Rabbi of Chabad/Young Israel sounds the shofar

Rabbi Lazar Rivkin of Chabad/Young Israel of Tampa sounds the shofar calls in the week before Rosh Hashanah, 5767. Rabbi Rivkin and his son, Rabbi Uriel Rivkin, led a series of Shofar Factory prgrams at synagogues in the Tampa area to teach local Jewish youth about the shofar and its uses and meanings.

The Rabbi demonstrates the calls here, although he also adds a few extras at the end. The calls are "tekiah" one long opening blast. Then, "Shevarim," three medium blasts almost imitating the sound of plaintive moaning. Then, "T'ruah" a string of nine or more short blasts sounding like an alarm, or even deep sobbing. The set of calls then traditionally ends with the "Tekiah Gedolah," the longest blast of all.

The horn itself must be from a kosher animal, although not taken from a living one. Cows are ruled out due to the sin of the Golden Calf (why remind Hashem of our sins right when we are seeking his forgiveness). The Talmud (Tractate Rosh Hashanah) specifies that an antelope or ram horn is acceptable. However, traditionally most European and Sephardi Jews prefer the Ram's horn, while Yemenite Jews prefer the kudu antelope's long curly horn.