Blowing the shofar during Rosh Hashanah

One of the unique mitzvot of Rosh Hashanah is hearing the sound of the shofar. The tradition of sounding the shofar every morning during the month of Elul, the Hebrew month before Rosh Hashanah is really leading up to and anticipating Rosh Hashanah. If we are praying by ourselves at home we would not be hearing the shofar. Even if we are joining via Zoom or some other similar technology, hearing the shofar through speakers is not the same as hearing the actual sound. In order to address this, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has developed the "Sound the Shofar" program to both give everyone in the greater Orlando area the opportunity to hear the shofar, as well as to attempt in some manner to give us a sense of community during these stressful times.

The Sound the Shofar program has a few aspects to it. One is that JFGO has offered to supply shofarot free to those within our community who requested one via the website that was publicized to the community. Along with these free shofarot, JFGO offered Zoom classes on the rules of the shofar as well as how to blow the shofar. These Zoom classes are available on the Federations YouTube channel.

The shofarot were purchased as a result of the generosity of a few sponsors in our community. They were purchased through the Robert Lappin Foundation which is a foundation on the North Shore of Boston, that also runs the PJ library program on the North Shore. The foundation also sponsors a number of programs for the Jewish Community there, including the distribution of free shofarot before Rosh Hashanah, that they have been doing for more than 15 years. When contacted to find out from where they purchased their shofarot, we were informed that they had a number of extra ones they could sell us at their cost. A minyan is not required for sounding the shofar. By supplying shofarot to individual families, the JFGO is facilitating people personally owning a shofar, which they can blow at home for themselves and the rest of their family, thus fulfilling the mitzvah of hearing the shofar.

Another aspect of the Sound the Shofar program is that it was realized that many if not all of the synagogues in the area will be offering outdoor shofar blowing after the formal services in their parking lot, a near by open area such as a public park, or where they will be having Tashlich, (the ceremony of throwing bread into a body of water signifying the casting off of ones sins). The Federation has been working with the synagogues of the Greater Orlando area, most of which have agreed to formally partner with us, in organizing these as formal outdoor shofar blowings which are open to the public. To the extent possible there will be an attempt to synchronize these public shofar blowings to occur at the same time to really give us a sense of community, with the recognition that because of scheduling constraints some synagogues may prefer a different time. JFGO will publicize these times and places on their website, jfgo.org, shortly before Rosh Hashanah so that everyone in the community will be able to find a community shofar blowing in close proximity to their home thus being able to fulfill the mitzvah of hearing the shofar.

The final aspect of the Sound the Shofar program is that the JFGO is organizing volunteers to blow the shofar for people who may not be able to go to the public community shofar blowings organized by the synagogues. Some of the volunteers are those who received a free shofar, as well as those who already own one, either because they blow the shofar at their synagogue, or because, as is common, they purchased one as a souvenir from Israel, especially the large Yemenite type ones. Everyone, not only those who received a free shofar, are invited to join in the Zoom classes. The JFGO is working with the Pavilion, the Holocaust Center and Kinneret Council on Aging to identify areas that would like a volunteer to blow the shofar during Rosh Hashanah, such as a senior citizen housing complex with a number of Jewish residents, as well as nursing homes and rehabilitation centers with Jewish residences. The JFGO will be working closely, especially with the Pavilion coordinating the volunteers who are available to go to nursing and rehabilitation centers since due to COVID-19 there will be special requirements that need to be addressed that need to be worked out with the individual organization. In addition, those who own a shofar and are interested are encouraged to organize community shofar blowings in their community, such as their HOA. If they inform the JFGO that they have organized such a session, that session listing the date, time and place will be included in the listing of community shofar blowings that the JFGO will be issuing prior to Rosh Hashanah.

Anyone who is homebound, and will not be able to attend one of the community shofar blowings should contact the Federation at 407-645-5933, ext. 236, to see if we can arrange for a volunteer to come to their home on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20, to sound the shofar on their front lawn.

Everyone who comes to one of the public community shofar blowing will be expected to wear a proper mask and follow the recommended physical distancing requirements. Clearly family groups can stay together. The shofar blower will actually be a larger distance than the recommended 6 feet away and will make sure that the output of the shofar faces away from the people and downwind.

Finally, it should be pointed out that there have been major discussions about blowing a shofar indoors. The consensus is that it is not safe. When blowing the shofar there are a large number of aerosols that are ejected into the room, which would then be dispersed throughout the room. Therefore when it comes to the time when the shofar is blown as part of the formal service for the limited service inside the sanctuary, either everyone goes outside, or at least the shofar blower goes outside the emergency door or an open window where the congregation can see and hear the shofar with the output of the shofar facing away from the open door or window.

For additional information on the Sound the Shofar program please contact the Federation at 407-645-5933, ext. 236.