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the
laws of THE FESTIVALS THE
LAWS OF ELUL AND ROSH HA-SHANA In memory of
Yissachar Dov Shmuel bar Yakov Yehuda Illoway and Leah Ruth
Illoway bat Natan Naso Jacobs ********************************************************************* Shiur
5: The Timing of the Shofar Sounds, and
the Relationship Between Teki’at Shofar and
Musaf Rav
Introduction: Last week we studied the laws of the
teki’ot shofar. We discussed the physical requirements of the
shofar, including its origin and shape. We also summarized the minimum
amount of shofar blasts that one must hear, and we explored the
halakhot of these sounds, their definition, and the relationship between
them. This week we will trace the origin of
our practice to blow the shofar before, during, and after Musaf,
and we will then explore the relationship between teki’ot shofar (the
shofar blows) and the Musaf prayer - both practically and
conceptually. “Confusing the
Satan”: Last week, we demonstrated that, due
to a doubt regarding the precise sound of the shofar blast called
“teru’a”, R. Abahu enacted that one should blow thirty sounds: three sets
of TSHRT (teki’a, shevarim, teru’a), three sets of TSHT
(teki’a, shevarim, teki’a), and three sets of TRT (teki’a,
teru’a, teki’a). We also discussed the debate over whether R.
Abahu's enactment responded to a true safek de-orayta (that is, a doubt
regarding a law of Biblical origin, for which the law always dictates
stringency; Rambam) or not (R. Hai Gaon). However, as we know, we blow many more
than thirty blasts! The Gemara (Rosh Ha-shana 16b)
asks why we blow the shofar while “we are sitting”, i.e. before
beginning the Musaf prayer, and then we blow the shofar again
“while standing”, i.e. during Musaf. The Gemara concludes,
“in order to confuse the Satan (the accuser)”. This passage raises a number of
questions. Firstly, what does the Gemara mean, “to confuse the
Satan”? And secondly, which sounds are the “extra” sounds, and which
blasts fulfill our obligation of shofar? Regarding “confusing the
Satan”, Tosafot (s.v. Kedei) cite the Aruch, who cites the Talmud
Yerushalmi, which explains that when the Satan, the accuser who
petitions against us before the Heavenly Court, hears the persistence of the
shofar as it is blown twice, he will be startled, as he will think that
he hears the shofar of the final redemption. Other rishonim offer less
esoteric explanations. Rashi (16b),
for example, as well as Rabbeinu Chananel (16b), explains that when the Jewish
people demonstrate their love for the commandments, the Satan is unable
to petition against us. Alternatively, the Ran (Rif 3a) explains that the
Satan refers to each and every individual's yetzer ha-ra (evil
inclination); by repeatedly blowing the shofar we battle our yetzer
ha-ra and remind ourselves to repent. This explanation makes especial sense
in light of the Rambam's understanding of the shofar blasts as a call to
awaken ourselves spiritually. In any case, the Gemara clearly
requires us to blow additional sounds. The first set, blown before Musaf,
are known as the teki’ot de-meyushav (the teki’ot sounded while
sitting); the additional sounds, blown during Musaf, are known as the
teki’ot de-me’umad (the teki’ot sounded while standing). As
we shall see, the rishonim differ as to how many sounds should be
blown. Which Teki’ot are Intended to
“Confuse the Satan”, and which Teki’ot Comprise the Primary
Fulfillment of the Obligation of Teki’at
Shofar? Seemingly, the facts that the
teki’ot de-meyushav are blown first and the blessing is recited upon them
imply that they are the primary fulfillment of the mitzva.
Indeed, the Rif (10b) and Rambam
(Hilchot Shofar 3:10) record that during Musaf we blow only one
set of sounds for each blessing. The Rif explains that, although one could not
fulfill one's obligation with so few sounds, the number of blasts of the
teki’ot de-meumad is limited because the members of the congregation have
already fulfilled their obligation of teki’at shofar with the
tekiot de-meyushav, and so we refrain from blowing so large a number of
blasts a second time, so as “not to inconvenience the congregation”. Similarly, the Rashba (16a) and Ritva
(16a and 34a) explain that one fulfills the mitzva of teki’at
shofar through the teki’ot
de-meyushav. However, the Ran (Rif – 3b), as well
as the Tur (585), writes that the first teki’ot are intended to “confuse
the Satan”, while one fulfills the mitzva through the second blowing.
