Shulchan Aruch: Chapter 590 - The Order Appropriate for the Sounding of the Shofar

SECTION 590 The Order Appropriate for the Sounding of the Shofar. (1–21)

1 How many shofar blasts1 is a person obligated to hear on Rosh HaShanah? Nine — tekiah-teruah-tekiah, three times. [This concept is derived as follows:2] The term teruah is mentioned three times in the Torah [with regard to the month of Tishrei]: twice in connection with Rosh HaShanah3 and once in connection with Yom Kippur of the Jubilee Year.4 The Oral Tradition teaches that [the verses] are interrelated,5 and thus it is as if all three mentions of the term teruah relate to each [occasion].

Whenever a teruah is sounded, it must be preceded by a [long,] plain [shofar blast], and followed by a [long,] plain [shofar blast].6 These [long, plain blasts] are called tekios, without qualification.⁶ [This pattern is derived from] the verse,7 והעברת שופר תרועה — “You shall sound blasts on the shofar.” [The initial verb] implies that a [long,] simple blast should be sounded; [the sequence of the Hebrew words] implies that this long, simple blast should be followed by a teruah. And after mentioning the teruah, [that verse] states, תעבירו שופר — “You shall sound the shofar.” This implies that after the teruah, a [long,] simple blast should also be sounded.

[This sequence] applies to every teruah, whether of the Jubilee Year or of Rosh HaShanah, for lessons applying to one are also applied to the other.

2 The term teruah used in the Torah is rendered as יבבא in Aramaic.8 [This verb appears in] the verse,9 “And Sisrah’s mother gazed through the window and wailed.” This implies that יבבא resembles a sound that a person emits when he weeps and moans.

There is room to question whether the יבבא spoken of here is the sound made by a sick person whose groans are extended, as he issues one groan after the other, prolonging them somewhat. The root that describes this is גנח. Or perhaps [יבבא] resembles the sound of a person who sobs and mourns, emitting very short sounds in quick succession. The word that describes this is יליל. Or perhaps it refers to both of them in turn,10 with the sobbing following the groaning, for people who cry commonly groan and then sob.

[Accordingly,] our Sages ordained [the following practice] in order to accommodate all the possible explanations11 of the term [teruah]. A series comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah12 is sounded three times, for perhaps teruah means both groaning and sobbing. A series comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah13 is then sounded three times, for perhaps teruah means groaning alone, and if so, the sobbing sounds [i.e., our teruah] would constitute an interruption between the teruah [required by the Torah] and the tekiah that follows it — whereas the Torah requires that a teruah be [immediately] followed by a [long,] simple blast without the interruption of any other shofar blast which is not [long and] simple. Finally, a series comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah14 is sounded three times, for perhaps teruah is [the staccato] sobbing alone, and the groans [i.e., our shevarim] in the series comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah would constitute an interruption between the teruah [required by the Torah] and the tekiah that precedes it.

3 [A person may] make a stipulation regarding the last tekiah in the set comprising [three series of] tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah: “If the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah is the true [expression of] the mitzvah, this [final] tekiah should be considered as the last tekiah of that set. But if the [following] set comprising [three series of] tekiah-shevarim-tekiah is the true [expression of] the mitzvah, and it is through [these sounds that] one fulfills his obligation, this tekiah should be considered as the first tekiah of that set.” [If one makes such a stipulation,] there is no need to sound another tekiah as the beginning of the [three-part] set that comprises tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, for from either perspective, he has fulfilled his obligation with the tekiah [concerning which he made the stipulation]. Similarly, if one made a stipulation that the final tekiah of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah be counted conditionally as the first tekiah of the [following] set that comprises tekiah-teruah-tekiah, [he need not sound an extra tekiah].

If, however, he does not make such a stipulation, one tekiah cannot be counted both for the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah and the [following] set that comprises tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, nor for the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah and the [following] set that comprises tekiah-teruah-tekiah.

[The rationale is that] the mitzvos require intent. And if one intends that this tekiah complete the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, it cannot [also] count as the beginning of the [following] set that comprises tekiah-shevarim-tekiah. For if the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah is the true [expression of] the mitzvah, then when the person intended that this tekiah would complete the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, the shofar blast was not sounded with the intent of fulfilling the mitzvah at all. The same reasoning applies with regard to the tekiah between the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah and the [following] set that comprises tekiah-teruah-tekiah.

4 The [minimal] length of the tekiah required by the Torah is the same as the [total] length of the teruah required by the Torah,⁸ which is the length of three sobbing sounds. Some authorities interpret this as meaning merely three of the short staccato bursts15 [which together constitute our teruah, and] which are called trumitin.

