Mid-Willamette Valley Jewish Community
During Elul it is traditional to blow or hear the Shofar daily, except on Shabbat. The month of Elul begins on the evening of August 13, 2026!
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Before Rosh Hashana we have to prepare. As we begin our Teshuvah/Return, one of the tools that helps us wake up to our soul work is the shofar.
It is said the shofar, the call home, existed before the birth of the world, and therefore appropriately reminds us of a “time” beyond time, calling us back to our beginnings.
The shofar sends echos of an ancient world: it was sounded at Mt. Sinai as the Aseret HaDibrot (aka the 10 Commandments) were given, and also at Bergen-Belson both on our High Holy Days and when the camp was liberated.
It is the call of the ages for all ages, and we are instructed to hear to it daily beginning the first of Elul through Yom Kippur, except on Shabbat.
Four distinct sounds are sounded/heard:
- Tekiah: One long continuous blast
- Shevarim: Three sounds of medium length
- Teruah: Nine staccato bursts in short succession
- Tekiah Gedolah: One continuous blast lasting as long as the shofar blower has breath
The shofar sounds bypass thought and send a code which reverberates in every cell of our body.
They are a signal from the Realm of Divine Energy speaking to us, resonating within us:
- Tekiah: a wake up call to return
- Shevarim: a cry of brokenness at the separation
- Teruah: a trembling, gasping alertness/clarity
- Tekiah Gedolah: a cheer of joy for the good feelings of connection and unity created by our prayers and hard work.
Happy is the people who knows the sound of the shofar. Psalms 89:16
May happiness and so much more be yours during these holy days and beyond.