Who blows the shofar?
In synagogue the man who blows the shofar is called the ‘baal tokeah’ Rosh Hashanah The shofar is the most important symbol of Rosh Hashanah. We sound it on both days of the festival, but not if they fall on Shabbat. We blow the shofar with four different calls: 1) Tekiah – one long sound 2) Shevarim – three shorter blasts 3) Teruah – nine fast toots 4) Tekiah Gedolah – a long blast, if possible 27 beats long! The sound of the shofar wakes us up. It warns us that on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur God especially thinks about us and everything we do. We have to try to promise ourseleves that we will be even kinder to other people and to listen to our parents and teachers.