In the present age, now that the Sages have ordained that we should sound three diverse sets — tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, then tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, then tekiah-teruah-tekiah — in order to accommodate all the possible interpretations of the term teruah, [each] tekiah of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah should be prolonged so that it is as long as the teruah of that set. Thus it must be the length of at least three average shevarim, i.e., three groaning sounds [i.e., genichos] of average length and three short sobbing sounds [i.e., yelalos] — for all these together constitute the required length of the [Biblical] teruah of the set that comprises tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah.

For the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, [each] tekiah need not be prolonged beyond the length of three average shevarim, for that is the required length of the teruah of that set. And for the set comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah, [each] tekiah need not be prolonged beyond the length of three short sobbing sounds, for that is the required length of the teruah of that set.

A person who wishes to prolong any of the tekios extensively may prolong them as much as he desires, for the [above] length required [by the Sages] for each tekiah is only a minimum. Similarly, with regard to the teruah, one may add as many staccato blasts as he desires. And similarly, with regard to the shevarim, if one adds to the three shevarim, it is of no consequence.16 This is not considered as interrupting between the teruah or the shevarim and the following tekiah, because all the shevarim — or all the staccato blasts [that constitute the teruah] — are sounded in one breath.

Nevertheless, it has become customary not to add to the three shevarim.17 One may, however, sound as many staccato blasts [for the teruah] as one desires.18 Some people sound a simple blast like a tekiah after the three shevarim and do the same at the conclusion of the [teruah] blasts. This, however, is not the [common] custom.

5 With regard to the shevarim of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, one should take care that none of the three shevarim should be as long as three average shevarim and three sobbing sounds, or trumitin, for this is the measure of a tekiah in this set. If a shever19 were to be made as long as this, it would no longer be considered a shever, but would be called a tekiah.

[Similarly,] in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, where the length of a tekiah is three average shevarim, a shever should not be made longer than three average shevarim, so that it will not cease to be considered a shever and be called a tekiah.

If one is not careful with regard to this, he has not fulfilled his obligation (according to this view) even after the fact. Moreover, as an initial and preferred option, it is desirable to be careful — even during the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah — not to prolong a shever more than three trumitin, for that is the length of a tekiah in the set comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah. If [the shofar blast] were to be prolonged for this length, it would be called a tekiah of the series comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah, and not a shever. Every shever should therefore be kept as short as possible — though not too short, so that it will [still] be called a groaning sound, or genichah, and not a sobbing sound, or yelalah, i.e., [one of the short] trumitin.

6 Some authorities, however, maintain that the length of a sobbing sound, or yevava, is three trumitin, and the length of a teruah equals three sobbing sounds, which is nine trumitin. Now, the length of a tekiah is the length of a teruah; thus it is also nine trumitin. And the [total] length of the shevarim is certainly no less than the length of a teruah; thus it is also at least nine trumitin. Accordingly, every shever should be extended to no less than the length of three trumitin, so that the three shevarim together will come to no less than the length of nine trumitin, which is the length of a teruah.

According to their view, the tekios of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah must be extended to at least the length of eighteen trumitin, which is the [minimal] length of the teruah of that series, i.e., the total length of three groaning sounds and three sobbing sounds, which comes to no less than the length of eighteen trumitin. Every shever may [thus] be extended to [a maximum of] a little less than the length of eighteen trumitin, because anything less than the length of eighteen trumitin is not called a tekiah.

Nevertheless, the initial and preferred option is that a shever should not be extended [even] for the length of nine trumitin, [for that] is the length of a tekiah in the set comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah, and thus it would be called a tekiah of [that set]. After the fact, however, if a shever of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah was extended, one’s obligation has been fulfilled, as long as [this shever] was shorter than the length of eighteen trumitin. [The rationale is that] with regard to that set, it is not [long enough to be] called a tekiah.

In the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, each tekiah must be as long as nine trumitin, for this is the required [minimum length] for this set. A shever may not be as long as nine trumitin. If the shever was this long, one’s obligation has not been fulfilled even after the event, for such a blast is no longer considered a shever; for this series it is considered a tekiah.

7 With regard to [the actual application of the] halachah,20 one should be stringent with regard to Scriptural [obligations] and follow the latter view; i.e., one should make each tekiah of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah at least as long as eighteen trumitin. And each tekiah of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah and tekiah-teruah-tekiah must be at least as long as nine trumitin. Every shever should be extended slightly, [at least] to the length of three trumitin, but not more than nine trumitin, even in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah. And every teruah must comprise [at least] nine trumitin, as has been explained.

