What
Part of the Lips Sound the Shofar?
Arthur
L. Finkle
Someone asked me a simple
but often overlooked question regarding where on the lips do you sound the
shofar.
Brass instrument sound (and
for the sake of discussion let us consider the shofar as a brass instrument) emanate
from the buzzing (vibration) of the lips of the performer. The tighter the
lips, the higher the pitch.
All of this assumes that the
manufactured mouthpiece is fitted for the largest part of the lips (the
center).
However, the shofar, is hand-made,
not machine-made so it is imprecise. It also allows a relatively small aperture
to allow the lips to vibrate. Accordingly, the next best thing to the middle of
the lip placement would be the sides of the lips, an unconventional but
practical approach.
What does Jewish Law, formulated
hundreds, if not thousands , of years ago say on this issue?
The Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan
Aruch) published in 1565 held, at 585:2:
He should blow: Teki'ah,
Shevarim Teru'ah, Teki'ah three times, Teki'ah, Shevarim, Teki'ah three times
and : Teki'ah, Teru'ah, Teki'ah three times.
It is desirable to blow (7) on
the right side (8) on the right side, if it is possible to blow in that manner.
At the beginning of the 20th
century, the Chofetz Chaim updated the Code of Jewish Law in a work called The Mishnah
Berurah. At section 585:2 (6), he expounds:
(7) On the right side Zekariah
3:1 “And Satan stands on his right, to condemn him”
(8) If it is possible to blow
in that /manner/.
If /the blower/ cannot /do so/ there is no need to object
even if he places /the shofar/ on the left side /of his mouth/ and the opening
of the shofar is also on the left side.
Accordingly, the Sages tell
us to sound the shofar on the side of the lips. They even detail the preferred
side (right) but allow the left side. (A left hander usually uses the left
side.)
It is fascinating that the
sages had the answers to this simple but important question hundreds of years
ago.
Thus, is the Jewish
tradition, a recording of issues faced for at least two thousand years.
May all of you have a happy,
healthy New Year!
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