This, of course, raises a question regarding the placement of the blessing on
the mitzva of blowing the shofar (henceforth, birkat ha-shofar)
before the teki’ot de-meyushav: Why do we make the berakha
before the tekiot de-meyushav and not during Musaf prior to the
tekiot de-meumad?! Indeed,
the opinion that one fulfills the mitzva through the second blowing might
strengthen the case for a need to avoid interrupting between the berakha
made on the shofar and the final teki’ot of
Musaf. Tosafot (Pesachim 115a s.v. Matkif)
write explicitly that “the same birkat ha-shofar that one recites upon
the 'teki’ot of sitting' works for the teki’ot blown while
standing, which are the essential ones, and which are performed while
reciting the order of the berachot (Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and
Shofarot.” Tosafot derive
this from Rav Chisda's position regarding the proper time to recite the blessing
over the eating of maror at the Pesach Seder.
Interestingly, the Ba'al Ha-ma'or
(Rosh Ha-shana 10b), troubled by this question, writes: It appears to me that our custom of
blowing teki’ot de-meyushav, and reciting on them the blessing of
teki’a, is not in accordance with the custom of the Talmudic sages. It is
rather a custom introduced by later generations so that people who leave prayer
prior to Musaf can still fulfill the mitzva of shofar! To this
end, the earlier teki’ot (the teki’ot de-meyushav) were
introduced, as well as a condensed version of the blessing of teki’a. In
fact, however, the primary blessings are those of Musaf:
Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot. In this shocking passage, the Ba'al
Ha-Ma'or suggests that originally there was no birkat ha-mitzva for the
shofar, nor were there any teki’ot de-meyushav; rather,
they were later introduced for those who could only stay for the teki’ot
de-meyushav. Here, he clearly reveals a belief that the primary
teki’ot are the sounds blown during Musaf; the early sounds were
merely intended “to confuse the Satan”. As we shall see, this debate – over
which teki’ot fulfill the primary obligation of teki’at shofar -
may impact upon other halakhot relating to the shofar blasts, such as
whether one may talk between the first thirty blasts and those blasts blown
during Musaf. Furthermore, as we shall also explore later in the
shiur, one might also suggest that this debate should depend upon our
understanding of the exact halachic relationship between the Musaf prayer
and the accompanying teki’ot. Musaf of Rosh Ha-shana – Malkhuyot,
Zikhronot, and Shofarot - The Source: Rosh Ha-shana boasts a unique
Musaf prayer. While the usual shabbat and yom tov tefillot consist of the
three opening and three closing blessings of the Shemoneh Esrei, plus a
middle berakha devoted to the sanctity of the day (kedushat
ha-yom), during the Musaf of Rosh Ha-shana we insert three
berakhot in between the opening and closing blessings, and, in addition,
we blow the shofar during the recitation of these
berakhot. What is the source for the obligation
to recite these three middle blessings? How are we to understand their structure
and composition? And finally, which teki’ot are blown during Musaf
and why? Regarding the source of
“Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot” (henceforth
“MZ”V”), the Gemara, at first glance, seems to send a somewhat
mixed message. One the one hand, one passage which
questions the source of MZ”V (Rosh Ha-shana 32a) states very simply that “God
said that we should recite them”. Along these lines, the Gemara on 16b
records: The Holy One, Blessed be He, said ...
