Ahead of High Holy Days, Chabad offers free online shofar-blowing courses
Due to their communal nature, many of the rituals and obligations of the High Holy Days will be difficult if not impossible to keep when forced to stay at home.
By AARON REICHTHE SHOFAR and prayers are supposed to help us with introspection but that is not always easy. A father holds a shofar for his daughter to blow.(photo credit: LUCY NICHOLSON / REUTERS)
As the High Holy Days approach, a new free on demand online course from Chabad.org can teach people how to properly blow the shofar, as well as associated laws, customs and mystical intentions.The course, called "The Sound and the Spirit," was made due to the coronavirus pandemic, which will likely keep many Jews at home for the High Holy Days rather than going to synagogue.Due to their communal nature, many of the rituals and obligations of the High Holy Days will be difficult if not impossible to keep when forced to stay at home. The shofar is no exception with worshipers being required to hear a total of 400 shofar blasts each day of Rosh Hashanah.However, a possible solution is making sure everyone can learn how to blow the shofar themselves."The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is blowing the shofar," the course's page on Chabad.org states. "This year, many of us will not be able to attend synagogue services and will be blowing at home. This course will provide you with the practical tips and mystical insights you need to fulfill this mitzvah in the most optimal manner, so you can blow at home, and blow everyone away."Taught by Rabbi Chanoch Kaplan, executive director of Chabad of NW Berfen County in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, the course takes up just 30 minutes per week, and is free to sign up. The lessons are all text-based and specifically developed for online, interactive study.Each lesson, of which there are three, focuses on different aspects of the shofar. The first class, titled "The ABC's of shofar blowing," discusses the technical aspects, such as how to choose one, how to position and breathe into it and other dos and don'ts. The second class, titled "The kosher shofar blowing," discusses the halachic aspects of the ritual. This includes blast duration, who is allowed to blow it and when it can be blown. The third class is titled "the kabalah of shofar," and discusses the mystical and spiritual aspects of the iconic ritual.A similar initiative was also recently put forward by the Tel Aviv Municipality, which announced that in cooperation with the city's Religious Council, it would provide free shofar-blowing courses for the city's residents.
