Decorative shofar

 

The Shofar has been used by the Jewish People to commemorate holidays and important events (processions, going to war) even during their exodus from Egyptian captivity, before arriving in the land of Israel. Indeed, when the children of Israel received the Torah at mount Sinai, the blast of a Shofar emanating from the thick cloud on Mount Sinai made the Israelites tremble in awe (Exodus 19:16). It has since become a fixture in the Temple and particularly in the celebration of the Tishrei holidays, a function it retains to the present day.

The decorative Shofars used in the temple were various in shapes and sizes. The decorative Shofars used in Rosh Hashanah were straight, wild goat horn Shofars ornamented in gold, whereas the decorative Shofars used in Yom Hakippur were curving, ram horn Shofars decorated in silver.

After the destruction of the Temple, even though Jews in the Diaspora were often desperately poor, Jewish communities pooled together their resources to create decorative Shofars which were true works of art, some of them surviving to the present day.

Each community in the Diaspora developed its own style of Shofars with the Yemenite Shofars, perhaps in imitation of the straight goat Shofars, being made of the horn of the kudo, the African antelope.

For extra impressive appearance and tonality, extra jumbo Yemenite Shofars can reach a length of up to 56 inches! extra jumbo Yemenite Shofars of this length have traditionally been cherished family heirlooms, but you can get your own extra jumbo Shofar from a variety of online suppliers, including https://www.shofarot-israel.com/