“Recite before me on Rosh Ha-shana Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and
Shofarot. Malkhuyot
in order that you will coronate me as your [King], Zikhronot in order
that your remembrances should come before Me with favor. And how? Through the
shofar.” On the other hand, the Gemara
elsewhere (34b) teaches: The mitzva of “blowing” is greater
than reciting the blessings. How so? If there are two cities, and in one of them
they blow the shofar, and in the other they recite the blessings (MZ”V),
one should go to the place where they blow [the shofar]. [Question:] That is obvious?! One
[obligation] is of biblical origin (i.e. the shofar) and the other of
rabbinic origin (i.e. the berakhot of MZ”V)?!! [Answer:] It is necessary [to teach us
this law for a situation in which] one place is certain and the other is a doubt
[namely, that even in the case of doubt one should go to the city where he may
be able to hear the shofar]. This source clearly asserts that the
berakhot of MZ”V are mi-derabbanan. Indeed, most rishonim assume that the
berakhot are of rabbinic origin. While Rashi (Vayikra 23:24) implies that
the Biblical verse “zikhron teru’a” refers to the blessings of MZ”V, the
Ramban (ibid., and in his Derasha Le-Rosh Ha-shana) - based upon the above
passage of Rosh Ha-shana 34b – rejects Rashi’s implication and suggests that
even Rashi must accept that the interpretation is no more than an
asmakhta. Rav Soloveitchik (as recorded in
Harrerei Kedem, Volume I, chapter 29) suggested that even if recitation
of the berakhot of MZ”V does not constitute an independent Biblical
mitzva, it may nevertheless have import for Biblical law in the role of
enhancing the fulfillment of the Biblical mitzva of shofar. We will discuss the significance of this
opinion shortly. Which Blasts are Sounded during
Musaf (Teki’ot De-me’umad), and How
Many? The rishonim record numerous
customs regarding which and how many blasts are blown during Musaf.
1- The Rif (10b), Ba'al Ha-Ma'or
(11a), Rambam (Hilchot Shofar 3:10), and Rosh (4:10) record that the
early custom, seemingly from gaonic times, was to blow one set of TSHRT for
Malkhuyot, one set of TSHT for Zikhronot, and one set of TRT for
Shofarot, equaling altogether an additional ten
blasts. Some question the propriety of this
practice, as according to R. Abahu the proper blasts would be sounded over only
one of the berakhot! This question is easily resolved according to the
Rif, who, as we mentioned above, writes that while in theory we might have
required thirty blasts for each blessing, since the congregation fulfilled their
requirement before Musaf only one set is blown after each
berakha of Musaf in order not to burden the congregation. Furthermore, R. Hai Gaon, as we also
discussed above, believed that fundamentally all of the types of teru’a
are correct and that R. Abahu’s concern was with communal unity and not with
halachic doubts; according to this view a halakhically correct set was blown for
each blessing. However, according
to the Rambam, who views R. Abahu's doubt as a true safek
de-orayta, the question remains. The Ramban (cited by Ritva 34b; and
see also Milchamot Ha-Shem 11a) offers yet another
explanation: The truth is that halakhically one has
already fulfilled the obligation of teki’at shofar with the
teki’ot de-meyushav (before Musaf), and the teki’ot
blown with the order of the berachot do not come to fulfill the
commandment of shofar, but rather [to fulfill] the mitzva of communal
prayer – to raise prayer with the blast [of the shofar], as is done on
communal fast days... Here the Ramban claims that the
teki’ot blown during Musaf come not to fulfill the mitzva of
shofar, but to enhance the tefilla. Rav Yosef Karo, in his Shulchan
Arukh (OC 592:1), accepts this position and adds that it is customary to
blow each set three times, for a total of thirty extra sounds. Elsewhere (596:1)
he records the Sephardic custom to blow a final blast - a “teru’a
gedola” - after Musaf, for a total of 61 blasts.
2- Rabbeinu Tam (Tosafot 32b, s.v.
Shiur), on the other hand, was so troubled by the question mentioned
above that he established that we should blow a TSHRT for each beracha,
for a total of forty-two additional sounds. (As we discussed last week, Rabbeinu
Tam believes that a TSHRT does not pose a problem of hefsek, or
interruption, because the halakha follows the Rabbanan, who allow one to
hear even nine sounds over nine hours and still fulfill one's obligation.) The
Rema records that this is the custom for Ashkenzic Jewry. 3- R. Yeshayahu Ha-levi Horowitz (1565
– 1630), known as the “Shelah Ha-kadosh” ("the Holy Shelah"), after his work “Shenei
Luchot Ha-Berit”, records in the name of the Ari z”l that one should blow a
TSHRT, TSHT and TRT after each berakha, totaling an additional thirty
blasts. Most congregations seem to follow the
position of the “Shelah”, three sets for each berakha.
