The BarSheshet and Ribak families of shofar producers quickly went from competitors to partners.
By HADAS PARUSHThe BarSheshet-Ribak Shofar factory 390(photo credit: Hadas Parush)
If it were not for the sounding of horns and a pungent smell, one could easily miss a Tel Aviv landmark on Nahlat Binyamin Street in the city’s south area.The BarSheshet-Ribak Shofar factory, known as Shofarot Israel, has been manufacturing thousands of shofars a year in the very same building since the Ribaks emigrated from Poland in 1927.The BarSheshet family of shofar producers emigrated from Morocco in 1947 and by the 1980’s the two families went from being competitors in the shofar business to partners.While the Ribaks operate in Tel Aviv, the BarSheshets are based out of Haifa, and the combination of their knowledge and experience creates one of the most successful and reliable shofar factories in Israel, producing only qualified kosher shofars.“The business of shofars gives me satisfaction because I provide shofars for the people of Israel, so that people come and hear the horn blow, and fulfill their obligation,” says Avraham Ribak in his Tel Aviv factory.“It is the obligation of every (Jewish) person to hear the blow of the shofar.”
