zachor.