ARR 119-121

CCAR RESPONSA

American Reform Responsa

45. Blowing of the Shofar on the Sabbath

(Vol. XXIII, 1913, pp. 182-183)QUESTION: I wish to broach a question to which my attention has been called during the last few years. I have been asked whether it is right that in some Reform congregations the blowing of the Shofar is omitted on Rosh Hashana, if the same happens to fall on a Sabbath Day. This is most certainly an error. The Mishna (R.H. IV.l) tells us that as long as the Temple existed in Jerusalem the Shofar was blown only there on a Sabbath Day, but not in other places. After the destruction of the Temple, R. Yochanan ben Zakkai declared that in Yavneh, it being the seat of the Sanhedrin, the Shofar should be blown on Sabbath as well, the seat of the Torah being tantamount to the Holy of Holies. This decision of R. Yochanan ben Zakkai was afterward applied to every place where a court of justice sat or the spiritual head of the Jewish people resided (see Asheri, R.H. IV).ANSWER: The reason for not having the Shofar blown on Sabbath outside of the Temple, stated by the older Amoraim in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud is rather strange. The term “Yom Teru-a,” “Day of Blowing,” is said to refer to Jerusalem only as the place where the day of the new month was fixed; whereas for other places “Zichron Teru-a,” “Remembrance of the Blowing” (by the recital of the Scriptural verses) is sufficient. Afterward, another–and more whimsical–reason was given: A man who does not know how to use the Shofar might be induced to carry it through public places on a Sabbath to an expert in order to learn how to blow it, and so violate the Sabbath, and for this reason the Rabbis forbade the blowing of the Shofar on Sabbath altogether. Of course, since Rosh Hashana has two days all through the Diaspora, the second day was considered as good as the first for the blowing of the Shofar. Now we ask, can this Rabbinical prohibition apply to us, who no longer have a second day of Rosh Hashana? Furthermore, we ask, have we not our organ playing in our temples on Sabbath in spite of the Rabbinical prohibition of using a musical instrument, based upon fear lest one might repair it, should it suffer any damage? (The making of music itself was not regarded as labor by Rabbinic law–“Chochma ve-einah melacha,” “It is art, not labor”.) Nay, more: the very spirit of Reform that empowers R. Yochanan ben Zakkai to declare the sanctuary of learning of Yavneh to be as holy as the Temple at Jerusalem ought by all means to empower us to assign our temples the same divine character of holiness as the ancient Temple, with its sacrificial cult, possessed. The very name “Temple” given to the Reform synagogue was no doubt meant to accentuate this very principle voiced by R. Yochanan ben Zakkai. To sum up all we have said: We must in all matters of reform and progress agree upon the leading principles and not allow them to become arbitrary and individualistic. Let each member of the Conference who has practical questions to submit, bring his cases to the knowledge of this or any other similar committee, so that we may reach at least a mutual understanding.K. Kohler and D. Neumark

If needed, please consult Abbreviations used in CCAR Responsa.