One Hundred
Blasts As demonstrated, according to the
original gaonic custom, the tekiot de-meumad consisted of only 40 sounds,
according to Rabbeinu Tam's practice they consisted of 42 sounds, and according
to R. Yosef Karo's practice they consisted of 60. However, the prominent custom of most
communities nowadays is to blow approximately 100 blasts. What is the origin of this
practice? Tosafot (Rosh Ha-shana 33b, s.v.
Shiur) cite the Arukh, who cites what is an apparently non-extant midrash which
records a practice to blow 100 sounds in parallel to the 100 wailings of the
mother of Sisera, the Canaanite general defeated and killed by Barak and
Devorah. Sefer Shoftim (5:28) describes Sisera's mother waiting in anticipation
of her son’s return, “Through the window she looked forth, and cried, the mother
of Sisera, through the lattice: ‘Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry
the wheels of his chariots?’” Indeed, elsewhere the Gemara
derives from this verse that the word “teru’a” refers to the short
throbbing cries. “The Torah states:
‘It shall be a day of teru’a for you.’ The Targum translates the phrase
as ‘yom yevava,’ a day of sobbing, based on the verse (Shoftim 5:28): ‘At the
window Sisera's mother looked out, and cried.’” The commentaries attempt to understand this halakhic derivation.
Some seek to understand how this verse
could serve as a source for the requirement to sound 100 hundred wailings,
suggesting, for example, that the gematriya (numerical value) of the word
"ha-chalon" (the window), which is exactly 99, implies that had Sisera’s
mother wailed just once more, for a total of one hundred times, her son might
have been saved. Others try to understand the
relationship between Sisera’s mother’s whimpers and our sounding of the
shofar. Seemingly, one might suggest that just as Sisera’s mother,
standing by the window, cried out of an intense feeling of uncertainty regarding
what would become of her son, so too when the books of life and death are open
and our future is at stake, we cry, by means of the shofar, expressing
our fears and uncertainties to God and praying for a positive
judgment. While this practice apparently did not
become customary during the Middle Ages, the Shelah endorsed it, and the
Mishna Berura (OC 596:2) and Arukh Ha-shulkhan (OC 596:1)
testify to its acceptance. (Interestingly, R. Binyamin Shelomo
Hamburger, in his "Shorashei Minhag Ashkenaz" (vol. 1), where he summarizes the
different positions from a historical and geographical perspective, defends the long standing German
tradition of adhering to the gaonic position and blowing only ten blasts during
the Musaf repetition.) According to our custom of blowing one
hundred blasts, how are these blasts distributed throughout the Tefilla?
There are different customs regarding this question. Some communities, generally of
non-Chasidic Ashkenazic origin (Mishna Berura 592:1) do not blow
at all during the silent Shemoneh Esrei and therefore blow thirty during
the repetition. The final forty blasts are blown after Musaf (30) and
after the final Kaddish Titkabbel (10). Other communities, generally those of Sefaradic and Chassidic origin, blow during both the silent Shemoneh Esrei (30) and the repetition (30), and the final ten are blown either after the final Kaddish or in the midst of it – before the stanza of “titkabbel”, in which we petition God to accept our prayers. (The custom to blow during the silent Shemoneh Esrei as well can be found as early as the Arukh; see erekh "ERV".) Interrupting
Between the Birkat Ha-shofar and the Final Shofar
Blasts: The question
addressed above may impact upon a very practical question regarding the
teki’ot of Musaf. May one speak during the Musaf prayer or
is there a problem interrupting between the birkat ha-shofar and the
later teki’ot? It is
customary not to speak between the birkat ha-shofar and the
teki’ot after the final Kaddish. But why? Rav Sa’adia
Gaon (Otzar Ha-Geonim Rosh Ha-shana) writes that “the one who blows the
shofar is not permitted to speak until the conclusion of the entire
service.” Similarly, in another
fascinating gaonic responsum, the congregation is also warned against talking
until the conclusion of the service, as the blessing recited over the
shofar is “lishmo’a”, to hear, and not “litko’a”, to blow; the
Rosh (4:13) cites this as well.
