There are two basic types of shofars. The oldest, and still widely accepted type among much of the Orthodoxy (Chassidim), is short with one curve in it. The timbre is usually a “tenor” sound. The shofar gaining wider popularity is the more recent, long, gently curving and twisting Yemenite shofar. These produce a lush baritone sound that carries further and seems to be more desirable. The tone is produced in the same way a person blows a trumpet, by pressing the lips tightly together and making an “elephant” noise into the narrow opening. With a little practice, almost anyone can produce a sound. Some people can produce two or three notes.
The shofar had a daily commonality not unlike the noonday bell in hamlets all around the world. But it also held a place of honor as it signified beginnings, and endings. It summoned men to war. It called the people to assembly to hear the very words of God. It announced the celebratory feast days, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and the New Moon, among others. Before we examine each of these roles, let’s take a look at what the shofar has come to symbolized to Jewish men and women in synagogues around the world.
The ”Akedah” is a Hebrew term literally translated as “the binding.” For the observant Jew and now for you it brings to mind the binding of Abraham’s son, Isaac. The shofar has become the earthly symbol of Isaac’s ordeal, and when one hears the ram’s horn, he is to remember that “God will provide a lamb.” Abraham’s words became the fulfilled proclamation of the greatest man ever born to woman: John, son of Zechariah. “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!”
But for many the shofar’s relevance in the Akedah is deeper still. In the binding of Isaac, we find many characteristics of the Messiah of Israel. Throughout the Bible we find many Messianic parallels between Isaac and Jesus.
Here is one commentary on the significance, laws and prayers of the Akedah from Rosh Hashanah: “A reading of the Talmudic sources makes clear that God thinks of Isaac as if he had actually been sacrificed and his remains burned on the altar. Isaac’s ashes are before God, always a living reminder of Isaac’s covenant because an ascent to such spiritual heights as the Akedah never dies. Therefore too, Isaac’s life after the Akedah was of a different order than any other. He was a living sacrifice, sanctified, and spiritual.”
We do not have the time here to dive into all the implications of the rabbis’ teachings. But the similarities between the person of Isaac and the person of Jesus are undeniable.
All of this is to say, that when the ram’s horn is blown in synagogues, or throughout the streets of Israel it is supposed to bring to mind the Akedah, the binding of Isaac and all that happened there. If this is true in Judaism, then how much more so for us in the community of the redeemed, who see this picture’s grand fulfillment in Jesus the living sacrifice, sanctified, and spiritual?
The call to repentance. Given what we now know about the Akedah, we are ready to move into the next attribute of the shofar, which is the call to repentance. When the shofar is blown, a person does not know if God Himself is about to make an appearance. “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.” (Exodus 19:16)
To stand before the Almighty Creator is a fearful thing. Who among us could bear it? Even Isaiah, who by anyone’s standards was completely obedient and lawful, full of the Spirit of God, and a prophet among prophets, felt he was undone when he stood before Yahweh. How much more so for us?
Therefore, the shofar became the ultimate call to repentance. Who wants to be caught before the Judge of all the earth in sin? Hence, the Feast of Trumpets (also called Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah) in the biblical calendar begins with the shofar blasts, and the call to repentance. It is a time devoted to turning one’s heart and mind toward repentance. Prayers are offered asking God to call to mind any and all sins which have not been dealt with, all debts to neighbors, friends and family members which have not been put to rest. Promises and vows are critiqued and examined. “Did I live up to my promises?”
The call to war. The shofar was commonly used as a battle horn, not unlike the bulls’ horns of medieval Europe, or the trumpet in America’s own Civil War. “And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.” (Joshua 6:4). From this point on, the shofar became God’s battle call. With the shofar often tucked into your belt, you can see why the smaller, more traditional ram’s horn would prove more battle-ready than the longer, twisted Yemenite shofar.
The shofars were a very effective communication tool in Israel. Within minutes from the sound of the first shofar, a network of watchmen set on hills could hear, and sound their shofar to the next community or mountain. Men would drop their winnowing forks and shepherd’s staffs to pick up their weapons and gather into the Lord’s army. What a wonderful picture for us1 Would that we, as a community, could be signaled from any place in the country to gather together into God’s spiritual army. Would we drop everything to enter into battle against the encroaching enemy of our souls?
The call to assemble. Another important attribute of the shofar was to call the people into assembly. When this shofar call went out, it meant that God had something to say to the people. The congregation would gather together into what in Hebrew is called an Adat. The Hebrew word Adat means “assembly or congregation,” but the first two letters in the word, ayin and thiet, form a word meaning “to bear witness.” The congregation not only gathered to hear the Most High’s instructions, but to bear witness of them to others.
The last trumpet. There are other minor aspects of the shofar we could discuss, but perhaps the one following is of the most significance to the modern-day believer. “Then shalt thou cause the trumpet [shofar] of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet [shofar] sound throughout all your land.” (Leviticus 25:9).
The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, generally falls in late September or early October. It is also known by Hebrew tradition as the “Awesome Day of the Lord.” Certainly, it is the day legally set aside by the Almighty for Atonement under the Temple sacrificial system. Once every 50 years, at the close of Yom Kippur that is to say, at sun down a shofar is blown to announce the beginning of the Yovel, the Jubilee. This particular shofar blast has the unique distinction of being called the last trumpet. Does that strike a chord in you? Does that title remind you of the words of Paul?
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:52). What a moment that will be! Everything we have learned here will be true. Those who recognize the greater Akedah (Binding of Isaac) in Christ Jesus, those who have repented, will hear the shofar’s call. Those who are raised incorruptible or translated from this life into the next will answer the shofar’s call to war to do battle with the enemies of El Shaddai (God Almighty). Those who assemble before the King of kings and Lord of lords will be “one” assembly, bearing witness to the world that Jesus Christ is Lord over all the earth. In the twinkling of an eye, we shall hear the last trumpet and be brought into the full revelation of the Jubilee