How Shofars Became the Spiritual Soundtrack of Rosh Hashanah

What the shofar’s ancient sound means on Rosh Hashanah

(RNS and NPR) — The shofar marks moments of heightened experience and emotion — and the Jewish new year.

How shofars became the spiritual soundtrack of Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sunset Friday. For many Jews around the world, a highlight of the holiday will be hearing the shofar: an animal's horn blown like a trumpet.

The sound that breaks through

The shofar begins with breath. A deep breath, a tightening of the lips, air pushed hard through the narrow opening of a ram’s horn. Then the sound bursts. It can be piercing, rough, even a little wild. You feel it…

Rosh Hashanah 2026: The sound of the shofar as a vessel for victory, struggle, and self-sacrifice

At its core, the shofar is the sound of self-sacrifice. It echoes Abraham’s willingness to sublimate his own wishes to those of God, prompting all of us to submit to a greater good.