Have a Blast!

On Rosh Hashanah the voice of the shofar (ram's horn) is like a wake-up call: Pay attention to yourself and ways you can improve! Pay attention to the world and how you can help make it better!


Here are the four shofar sounds we blow on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur:

Tekiah (the single blow)

Shevarim (three “broken” blows)

Truah (nine or more rapid blows)

Tekiah gedolah (the great blast)

 

Here are all four blows in sequence:

And here's a quick tutorial on blowing the shofar:

 

Hands On!

Make Your Own Shofar

A real shofar is made from a ram’s horn, and it takes some skill to blow it. You can make a pretend shofar at home that’s easy to “blow,” since the sound is your own voice.

Supplies
  • Large paper plate
  • Stapler
  • Masking tape
Directions
  1. Roll the paper plate into a cone and staple it in place. (You may need an adult’s help with this.)
  2. Bend the paper plate to look like a horn. Use masking tape to help hold the shape. Then wrap the whole shofar in masking tape to give it a horn-like look.
  3. Hold the shofar up to your mouth and make loud shofar noises, letting everyone around you know it’s time to pay attention and make the world better!