After the fact, however, i.e., after having sounded the shofar, if one deviated from one of these directives, there is no need to sound the shofar again, because one may rely on the former view.

However, if one deviated from two of these guidelines, in a manner that would not enable him to fulfill his obligation according to either approach, he has not fulfilled his obligation. For example, the tekios were not made as long as required by the second view, but one of the shevarim was made longer than the [maximum] length prescribed by the first view. Another example: one of the shevarim did not reach the [minimum] length required by the second view, i.e., three trumitin, but one of the shevarim exceeded the [maximum] length prescribed by the first view. [In such situations,] the shofar must be sounded again, (according to the laws that apply to a person who makes a mistake while sounding the shofar, as will be explained). One cannot grasp the leniencies of both approaches, because they contradict each other.

8 The sobbing sounds of the teruos, and similarly, the three shevarim that take the place of a teruah, must be sounded in one breath. If they were not sounded in one breath, one’s obligation has not been fulfilled, for the Torah says “teruah” [in the singular, implying] one sequence of blasts and not a sequence divided in two.

[Different rules apply with regard to] the three shevarim and the teruah in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, where the two together take the place of the teruah required by the Torah — for this term may signify both groaning and sobbing, one after the other.21 Nevertheless, they need not be sounded in one breath, for it is not usual for a person to groan and sob in the same breath. Usually, [his groans and sobs] are separated by the space of a breath; he takes a breath between them. Hence, the person sounding the shofar must also take a breath between them, though he should not separate them by more than the space of a single breath. He should not wait to sound the teruah until the person calling out the notes says “teruah,”22 but should sound the teruah on his own initiative immediately after sounding the shevarim and taking a breath.

9 Other authorities, however, [differ,] even though it is not usual for a person to groan and sob in a single breath. [They maintain] that since the reason we sound the shevarim and the teruah together is that perhaps this [combination] is the teruah mandated by the Torah, the two should not be separated — for the Torah says “teruah” [in the singular, implying] one sequence of blasts, and not a sequence divided in two. Therefore, if a person sounded these notes in two breaths, he has not fulfilled his obligation. Rather, he should sound them in one breath, though with a slight pause between them, so that they will be [heard as] two distinct sounds.

The custom in these lands23 is to follow the first view. The custom should not be changed lest strife arise. In a place where there is no established custom, however, [the following] custom [should be adhered to]:

In the tekios meyushav,24 [these two sounds] should be made in a single breath,25 so that the blessing recited over these [shofar blasts] will accord with the halachah according to all authorities. For even according to the first opinion, some authorities hold that if these shofar blasts were sounded in a single breath, one has fulfilled his obligation, just as one who sounded the set comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah or the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah in a single breath has fulfilled his obligation, as will be explained.

By contrast, the tekios me’umad26 — for which a blessing is not recited — should be sounded in two breaths, out of deference to the view that according to the first approach, if [the shevarim and the teruah] were sounded in a single breath, one has not fulfilled his obligation.

If one sounded a series comprising tekiah-teruah-tekiah or a series comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah in a single breath, but paused slightly between the sounds so that they would be [heard as] three [distinct] sounds, he has fulfilled his obligation. Some authorities, however, maintain that in such a case one has not fulfilled his obligation, but must repeat all three sounds. [The rationale is that] the first tekiah had no conclusion nor end, nor did the final tekiah have a start or a beginning — for everything was included in a single breath.

Though the halachah follows the former view, one should show deference to the latter view and repeat all three sounds.27

10 (Each of the following is called a series:28 tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, or tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, or tekiah-teruah-tekiah.) If the last tekiah of one of [these three] series was extended and prolonged to the length of two tekios, with the intent that it be considered as two tekios — i.e., the last of the current series and also the first of the following series — it counts as only one tekiah, the last tekiah of the current series.⁸

[The rationale is that] every tekiah must have a beginning and an end. If this [double] tekiah were to be divided as the person sounding the shofar desired, the second tekiah would have no beginning and the first tekiah would have no end. Therefore, we do not follow his intent. We consider this as one long tekiah, which is counted as the last tekiah of the current series.

