Shofarot

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SHOFAROT

SHOFAROT (Heb. שׁוֹפָרוֹת; "shofar verses"), last of the three central benedictions of the Musaf*Amidah on *Rosh Ha-Shanah. The benediction is comprised of ten biblical verses which mention the *shofar and which voice the hope for the messianic redemption of Israel and mankind, to be heralded by the sound of the "great shofar" (Isa. 18:3; Zech. 9:14). Joseph *Albo interpreted the benediction as being a statement of religious dogma (Ikkarim 1:4). In the Ashkenazi ritual, the shofar is sounded at the end of the Shofarot benediction during the repetition of the Musaf Amidah; in the Sephardi and Oriental rites it is also sounded during the silent Musaf Amidah. The recital of the Shofarot verses was ordained in the Talmud (rh 4:6; rh 32a–b). In the *Conservative and *Reform liturgies, the recital of the Shofarot verses is preceded by appropriate introductory and/or supplementary explanatory readings in the vernacular.

bibliography:

Elbogen, Gottesdienst, 141–44; M. Silverman (ed.), High Holiday Prayerbook (1939), 157, 167–70 (Conservative); Union Prayer Book, 2 (1923), 82–84 (Reform); P. Birnbaum (ed.), High Holiday Prayer Book (1951), 389–94 (Orthodox).