The Rif, the
primary source for this stringency, cites, at the end of his commentary to Rosh
Ha-shana (11a), a Reish Metivta who criticizes those who speak “before
one blows upon the recitation of the berachot (MZ”V).” He equates this to
the case of one who speaks between putting on the tefillin shel yad and
the tefillin shel rosh, regarding which the Gemara (Menachot 36a)
rules that, although ones has sinned, one does not need to repeat the blessing.
The Rosh (4:12), as well as the Rambam (Hilkhot Shofar 3:11), cites this ruling.
Rabbeinu Simcha, cited by the Hagahot Maimoniyot (3:9), rules that one who
speaks before the conclusion of the berakhot (MZ”V) should repeat the
birkat ha-shofar! The Ran (11a),
citing the Ba’al Ha-Ma’or, rejects the rational of this ruling. He claims that
one sins when one interrupts between putting on the tefillin shel yad and
the tefillin shel rosh because he must then recite an additional
berakha, “al mitzvat tefillin.” He maintains, however, that once one
begins the performance of a mitzva there is no prohibition of talking until its
completion. In fact, he forcefully
asserts that one who begins searching for chametz after reciting the
blessing upon bedikat chametz is certainly not prohibited from speaking
until its completion. He concludes, however, that, out of deference to the
Reish Metivta who uttered the ruling, one should still refrain from
speaking. Seemingly, the
anonymous Reish Metivta cited by the Rif makes two assumptions. Firstly,
he assumes that one may not speak after reciting a birkat ha-mitzva until
the conclusion of the mitzva. Secondly, he assumes that the mitzva of
shofar concludes after the teki’ot have been recited with the
berachot (MZ”S), or that the birkat ha-mitzva of shofar
covers the recitation of the berakhot (MZ”V) which accompany the
teki’ot. (While the Ran challenged the first assumption, we addressed the
second assumption above.) Despite the
apparent absence of any Talmudic source for this position, the Shulchan Aruch
(OC 592:3) rules: “One should not speak, not the person blowing the
shofar, nor the congregation, between the teki’ot
de-meyushav and the teki’ot de-me’umad.” The Taz (ibid, 2) defends this position
against that of the Ran, maintaining that the primary fulfillment of the mitzva
of shofar occurs during Musaf, and that one must not interrupt
until the conclusion of the entire mitzva. While a full
discussion of “interruptions” (hefsek) in halakha is beyond the scope of
this shiur, I will raise briefly some other considerations related to this
question. Regarding the
berakhot of MZ”V, the acharonim debate whether the congregation is
obligated to hear the blessings in their entirety in order to fulfill their
obligation ( In addition,
it’s worth noting that the Kol Bo, a medieval work on Jewish ritual and
traditions, explains (64) that one should not talk between the teki’ot
before Musaf and those blown during Musaf, “in order that [people]
should focus their hearts on the teki’ot . . .” Finally, we
pointed out previously that, due to the many opinions regarding the proper
manner of blowing the shofar, some are accustomed to blowing differently
each time, in order to accommodate a variety of opinions. For example, some blow
a “shevarim-teru’a” in one breath for some of the blasts, while
they blow two breaths for others, and some, in addition, blow a strait
“shevarim” for some, and an “oleh ve-yored” (tu – a- tu)
for others. If so, then one might not be allowed to interrupt unnecessarily
until after all of the teki’ot, even those blown after
Musaf, are blown ( - for until that point, one still has a small doubt
whether he has fulfilled his obligation, since he has not yet blown all of the
possible combinations of sounds). What
constitutes a hefsek (a halakhically offending interruption) regarding this question?
Clearly, one may recite
Musaf and its kedusha. Furthermore, it is customary to recite
various “piyuttim” during the repetition. The Rema implies that one should not
speak devarim betelim, idle chatter. The
poskim discuss whether one who goes to the bathroom during Musaf
may recite the blessing Asher Yatzar. The Penei Yehoshua (Rosh Ha-shana
34b) seems to equate this with the law during Hallel and Megilla
reading, during which one may not recite Asher Yatzar, and during
which one may only interrupt out of “fear or respect” for another. Others (see Minchat Yitzchak 3:44 and
4:47 and Tzitz Eliezer 11:45) rule leniently, equating this issue to
interrupting during Pesukei De-zimra, during which we permit one to say
Asher Yatzar (Mishna Berura 55:8). Relationship between the Shofar
and Musaf: Finally, we must ask, why do we
integrate the shofar blasts into the blessings (MZ”V) of Musaf at
all? Why did the Sages insist that
both mitzvoth be performed together, and what role does each component play in
this combination?
