Strictly kosher shofar

Why is the shofar blown?

A Jewish tradition calls for blowing a kosher animal horn on Rosh Hashanah to symbolize a call to wake up. The sounding of the Shofar is for every Jew a reminder for us to look inward and repent for the sins of the past year. In addition to being an important traditional symbol, the shofar also represents an exciting hands-on opportunity for children to connect with the Jewish holidays.

While shofars come in a variety of shapes and sizes (each producing unique sounds), there is a traditional set of sounds made during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Tekiah – A long, uninterrupted sound
Shevarim – Three broken sounds of medium length
Teruah – A series of nine staccato sounds
Tekiah Gedolah – A long uninterrupted blast held for as long as possible
The different types of shofars recognized as kosher
The classic ram’s horn shofar is by far the most common shofar used by Jews of all backgrounds.
Flat ram’s horn shofars, commonly used by German and Moroccan Jews, have a unique flat, straight shape with an upturned end.
Bavli shofars have a natural unfinished ram’s horn finish and a very deep sound. Bavli shofars are commonly used by Iraqi and Iranian Jews.
Yemeni shofars, made from kudu antelope horns, are very long, with a characteristic spiral shape.