שופר - shofar, also spelled SHOPHAR, plural SHOFROTH, SHOPHROTH, or SHOFROT, a ritual musical instrument, made from the horn of a ram or other animal, used on important Jewish public and religious occasions. In biblical times the shofar sounded the Sabbath, announced the New Moon, and proclaimed the anointing of a new king. This latter custom has been preserved in modern Israel at the swearing in of the president of the state. The most important modern use of the shofar in religious ceremonies takes place on Rosh HaShana, when it is sounded in the synagogue to call the Jewish people to a spiritual reawakening as the religious New Year begins on Tishri 1. The shofar can be made to produce sobbing, wailing, and sustained sounds in sequences that are varied strictly according to halacha. The shofar is also sounded on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, as a call for repentance and sacrifice and for love of the Torah.[1] Now let’s look at the Hebrew meaning of the shofar: A sense of incising; a cornet or curved horn; cornet or trumpet. Shofar is a Hebrew word that comes from a root meaning beauty. The word shofar, however, through tradition came to mean almost solely “ram’s horn”. The shofar was used in biblical times for various occasions ranging from calling the armies together to signaling death. Which brings up the curious point that shofar is also literally translated as a “sense of incising”. Incising means to cut or burn into. Obviously the sound of the shofar was more than a mere horn blast to the ancient Hebrews, to earn a name that signified a cutting or burning into the heart and soul of the people. Strong’s confirms this understanding with his definition: 7782 showphar, sho-far’; or shophar, sho-far’; from 8231 in the orig. sense of incising; a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn:-cornet, shofar. ------------------ Dictionary Trace -------------- 8231 shaphar, shaw-far’; a prim. root; to glisten, i.e. (fig.) be (caus. make) fair:-X goodly. the shofar can be made of the horns of various animals including the sheep, both domestic and wild goats, the antelope, the gazelle, and of course the ram
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 06:11:35 +0000
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