Rosh Hashanah
instruments but has found that only
so much of her musical background
translates to the experience of blowing
shofar. Burak believes that because of the
limited tones a shofar can produce,
much of blowing the horn is a matter
of interpretation. While some sho-
far blowers prefer to end each note
sharply, with the pitch lilting up,
Burak’s notes end in a gradual “weep.”
However, personal touches take a
back seat to mastering the 100 shofar
calls during a Rosh Hashanah service.

Burak still focuses on each call, par-
ticularly the staccato Truahs.

“Being a musical person, if there
were notes and rests, it would be eas-
Phill Goldberg has been blowing
ier than an internal metronome,”
shofar for over 50 years.

she said.

Th e most important preparation, shofar blowers
dry out. During the Truah call, he “tuts” his tongue
on the back of his teeth to create seven distinctive agreed, has little to do with remembering calls or
practicing ambuture. Cooper said that what separates
staccato notes.

Even beyond the physical preparation that goes a shofar blower is their kavanah, their intention.

In Jewish tradition, one Rosh Hashanah mitzvah
into shofar blowing, the experience itself is mentally
is to hear the shofar being blown; it is not a mitzvah
eff ortful.

Ilene Burak, one of the shofar blowers at the to blow the shofar. Cooper can tell the diff erence
Reconstructionist Mishkan Shalom, grew up playing between a shofar blower who is standing on the
Courtesy of Phill Goldberg
begin the practice aft er meeting with GJC
Rabbi Adam Zeff about how to become
more involved in services. Growing up in
an Orthodox synagogue, Weiss, like other
women, did not learn to read Hebrew. She
only saw men blowing shofar on the bimah.

With the help of GJC member Phill
Goldberg, who has been blowing shofar
for more than 50 years, Weiss learned the
ropes. She met with a trumpet player, who
taught her the correct ambuture, or mouth
positioning. She tried to learn circular
breathing, the strategy many horn players
employ to inhale as they are blowing into
their instruments, but it proved diffi cult
for her.

“I almost drowned doing it,” Weiss said.

Weiss even kept a trumpet mouthpiece
on her desk at home, which she picked up
frequently over the summer to practice. Her
status as a “gym rat” helped keep her lung capacity
strong. On the High Holy Days themselves, strategies
among shofar blowers diff er. While some prefer
to blow on the instrument with the sides of their
mouths, Weiss prefers to use the front of her lips.

Goldberg stays well hydrated and sucks lemon
drops during services, making sure his mouth doesn’t
26 SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



Courtesy of Ilene Burak
Rosh Hashanah
Best wishes
for a happy,
healthy New Year.

May the New Year
keep us united,
give us hope and
bring us peace.

. Mon-Wed 10-6, Thurs-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-6, Sun 11-6
Ilene Burak has been a shofar blower at Mishkan Shalom for seven years.

bimah to help others fulfi ll the mitz-
vah meaningfully versus those who are
blowing shofar for the performance
and attention.

“It’s knowing why you’re doing it,
who you’re doing it for,” Cooper said.

“You understand the signifi cance, the
gravity, the mitzvah that you are help-
ing everyone in the kahal (community
council) to perform.”
Hearing the shofar, according to
Cooper, should drive people to com-
plete teshuvah, repentance; the vibra-
tions of the horn resonate deeply
throughout a space. Th e sound some-
times moves Cooper to tears.

Th e emotional resonance of the
instrument is shared by the shofar
blowers. Th e preparation for the phys-
ical act of blowing shofar helps give
way to an opportunity to be emotion-
ally present during the High Holiday
services, an opportunity to facilitate
communal and personal spiritual
refl ection.

“I pick something each year to focus
on,” Goldberg said. “And then when
I’m blowing the shofar, it’s as if I am
expelling my sins from the year and
taking in a new breath, taking in a new
spirit.” JE
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