Jesse Turk, Harry Chiel, and Aliza Stein

1. Exotic Shofars Jesse Turk, Harry Chiel, and Aliza Stein Based on the essay by Rabbi Natan Slifkin.

2. Shofars: Kosher Animals Needed • Ramah: Shofar of a non-kosher animal is invalid • Magen Avraham: No non-kosher animals that possess horns • Pri Chadash: There are indeed non-kosher animals with horns as in the rhinoceros, however rhinoceros horns are not sold today (because of poaching laws)

3. Hollow Horns • Two Basic types of animal horns • 1) Having a sheath of keratin covering the bony core • 2) Horns that are solid • Shulchan Aruch: Horns which are made from solid bone are not allowed

4. Yael or Ibex A wild goat with huge rigid horns Excellent climbers Zachar or Ram Reminder of The Binding of Isaac Curved horns Symbolizes how we should be bent in our mindset on the Day of Judgement Curved vs. Straight: Requirements Mishnah says there are two types of horns that can be used for shofars:

5. Method of Making Shofars • The bony core is removed from the center of the horn and is discarded • The tip of the keratin horn is sawn off • And a hole is drilled from the end to the hollow interior of the keratin • HOWEVER…

6. ... Drilling holes can present difficulties! • Naturally, a ram’s horn is tightly coiled and its hollow interior does not reach all the way to the end. • There is no straight line between the end of the hollow and the sawn-off tip that can be drilled. • To solve this issue the horn is heated to make it ductile and the end is straightened. • A hole can then easily be drilled from the tip to the hollow interior • The result? The shofar is partially straight! • HOWEVER…

7. The Straightening Process is Problematic • Rabbi Yosef Kapach, the late Yemenite authority, argues that the straightening process is problematic. • He says that since this process straightens the shofar, this does not fulfill the Talmudic commandment that the shofar should be kafuf, or bent. • Some may argue that since the shofar is still slightly curved, it still is considered bent. • However, Rabbi Kapach says that this should be considered the same as an ibex horn, which, although it is referred to as straight, is slightly bent.

8. What exactly is straight? • In English, pashut means perfectly straight without a slight bend, and anything with a bend is curved. • In Aramaic, pashut means straight but includes something with a slight curve.

9. Yemenites • Based on the past slide, many Yemenites use a ram’s horn shofar that possesses its full curvature. • Producing such a shofar is very difficult • This requires a very large horn, such that one can cut a considerable length of the tip, close to the hollow interior, thus requiring little drilling but leaving a lengthy curved section. • Such shofars are rarely on the market and command a very high price, but they, according to Rabbi Kapach are the only ones that satisfy the requirements of being kafuf, or curved. • Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch adds that using fully curved Yemenite horns enhances the commandment, since it produces a natural sound, as opposed to the altered sounds of the straightened horns

10. One More Problem • Rav Saadiah Gaon states in his prayer book that one may not alter the shofar’s form. • The Talmud discusses the laws concerning various physical alterations that can be made to a shofar. They conclude that you cannot reverse the shofar, meaning enlarging the narrow end and compressing the wide end.

11. Ram: Requirement or Preference • The Talmud says that a shofar of a ram is supposed to remind us of the binding of Isaac. • According to the Rambam, this is an absolute requirement. • Other authorities say that using a ram is the best way to fulfill the commandment, but using other animals is acceptable. • Most communities do not follow the Rambam, and use many other kinds of shofars

12. The Yemenite Kudu Shofar • Most Yemenite Jews use a shofar made from a kudu horn • The greater kudu is a large striped antelope with some of the biggest horns of any animal. • Sometimes these horns are mistaken for gazelle shofars • This shofar is recognizable by its length (it can range in length from 30-50 inches) and its three twists. • Since they are very aesthetically pleasing they are also available outside the Yemenite community, but are called the Yemenite Shofar

13. The Problem with the Gemsbok • There is a problem with the gemsbok, because it might be considered re’em. • This is prohibited because of the verse in the Torah “God brought them out of Egypt, He has as though the to’afos [glory] of a re’em. • A verse in Psalms indicates that this mysterious animal has upwards pointing horns. • Some have suggested that the re’em is the aurochs. These animals are now extinct.

14. Keren • There are different types of animal horns. • Every shofar is a keren, but not every keren is a shofar. • All horns that are only keren are not kosher. • Since we know that the horns of a re’em are called only keren, re’em is probably not kosher. • Also, the cow, which is considered keren, is also not kosher because it is said to be a reminder of the sin of the golden calf.

15. Wait a Second...Permissibility??? • Rabbi Yehudah Leib Margoliyos and Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum say that the second reason of the Talmud, that the cow is a reminder of the Golden Calf, is not a distinct answer from the first, that it is considered keren. • They argue that only the two reasons together would disqualify the cow, and neither reason works independently. • Therefore, the shofar of a re’em, as long as it is not a cow, is acceptable. • As a result, the shofar of a gemsbok would be kosher • However, the opinions saying that any re’em is disqualified carries greater weight

16. In Conclusion Rabbi Natan Slifkin

17. Exotic Shofars By Rabbi Natan Slifkin Bibliography Bibliography