Ask The Rabbi
7 September 1996
Issue #118 (Parshas Nitzavim/Vayelech)
===========================================================================
This Issue Contains:
1. Know When to Blow
2. Answer to Yiddle Riddle
===========================================================================
All Ohr Somayach Publications are now available in Adobe Acrobat and
Microsoft Word formats from our web site: http://www.ohr.org.il
===========================================================================
Aaron Ahuvia <aaron_Ahuvia@ccmail.bus.umich.edu> wrote:
>Dear Rabbi,
>
>Rosh Hashanah will soon be with us, and this year we will not be blowing
>the shofar on the first day because it is Shabbat. I would like to
>understand more deeply why we have this custom. Is it because we don't
>use ritual objects on Shabbat? But we read from the Torah on Shabbat? Or
>is forbidden like other musical instruments, since if they break you might
>come to fix them? But how likely is it that a shofar will break?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Aaron Ahuvia,
You're right, there's no prohibition against using `ritual objects' on
Shabbat. As you said, we read the Torah scroll on Shabbat.
Is the shofar forbidden on a `Shabbat Rosh Hashanah' because of the
prohibition against musical instruments? That can't be the only reason,
and here's why not:
True, on a regular Shabbat, musical instruments -- including shofars -- are
forbidden. But musical instruments are forbidden on Rosh Hashanah, too!
So obviously, the mitzva of blowing shofar on Rosh Hashanah is an
exception; otherwise, the mitzvah of shofar could never be fulfilled.
Rather, the reason is as follows: Everyone wants to fulfill his obligation
to hear the shofar, but not everyone knows how to blow the shofar. Someone
might bring his shofar to an expert to learn how, and thereby accidentally
desecrate Shabbat by carrying the shofar outside.
Now, back to your original question: What's the difference between blowing
a shofar and reading the Torah scroll? Someone might desecrate Shabbat by
bringing a Torah scroll to a learned person to read it for him!
One difference is that the mitzva of shofar can be fulfilled alone, whereas
the public Torah reading on Shabbat is, well, public: You need ten people
to read it. The more people there are, the less likelihood anyone will
accidentally transgress Shabbat, because the others will remind him. Also,
due to the extreme holiness and honor of a Torah scroll, a person thinks
twice before picking it up and carrying it outside.
I once heard a beautiful idea which can be learned from this Rabbinic
decree, an idea especially appropriate for Rosh Hashanah:
One might ask: "How often will it happen that someone forgets it's Shabbat
and carries a shofar outside?"
Not very often.
"How learned is the person for whom the Sages made this decree?"
Not necessarily so learned.
"And how Jewish is the community in which this person lives?"
Not too very. There's not even a synagogue where he can go to hear the
shofar blowing.
Nevertheless, the Sages of Israel forfeited their own mitzva -- sacrificing
their own spiritual elevation and that of the entire nation -- for the sake
of some simple, perhaps unlearned Jew, living far from the hub of any major
Jewish community. They cared about him, concerned that he, too, keep
Shabbat properly. This highlights the inseparable connection shared by all
Jews, that we should care about each other and unite as one people.
As to your question, "How likely is it that a shofar will break?" I don't
know, but it so happens that last year on Rosh Hashanah my shofar broke. I
fixed it after Rosh Hashanah by soaking it in boiling water until it
softened, then repaired it and let it harden!
Sources:
o Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 588:5, Taz, Mishna Brurah 13
o Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 143:1
o Ran to Tractate Rosh Hashana ch. 4.
o Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 135:14
===========================================================================
Yiddle Riddle
Last week we asked: Which tractate's name is the antonym of the name of
the Order (seder) of which it is part?
Answer: `ChuLlin,' the tractate whose name means `non-holy things' is part
of the order `Kodshim,' -- `holy things.'
===========================================================================
Do you link to us? Let everyone know about the Ohr Somayach Home Page by
dropping the following text into the HTML document of YOUR home page:
<A HREF="http://www.ohr.org.il" TARGET="_top">
The Ohr Somayach International Home Page</A>
===========================================================================
SUBSCRIBE!
to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions:
weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion
dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi
ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism
parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion
os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach
os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter
judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism
month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months
Ohr Somayach NEVER charges for any of the above lists.
To subscribe, send the message: subscribe {listname} {your full name}
mailto:listproc@virtual.co.il
===========================================================================
Dedication opportunities are available for Ask The Rabbi.
Please contact us for details.
===========================================================================
Ask The Rabbi is written at
Ohr Somayach Institutions / Tanenbaum College, Jerusalem, Israel.
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
Production Design: Lev Seltzer
===========================================================================
Jewish L EEEEEEEE Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of
J L E Ohr Somayach International
J L E 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103
J L Exchange Jerusalem 91180, Israel
J L E Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890
J J L E Mailto:ohr@virtual.co.il
JJJJ Learning EEEEEEEE http://www.ohr.org.il
===========================================================================
(C) 1996 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.
This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior
permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other
publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you
contact us beforehand for permission, and then send us a sample issue.