Title: 100 Shofar Blasts: A Compendium of Stories, Meshalim, and Experiences
By: Bentzion Ettlinger
Mosaica Press
Many people mistakenly think all it takes to blow a shofar is a good set of lungs and a basic understanding of the laws involved. Last year, author Bentzion Ettlinger (full disclosure: the author is my brother-in-law) made clear in The Shofar: Halachos, Minhagim, and Mesorah that there is certainly more than that if a person wants to blow the shofar in a halachically valid manner.
As the Baal Tokeia for over four decades at K’hal Adath Jeshurun (AKA Breuer’s) of Washington Heights, Ettlinger is a master of blowing the shofar. His first book was an encyclopedic resource about the laws and customs related to the shofar, making it an indispensable reference on the topic.
Ettlinger is back with another great book on the topic of the shofar in 100 Shofar Blasts: A Compendium of Stories, Meshalim, and Experiences (Mosaica Press). While his previous book was a scholarly analysis, this is a much lighter read. It has about 100 stories and parables related to the shofar and Rosh Hashana.
One of the common themes in the book is mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice). There are many moving stories of the self-sacrifice, often with their last dollar and last breaths, that people went through to perform the mitzvah of the shofar.
There are numerous stories from the Holocaust of people who did everything they could to perform the mitzvah, often under the sadistic watch of the Nazi guards and Jewish capos. For most of us, hearing the shofar on Rosh Hashana takes no effort and can be achieved in a climate-controlled synagogue. These stories give us a much better appreciation for how good we have it.
Walk into a large Judaica store this time of the year, and you will find racks of shofars for sale. But as Ettlinger writes in The Shofar: Halachos, Minhagim, and Mesorah, the buyer must ensure the shofar has a proper certification. For the unsuspecting consumer, they will find that there are far too many shofars being sold that are halachically invalid.
While these stores often have hundreds of shofars for sale, the book has stories about towns that lacked even a single shofar. And it was not that long ago that such things happened.
Ettlinger tells the story of Rav Chaim Berlin, who was the chief rabbi of Moscow from 1865 to 1889. While in Moscow, the czar issued edicts banning the Jews from Moscow and forcing them to relocate to the Pale of Settlement in the western region of the Russian Empire.
Rav Berlin stayed in Moscow to minister to the last remaining Jews there, as the czar allowed a few to stay who were needed by the government. When Rosh Hashana came, the only shofar they were able to find was found to be invalid as it was cracked lengthwise from end to end.
While Rav Berlin was making his way to shul on Rosh Hashana, he noticed a non-Jewish junk hauler pulling a wagon, and there happened to be a shofar in it. The shofar stayed with Rav Berlin when he emigrated to Israel and eventually ended up in the hands of Rav Aryeh Levin.
If you want to know how to blow a shofar and the related laws – read Ettlinger’s first book. If you want to appreciate how beloved the mitzvah of the shofar is and have a greater appreciation of this profound mitzvah, 100 Shofar Blasts should be on your Rosh Hashana reading list.