We may propose two possible
understandings. On the one hand, we may suggest that
the shofar blasts are employed to enhance our prayers (MZ”V). Indeed, we
have demonstrated that a major aspect of the mitzva of shofar is prayer.
For example, as the verse describes, trumpets are used during wartime:
And when ye go to war in your land
against the adversary that oppresses you, then ye shall sound an alarm with
the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and ye
shall be saved from your enemies.” (Bamidbar 10:9) In previous shiurim we
suggested that the origin of the shofar, as well as its shape, may be
crucial for the very reason that we are utilizing the shofar as an
instrument of prayer. Finally, as we saw above, the Ramban explains, explicitly,
that although we may not fulfill our mitzva of shofar during the
Musaf blasts, they “[fulfill] the mitzvah of communal prayer,
to raise prayer with the blast [of the shofar], as is done on communal fast
days...” If it is indeed an
instrument of prayer, it makes much sense to incorporate the blowing of the
shofar into the Musaf. Apparently, the wordless shofar
blasts contribute something that the three lengthy articulate blessings do not.
What the shofar adds may be the sense of emergency which is expressed by
the sounding of an alarm. Alternatively, it may be that after verbal prayer
expresses all that it has in its power to express, the shofar articulates
those prayers and hopes that transcend words. A second approach to explaining why we
incorporate teki’at shofar into Musaf would be to suggest that although
mitzvot are generally fulfilled even if lacking an awareness of
the reason behind the mitzvah (– whether or not intention to fulfill the
mitzva is required; see Rosh Ha-shana 26b -), nevertheless, some mitzvoth
may be elevated or enhanced when fulfilled within a certain understanding and
context. For example, the Bach (O”C 625)
insists that mitzvot for which the Torah mentions a reason explicitly
should preferably be fulfilled while aware of that reason. Therefore he rules
that one should think about the redemption from Egypt while fulfilling the
mitzva of Sukka on the first night of Sukkot, as it says in the verse “in
order that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell
in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt (Vayikra
23:43).” Along similar lines, the Ramban
(Milchamot Hashem, Berakhot) explains R. Gamliel’s famous
statement (Pesachim 116a) about the first night of Pesach - “Whoever did not say
these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation. And these are
they: pesach, matza, and marror” - in an innovative
way. While we generally assume that
R. Gamliel refers to three essential components of the mitzva of sippur
yetzi’at mitzrayim (the mitzva to relate the story of the exodus from
Egypt), the Ramban suggests that without fully comprehending these components
one’s fulfillment of the mitzvot of eating the pesach,
matzah and marror are lacking! Similarly, perhaps, the mitzva of
Shofar should ideally be performed while reciting the berakhot of
MZ”V. In fact, as mentioned above, How do the berachot of
Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot enhance the mitzva of
shofar? The themes of these berakhot – the coronation of God
(Malkhuyot), reward and punishment (Zikhronot), and Divine
revelation (Shofarot) - are central themes of the mitzva of
shofar. And so, reciting
these berakhot together with the shofar blasts would, perhaps, heighten
one’s performance of the mitzva of shofar. Interestingly, these three themes also
correspond to the three fundamental beliefs of Judaism as presented by the
fifteenth century philosopher, R. Yosef Albo, in his Sefer Ha-Ikarim: the
existence of God, the revelation of God, and reward and punishment. In our
Musaf of Rosh Ha-shana, then, in the opening prayer of the New Year, we
affirm our belief in these three principles. What emerges from our discussion is an
understanding of a truly unique ritual - the Musaf blessing of
Malkhuyot, Zikhronot, and Shofarot, accompanied by the blowing of
the shofar. With this, we conclude our study of
the laws and customs of Rosh Ha-shana. We will continue our discussion of the
festivals of Tishrei next year, as we study the laws of Yom
Kippur. Ketiva va-chatima
tova! |
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