Answer: Well, I don’t want to toot the shofar’s horn too much, James, but it really is pretty special. Allow me to explain. In your question you asked about why we don’t use a real trumpet, and I ...

Trumpet player Bruce Shapiro is the ideal person to perform the Rosh Hashana ritual of blowing the shofar – an ancient musical instrument that marks the beginning of the new year. “The whole idea of ...

New York’s oldest synagogue reopened to the sound of shofars yesterday, more than three years after it was gutted by a devastating fire. “For me, it’s a microcosm of the destiny of the Jewish people,” ...

Growing up in White Meadow Lake during the 1960's, Eric Freedman had an unspectacular career at Hebrew school. He recalls daydreaming about basketball during classes and making the occasional ...

Merrick Fagan is a bass player and bartender, not a rabbi, but during the High Holy Days, he is entrusted with a sacred, God-ordained task. At Rosh Hashanah morning services, he blows a hollowed-out ...

Blowing shofar at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley daily for the month of Elul and for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Cooper is used to the feeling of clenching his shoulders and neck muscles, having ...