Shofar

The haunting sound of the shofar will reverberate through Congregation Adath Jeshurun six times on Sept. 11, at the exact times the four planes crashed and each of the World Trade Center towers collapsed one year ago. Cherry Hill Baptist Church is holding its remembrance that day as well - precisely from 8:11 p.m. to 9:11 p.m. At Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in Rockledge, parishioners have written the names of 9/11 victims on scrolls that...

The sound of the ram's horn marked the start of the Jewish New Year yesterday, and across the region Jews searched the hopeful imagery of Rosh Hashanah to make sense of last week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Paul Bender, the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid in Cherry Hill, told his listeners at a morning service that the sound of the ram's horn, or shofar, not only marks the onset of the year 5762, but this year is "the sounds of wailing" of the many thousands who lost loved ones in the Sept.

An admittedly long-winded guy like lawyer Edgar R. Einhorn of Center City is an invaluable asset to any synagogue. Einhorn has a skill few others possess. He's a veteran shofar blower. Shofar is the Hebrew word for ram's horn whose shrill blasts usher in the Jewish New Year and also end the 24-hour fast of Yom Kippur, which begins tonight at sundown. A synagogue without at least one expert like Einhorn would be in desperate shape on the high holy days. "He's exceptional.

The sound of the shofar bellowed through the new chapel of the Beth David Reform Congregation in Gladwyne for the first time Saturday morning. Steve Mezrow, a member of the congregation, blew with all his might on the long, ivory-colored ram's horn. Around the world, identical notes echoed through synagogues, announcing the arrival of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, and the beginning of 10 days of introspection and repentance that end Oct. 13 with Yom Kippur. It is a sound intended to "wake up the sleeping soul," said Rabbi Henry Cohen in an interview Thursday in his office.

Tonight, with the sounding of the shofar, Jews all over the world will begin to observe the 10 most solemn days on their calendar. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are often called the Jewish High Holidays. Rosh Hashana will begin at sundown tonight and conclude at sundown Tuesday. Yom Kippur will begin at sundown Oct. 6 and conclude at sundown Oct. 7. The interval between them is known as the Days of Penitence or the Days of Awe. It is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, God sets aside justice in favor of mercy and receives the truly contrite in love and compassion.

Shofar and electric guitar coexist in the Baal Shem Tov Band, which performs "Hasidic rock. " Rabbi Menachem Schmidt sounded the ram's horn yesterday, final day of the "Oy! Philadelphia" festival, in a performance at Second and South Streets.

Centuries before the telephone, the sound of the ram's horn signaled everything from routine news to impending danger. Today, the ram's horn - or shofar - can be heard during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the two most sacred holidays in the Jewish faith. Rosh Hashana began last night at sundown. The blowing of the ram's horn on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is a call to worship. The holiday marks the start of the Ten Days of Repentence that culminate in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which falls this year on Sept.

With blasts of a ram's horn, the people of Moses were alerted to gather at the foot of Mount Sinai. Moses then was summoned by God to the top of the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, according to passages from the Bible. The ram's horn, called the shofar, was used in ancient times to signal important public events or summon people during an emergency, said Mark Elson, cantor of Shir Ami, a reform Jewish congregation in Newtown Township. Now, the playing of the shofar is an essential part of the Rosh Hashana service, celebrating the Jewish New Year, which began at sundown Friday.

David Fleisher had spent most of his young life in Israel, but yesterday was the first time that he managed to get a good bellow out of a ram's horn. "It's something similar to the way you play a trumpet," his father, Joseph Fleisher, 50, said as he watched the 12-year-old struggle. The Fleishers were among the Jewish families - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform - at an open house yesterday at the Lubavitcher Center on Castor Avenue near Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

CAN PEOPLE change? Judaism's response: a resounding yes! It is this core belief that drives our concept of repentance in the High Holy Days. Two major holidays make up the High Holy Day period. Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown Wednesday, celebrates the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur is our Day of Atonement. The two holidays, together with the days in between, comprise the Ten Days of Repentance. The Jewish community is preparing to delve into the difficult questions posed by the belief that we can change.

