Thursday, 31 May 2012

Significance of Shofar in Jewish mythology

The term ‘Shofar’ is not uncommon in Jewish mythology. It is a symbol of freedom, peace and happiness. As a matter of fact, Shofars are integral part of Jewish culture and religion. Every year, Jewish Hazans or priests blow Shofar on their special occasions or festivities such as Rosh Hashanah or Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur. But people from other religions or who are not inhabitants of Israel, Shofar is still an unknown term and they are still unaware of its significance.
What is a Shofar?
Shofar, basically a ram horn is unique and holy symbol of Jewish religion. It denotes the opening of heaven gates for prayers and is blown mainly on the occasion of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Nowadays, Shofars are also becoming very popular among tourists due to its unique shape and strange sound that it produces.
Significance of Shofar
In Jewish religion, Rosh Hashanah symbolizes the coronation of god and creation of the universe. Shofar acts as a trumpet to celebrate this auspicious occasion. It also denotes the commencement of ten day period of repentance. Shofar has also been named in Old Testament in several stories of King Solomon and Joshua and the battle of Jericho. It also designates Day of Judgment, which is written in almost all mythologies and inspires people to pray to god to pardon them from their sins. Hence, significance of this musical instrument is not only restricted to Jewish religion but also been mentioned in many other religions of the world.

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Shofar - A musical instrument of Jewish culture and tradition

Shofar is a musical accompaniment and is constructed from ram’s horn or Ashkenazi Shofar and African antelope or Yemenite Shofar. It signifies the rich culture and tradition of Jewish It Religious ceremonies were marked by blowing of Shofar. It was also blown to signify the commencement of battles. It interprets the relationship between the creator and its creation. Hearer feels peace, hope, conviction, and joy. Sometimes educators use these to educate on Jewish tradition and culture in ancient schools .Today, religious events like Rosh Hashanah and end of Yom Kippur are marked by blowing Shofar. Christians use Shofar on important religious events. They make perfect gift for BAL mitzvah, birthday, marriage and other significant events.
Shofar measures 7” to 52 “and has curved shape. The sound of the , Shofar depends on its length, curve style, mouth piece and curve size. Huge ones are easy to blow and have deep sounds with numerous tones. An online market is the perfect place to buy Shofar. Shofar sale is offered to its customers during some specific times of the year. Some stores also offer sales running throughout the year. It is extensively used by Jewish people as well as people of other religions. Due to high demand, a spark of competition is igniting among Shofar sellers. Thus to rank high these are available on competitive rates and even unbelievable at times.
The price depends on the varying styles and sizes.Shofars with Silver coating, painted and Moroccan are expensive as compared to tradition horn Shofars. You can browse through different styles and designs as a wide collection is displayed on the sites of the sellers and search for discount offers on Shofar suitable for you. Shofars made from Yemenite and ram horn are quite popular among Jewish people. Yemenite Shofar is long, glossy and has spiral curls on its surface. It is made from horn of African kudu. It symbolizes victory, jubilation and conquering. On the other hand Ram horn Shofar is a small horn made from the horn of domestic goat. It is popular among Asthekenzi Jews and signifies repentance. One can find according to one choice and purpose on the internet.
Opt for sellers providing customized services to their customers. Well established sellers guide their customers to find perfect Shofar for them. They encourage the customers to either call them or email them regarding any query related to Shofar. The Shofar you purchase must be well polishes and injected various features if it is used for primarily for aesthetic purposes. Shofar that produce more tones and have high volume should be purchased.
It is important that the Shofar you buy must be certified as kosher. The certification is in the form of the sticker and assures that it is made from the horn of kosher animal. But one must be aware even with this certification there may be certain factors that invalidate the Shofar as it don’t take into account such factors. Certification must also state about the lack of holes and no use of any coating on its surface.
Shofar with all this certification is a perfect embellishment of Jewish tradition and culture with many facets of unique qualities.