Israel · Sacred / Ritual / Religious Craft Objects
Shofar (Hebrew for horn, from the verb l'shaper, 'to improve'); Hakol Mimino (the requirement that the horn contain no foreign substance)
The transformation of a ram's or other kosher animal's horn into a shofar, the ceremonial trumpet blown during Jewish High Holiday services, particularly Rosh Hashanah, when one hundred blasts punctuate the synagogue liturgy as a call to repentance. A kosher shofar must produce a sound intrinsic to the horn itself, entirely unaltered by artificial means, and must be free of any cracks or holes penetrating its inner structure; no mending with glue or any foreign substance is permitted under Jewish law, a requirement described as Hakol Mimino -- the horn must be whole and of a single, unbroken material. Craftsmen begin by removing the horn's outer keratin covering from the inner bone, examining it for structural integrity; only approximately 30 percent of horns received meet the conditions required to become kosher shofars, according to workshop owner Zvi Barsheshet of Barsheshet & Ribak, Haifa. Qualifying horns are sterilized in an oven to eliminate any organic pests that might otherwise destroy the material over time, then undergo the technically demanding process of straightening, since horns grow in a natural curve that must be carefully altered without cracking the material; the mouthpiece is formed by drilling through the solid tip to connect with the horn's hollow interior. Shimon Keinan, a Moroccan Jew who combined a childhood talent for shofar-blowing with his own mechanical skills, established Kol Shofar in 1998 in a workshop in the southern Golan Heights, producing shofarot using both traditional and newly developed techniques of his own; recognizing public interest in the craft, Keinan invites families and groups to participate in hands-on sessions covering the full manufacturing process, beginning with instruction on distinguishing a kosher shofar and how to blow it. Ram's horn remains the most traditional material, though horns from other kosher animals -- including the kudu, a large African antelope, whose shofar is specifically known as the Yemenite Shofar -- are equally valid and, due to superior tonal quality and reduced likelihood of disqualifying cracks, have become increasingly popular. Horns must be imported to Israel from various parts of the world, since insufficient quantities and size ranges are available domestically, and every horn in each imported shipment is individually inspected at the factory. The market has in recent years been affected by non-kosher shofars manufactured in Morocco and China, glued together in ways detectable only by experts, making direct purchase from a known and trusted maker strongly advisable.
Risk level: Thriving · Not independently inscribed
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