CAN PEOPLE change? Judaism's response: a resounding yes! It is this core belief that drives our concept of repentance in the High Holy Days. Two major holidays make up the High Holy Day period. Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown Wednesday, celebrates the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur is our Day of Atonement. The two holidays, together with the days in between, comprise the Ten Days of Repentance. The Jewish community is preparing to delve into the difficult questions posed by the belief that we can change.

The haunting sound of the shofar will reverberate through Congregation Adath Jeshurun six times on Sept. 11, at the exact times the four planes crashed and each of the World Trade Center towers collapsed one year ago. Cherry Hill Baptist Church is holding its remembrance that day as well - precisely from 8:11 p.m. to 9:11 p.m. At Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in Rockledge, parishioners have written the names of 9/11 victims on scrolls that...

The sound of the ram's horn marked the start of the Jewish New Year yesterday, and across the region Jews searched the hopeful imagery of Rosh Hashanah to make sense of last week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Paul Bender, the spiritual leader of Congregation Ner Tamid in Cherry Hill, told his listeners at a morning service that the sound of the ram's horn, or shofar, not only marks the onset of the year 5762, but this year is "the sounds of wailing" of the many thousands who lost loved ones in the Sept.

David Fleisher had spent most of his young life in Israel, but yesterday was the first time that he managed to get a good bellow out of a ram's horn. "It's something similar to the way you play a trumpet," his father, Joseph Fleisher, 50, said as he watched the 12-year-old struggle. The Fleishers were among the Jewish families - Orthodox, Conservative and Reform - at an open house yesterday at the Lubavitcher Center on Castor Avenue near Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

Fifty shofars will open the "Hear, O Israel" concert by the Israel Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra tonight. This staggering number of ritual rams' horns should produce a most unusual, thrilling sound. But before this "Call of the Israelites" resonates in the CoreStates Center, some historic words will ring out: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land . . . " begins the biblical phrase to be proclaimed by Leonard Nimoy, one of the mega-event's many celebrity guests. It's from Leviticus 25:10.

From throughout the region they came. In baseball caps and blue jeans, khakis and sport shirts. Old and young. Male and female. Each toting a twisted piece of ram's horn. All were eager for the chance to play at the CoreStates Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Leonard Nimoy. True, that wasn't their only motivation. After all, it's an honor just to play the ram's horn, or shofar, which has been used since antiquity to call the Jewish people to prayer. And certainly, it would be a thrill to represent the community as a whole, not to mention your congregation, at the gala concert Jan. 24 that begins the area's year-long salute to Israel's 50th birthday.

The misty drizzle couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the giggling, rain- slickered children who, with their parents and about 40 others, threw bread into a shallow stream behind Ohev Shalom during a Tashlich ceremony last Thursday. In fact, Rabbi Eliott Perlstein, who began the service by blowing into a shofar, or ram's horn, had to tell the youngsters not to cast their bread into the water before the appropriate moment. The Tashlich is a traditional observance of Rosh Hashana in which Jews cast bread into a moving body of water, preferably one containing fish.

Tonight, with the sounding of the shofar, Jews all over the world will begin to observe the 10 most solemn days on their calendar. Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are often called the Jewish High Holidays. Rosh Hashana will begin at sundown tonight and conclude at sundown Tuesday. Yom Kippur will begin at sundown Oct. 6 and conclude at sundown Oct. 7. The interval between them is known as the Days of Penitence or the Days of Awe. It is a time when, according to Jewish tradition, God sets aside justice in favor of mercy and receives the truly contrite in love and compassion.

Shofar and electric guitar coexist in the Baal Shem Tov Band, which performs "Hasidic rock. " Rabbi Menachem Schmidt sounded the ram's horn yesterday, final day of the "Oy! Philadelphia" festival, in a performance at Second and South Streets.

An admittedly long-winded guy like lawyer Edgar R. Einhorn of Center City is an invaluable asset to any synagogue. Einhorn has a skill few others possess. He's a veteran shofar blower. Shofar is the Hebrew word for ram's horn whose shrill blasts usher in the Jewish New Year and also end the 24-hour fast of Yom Kippur, which begins tonight at sundown. A synagogue without at least one expert like Einhorn would be in desperate shape on the high holy days. "He's exceptional.