Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar. (CJB Leviticus 23.24)
The Shofar, a well known symbol of the Feast of Trumpets, is one of the earliest instruments used in Jewish music. Usually made from a rams horn, a shofar can also be made from the horns of other animals, including those of a goat or sheep. It is the one musical instrument that has not changed in over 5,000 years.
In Biblical times the shofar was blown to announce an important event, such as the alarm of war or the coming of peace. The Great shofar is said to have been sounded during the one of the greatest events in all Jewish history, the giving of the ten commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai (see Shavuot).
The blowing of the Shofar is the only specific commandment for the Feast of Trumpets. Just as trumpeters announced the presence of their mortal king, the Shofar is used by Jews to proclaim the coronation of the King of Kings.
