Friday, September 29, 2000

Jewish children hear the call

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Ram's horn signals start of Rosh Hashanah

By Richelle Thompson
The Cincinnati Enquirer

        “Who knows what a shofar is?”

        A few hands shoot up. A girl twirls her hair around an index finger. Another sucks her thumb. One boy sits on his hands and looks around.

Children at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School in Golf Manor hear Rabbi Yisroel Mangel explain the significance of the shofar. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        “Is it someone who has a black cap and drives a big, long car?” Rabbi Yisroel Mangel asks.

        “Noooo,” comes the sing-songy answer. The children giggle because they know the rabbi is not talking about a chauffeur, even though the pronunciation is close.

        Even at ages 4 and 5, they recognize the shofar is a central symbol of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown today. They have colored pictures of shofars, typically ram's horns, hanging on the cabinet doors of their classroom at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School in Golf Manor. They've heard their teachers talk about ram's horns. And most have seen a rabbi or another adult in the synagogue blow the shofar and create 100 different sounds during the Rosh Hashanah service to signify the beginning of the Jewish New Year.

        But on this day, the children will hold the shofars in their own hands. They will feel the dirty white wool of a stuffed ram's head that's nearly as tall as they are. They will blow on a horn, and one little girl will surprise herself when she is able to coax a soft, flute-like baritone from a shofar.

        On this day, a group of 25 modern-day preschoolers will connect with a centuries-old symbol of their faith.

        “Why do we blow a shofar?”

        Rabbi Mangel asks. The director of the Jewish education and outreach center of Chabad in Blue Ash wears a black yarmulke and a long beard scraggly at the ends.

Hannah Schmelzer takes a try at blowing the ram's horn used to mark the beginning of Rosh Hashanah | ZOOM |

        He clearly delights in sharing with some of the youngest followers of his faith.

        The shofar is blown “to wake you up,” answers one girl. She is in a bright pink shirt, with her hair pulled into a ponytail and braided. Her answer is more insightful than she may know.

        Rosh Hashanah essentially is a wake-up call. It is a time of reflection and repentance, followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The two holidays are the most important in the Jewish tradition.

        Rosh Hashanah is the start of a 10-day period when Jews believe God examines the soul and the actions of the past year. Those considered worthy are inscribed into the “Book of Life.” Jews are to reflect on what they've done and ask forgiveness by Yom Kippur, Oct. 9, when the Book is closed and final judgment decreed.

        The shofar sounds the call to worship on the first two days of Rosh Hashanah — unless the first day is Friday evening or Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, as is the case this year. Then the horn is blown only on the following day. It not blown again until Yom Kippur.

        The ram's horn is a reminder that God provides, Rabbi Mangel says. It harkens to the story of Abraham and Isaac, when God gave a ram to Abraham to sacrifice instead of his own son.

        It appears throughout Scripture. A shofar sounded on Mount Sinai after Moses presented the Ten Commandments, and its blast brought down the walls of Jericho.

        According to Jewish tradition, the final shofar will sound at the coming of Moshiach, the Hebrew word for the Messiah.

        “Where does a shofar come from?”

        Hands pop up again. The children know shofars typically come from a ram. Some guess — correctly — that it can be made from the horns of other animals, as long as they are kosher, meaning the animal chews its cud and has split hooves.

        Rabbi Mangel presents the horn of a gazelle, 2-feet long and shaped like a spiral. The children rub the sides. He passes around a bone from the inside of one horn. He pulls out a ram's head and tells the class they can touch it.

        Like atoms released into an open space, the kids bounce and push and wiggle to get to the front. A few minutes — and patient adult admonitions — later, they settle back into attentive peace and quiet.

        Rabbi Mangel shows the class pictures of animals with horns that can't be used: an elephant (not kosher), a bull's horn (one solid piece) and a calf (a reminder of idolatry). The kids also see pictures of animals that can be used: a ram, gazelle, ibex and oryx, both ram-like creatures.

        After a kosher animal is slaughtered and used for food, the horn is brought to a special factory in Israel, Rabbi Mangel says. It is put in boiling water to make it more pliable. The bone is removed, and a special machine pulls the horn to the right shape.

        A shofar has a bend, mirroring how the body bows in prayer.

        “What sounds do we make with the shofar?”

        Tiny hands curl into imaginary horns. Cheeks fill with air. Faces are red. And they blow.

        Whoo. Toot. Whoo. The voices are pre-adolescent sopranos, stretching to high C's.

        Then Rabbi Mangel invites the children to blow on the real shofars. Most try, fail and then sing. Five-year-old Hannah Schmelzer's eyes go big when her effort turns into full-fledged shofar blowing.

        The kids squeal.

        “It felt good,” she says afterward, then races off to play.

        Teacher Kayla Berger uses a ram that fits into the palm of her hand as part of the lesson for her 4-year-olds.

        “I tell them about it,” she says. But the program brings the significance of the holidays and its symbols down to their level.

        “When they hear the rabbi blow the shofar (on Rosh Hashanah), they'll know where it came from,” she says. “It won't be just another custom for them.”

        There are three types of calls from the ram's horn. The t-kiah, a single, sustained note, symbolizes confidence in our selves and our actions, Rabbi Mangel says. The other two calls signal the opposite. The shevar'im — three short blasts — and the t'ruah — nine staccato notes — indicate brokenness. These are the sounds of uncertainty and begging for forgiveness.

        The three sounds serve as a good reminder of what should be the balance in life — a mixture of confidence with a recognition of shortcomings and the need to continue growing in faith, Rabbi Mangel says.

        Yom Kippur is the end of the High Holidays. On this day, Jews are forbidden from eating, working, bathing, wearing perfume or leather shoes, or having sexual relations. It's a time to focus on God and to ask for forgiveness.

        When night falls after a full day of services, the shofar sounds.

        There is only one call. The t'kia.

        “It is statement of confidence,” Rabbi Mangel says. “Of knowing that God in his mercy has granted forgiveness to all who ask for it.”

        He tells the children, “Now you know the whole story. Maybe one day you'll grow up to be a shofar blower or shofar makers.”

        He starts packing up, then asks: “Any questions?”

       @PhCred1:Photos by GARY LANDERS/The Cincinnati Enquirer @PhCap1:Children at Cincinnati Hebrew Day School in Golf Manor hear Rabbi Yisroel Mangel explain the significance of the shofar, a ram's horn which is used to signal the start of Rash Hashanah. (As demonstrated by , below.)

       

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