Photo (c) Robert Kalfus
By Robert Kalfus
The Jewish New Year is approaching! In the 30 days before Rosh HaShanah, Friday Night September 11, the shofar – a ram’s horn – is blown and heard daily, except on the Sabbath.
The shofar is blown daily in the morning during the Hebrew month of Elul (the 1st of Elul, about a month before Rosh Hashanah), and on Rosh Hashanah itself during holiday services. It is also blown once at the very end of Yom Kippur.
Blowing the shofar serves as a powerful spiritual alarm, a call to repentance, a royal proclamation of God’s kingship, a military signal, and a prophetic symbol of the final gathering and the coming of the Messiah.
For those who had great difficulty traveling or were unable to hear the morning daily prayer service, Chabad of Yonkers Rabbi Mendy Hurwitz brought his shofar to each person. The sounds of the shofar were heard at many different locations throughout Yonkers due to Rabbi Mendy’s outreach to all Jews.