The shofar first appears in the Bible with the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham brings Isaac up to Mount Moriah as an olah (an offering), according to G-d's command. Just as Abraham is about to carry out his pain-filled mission, G-d directs him to a ram who had gotten its horns caught in the thistles. From that point on, the shofar, a ram's horn, has become the symbol of G-d's covenant with the Jewish people and their ultimate redemption.

It is used as a call to prayer. The sound is meant to motivate one to purify oneself before G-d. The sound of the shofar was also heard at the Revelation at Mount Sinai. Thus, the sound of the shofar resonates within the soul. This is why it was used as a call to battle and as a call to congregate, because both those endeavors necessitate spiritual confrontation with the Divine. The shofar enables and enhances that encounter.

Today the shofar is blown prior to and during the High Holy Days. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the shofar is blown 101 times. On Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the shofar is ritually blown at the concluding prayer service. The three sounds heard during this period are: THE TEKIYAH, the long piercing cry of prayer and redemption; THE SHVARIM, the sighing sound symbolizing the heart yearning to cleave unto G-d; and the THE TRUAH, the staccato sound symbolizing the breaking of the chains that keep us from G-d.

"And it shall come to pass on that day, that a great shofar shall be blown..." Isaiah 27:13A

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