11 However, some authorities differ, maintaining that everything depends on the intent [of the person sounding the shofar].29 And since he intended that this [long] shofar blast should count for two tekios, we also consider it as two tekios, both of which are invalid for the reason explained above. His [double] blast does not even count for a single tekiah. This person must therefore sound the first tekiah of this series again, and then complete all the remaining shofar blasts in the proper order. In this he is bound by the law that applies to a person who makes a mistake in the midst of a series of shofar blasts: he must return to the beginning, as will be explained.30

The halachah follows the first view. Nevertheless, it is advisable to show deference to the second view.²⁷

12 As the initial and preferred option, it is forbidden to talk from the beginning of the tekios meyushav until the conclusion of the tekios me’umad, as will be explained in sec. 592[:7]. Nevertheless, if the person sounding the shofar transgressed and spoke — even if he spent several hours in conversation, and even if he did so between a tekiah and a teruah or between one series and another, or between one set and another — he does not have to sound the shofar again.31

[Such an interruption] is not significant, even if the shofar blasts of one series were interrupted by other shofar blasts. For example, after one sounded a tekiah or a teruah, he casually sounded other tekios or teruos, which thus interrupt between the teruah of that series and the tekios that preceded or followed it. [The rationale is that] since he did not intend that these shofar blasts which he casually sounded in the middle of the series should count towards the fulfillment of the mitzvah, but viewed them as a casual act, they are not considered as an interruption between the teruah and the simple sound that preceded or followed it. For the Torah was insistent only that these two sounds should not be interrupted by a shofar blast which is not [long and] simple and which was sounded with the intent of fulfilling the mitzvah. In such an instance, there would not be a [long and] simple shofar blast preceding or following the teruah; it would be preceded or followed by a shofar blast that was not [long and] simple. If, however, the person sounding the shofar did not intend that these blasts fulfill the mitzvah, [the teruah] is not considered to be preceded or followed by a shofar blast that is not [long and] simple. Since the person did not intend to fulfill the mitzvah with [them, the other shofar blasts] are of no consequence at all; they are just like the sounds of an animal or a beast.

13 Similar concepts [apply with regard to] a person hearing the shofar blasts. If one heard the shofar blasts in interludes, i.e., he interrupted extensively by talking, he has [nevertheless] fulfilled his obligation. [This applies] provided that in the midst of a series of shofar blasts he did not hear a shofar blast that is inappropriate at that point; i.e., provided that between the teruah of that series and the [long and] simple shofar blast that precedes or follows it, he did not hear a shofar blast which was not [long and] simple and which was sounded with the intent of fulfilling the mitzvah — as was explained above with regard to the person sounding the shofar.

14 Similarly, not all the shofar blasts must be heard from one person. Even if one hears them from several people — a tekiah from one, a teruah from another, and a [second] tekiah from still another person, following this pattern until [he has heard] all the shofar blasts — he has fulfilled his obligation.32

If, however, one hears a tekiah and a teruah and a tekiah sounded at the same time by three people respectively, he has not fulfilled his obligation. [The rationale is that the teruah] was neither preceded nor followed by a [long,] simple blast, because all [three] blasts were sounded at the same time.

Nevertheless, should each one of the three have sounded a series of tekiah-teruah-tekiah, then even though all the blasts were sounded at the same time, the listener has fulfilled his obligation.33 [As a rule, we say that] when there are two simultaneous sounds, neither of them is heard [properly], as stated in sec. 141.34 This case is exceptional. Since the shofar is cherished by a listener, because it is sounded only once a year,35 he will listen attentively and [discern between even] several sounds. For the same reason, even if some people sounded trumpets,36 and some sounded shofaros, [a listener] has fulfilled his obligation. Because he cherishes [the mitzvah], he pays attention to the shofar and hears its sound.

15 [The following laws apply if a person] sounding the shofar erred in the midst of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, and after sounding two shevarim, before completing the third shever, began the teruah. Whether he completed the teruah which he mistakenly began, or whether he did not complete it but [caught his mistake] while still in the midst of it, he must once again sound the three shevarim37 and the teruah. He should then complete [the sounding of the shofar] in the proper order.

He does not have to repeat the first tekiah of the present series, which he sounded before he erred. [The fact that] the two shevarim and the mistimed teruah interrupt between the first tekiah of this series and the shevarim-teruah of this series is of no consequence. Since the mistaken shevarim-teruah are of the same type as the shevarim-teruah that were required [for] this series, this is not considered an interruption. To what can this be compared? To a person who began to sound a teruah, but since the notes did not come out well, he stopped and began another teruah. In such a case, the short blast[s] that people heard from the shofar are not considered as an interruption between the [valid] teruah and the [long,] simple blast that preceded it, because they are of the same type as the teruah that he was required to sound.

16 When does the above38 apply? In the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-te­ruah-tekiah. In the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, by contrast, [different rules apply]. Whether one began sounding the teruah after completing the shevarim, or before completing the shevarim, even if he only sounded one shever, or whether he sounded a teruah before he sounded even one shever, he must also repeat the first tekiah of this series. Since this teruah is not of the same type as the shevarim which must be sounded in this series, it is considered an interruption between the shevarim and the [long,] simple blast which preceded them.

Moreover, even in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, the statement that one is not required to repeat the first tekiah applies only if one did not interrupt and take a breath between the end of the two shevarim and the mistaken te­ruah. If one made an interruption by taking a breath, he must also repeat the first tekiah of this series.39

[The rationale is that] since he made an interruption by taking a breath between the shevarim and the teruah, the two are not considered as a single shofar blast, and the teruah is not connected with the shevarim at all. This is comparable to someone who sounded only a teruah, without any shevarim, before sounding the three shevarim in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-te­ruah-tekiah. In such an instance, he must repeat the first tekiah of this series, because his teruah separated the shevarim from the [long,] simple blast that preceded them — for this teruah is not of the same type as the shevarim which it must accompany in this series. Although they are of the same type as the teruah that must be sounded in this series, this is of no consequence, since the shevarim of this set have not been sounded.

17 Similarly, whether in the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah or in the set tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, one must repeat the first tekiah of the series if he sounded three shevarim, then made an interruption by taking a breath,40 and then sounded other shevarim, or even if he [added] only one other shever, [before sounding the following teruah or tekiah].

[The same laws apply if] after completing the teruah, i.e., [a minimum of] three staccato blasts according to the first opinion which we mentioned [in subsection 4], one made an interruption by taking a breath, and then sounded another teruah. Even if he did not complete this teruah, he must repeat the first tekiah of this series and then complete [all the remaining] blasts in order.

[The rationale is that there is a difficulty] since he made an interruption by sounding either additional shevarim or an additional teruah between the shevarim or the teruah and the [long,] simple blast that follows them. If he would [now] repeat [only] the shevarim or the teruah41 and then continue in the proper order, the superfluous shevarim or teruah which he sounded previously would separate the acceptable shevarim or teruah of this series from the [long,] simple blast that preceded them. For [these superfluous blasts] are not precursors42 of the shevarim or teruah which must be sounded in this series; nothing is lacking, since [the required blasts] were already sounded.

18 Whenever it was stated that the person must go back and repeat the first tekiah of a [particular] series, if he did not catch his mistake until he had sounded the last tekiah of that series, that latter tekiah can be considered as the first tekiah of the series [now being repeated]. He should then proceed to complete all [the remaining blasts] in order.

If he did not catch his mistake until he had begun another series or even another set, [he should complete that series or set and then correct his mistake]. For example, if he erred while sounding the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, and did not catch his mistake until he was in the midst of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah or the set tekiah-teruah-tekiah, he should complete the entire set in the midst of which he realized that he had erred. He should then sound a series comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah. Although he interrupted the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah43 by sounding the blasts of the set comprising tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, that is not significant. For the Torah was concerned only that no interruption be made between a teruah and the [long,] simple blast that precedes or follows it; if one separated one series from another by a shofar blast that is not appropriate for that set, this is of no consequence.

19 Whenever it was stated that [after a mistake] one must repeat even the first tekiah of the series in which he erred, there is no difference [whether the mistake was made in] the tekios me’umad or the tekios meyushav. In either instance the shofar must be sounded again, as explained. Even in places where all 30 blasts are sounded in the tekios me’umad,44 if one erred in the tekios meyushav one may not rely on the [forthcoming] tekios me’umad and thereby be exempt from returning to correct the error. [The rationale is that] since a blessing was recited over these shofar blasts, they must be sounded in the proper manner so that the blessing will not be in vain.

If, by contrast, one erred in the blasts that follow the prayers,45 this is not significant, for [sounding] these [blasts] is merely a custom.

20 If a person sounds the shofar by blowing into its wide end, he has not fulfilled his obligation. A hint of this may be found in the verse,46 “From the straits47 I called [to G‑d].”

21 After sounding the shofar, the leader of the prayer service48 should begin to recite [aloud] the verse,49 Ashrei haam yod’ei seruah (“Happy are the people who know the sound of the shofar”). In some [communities] it is customary to continue until tarum karneinu (“…our glory be exalted”).50 He then begins Ashrei yoshvei…, and then the Torah scroll is returned to [the ark].51