For the source text click/tap here: Rosh Hashanah 34
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Anyone who has heard the shofar blown in the synagogue on Rosh HaShanah recognizes their unique sound – a single long blast (tekiah), followed by a series of broken notes, and a concluding single blast (tekiah). This cycle is repeated with variations in the broken notes:
we sound three relatively long notes (that we today call a shevarim, and the Gemara refers to as genuhei ganah – a moaning sound),
we sound a staccato series of short notes (that we today call a teru’ah, and the Gemara refers to as yelulei yalil – a crying sound)
we sound a combination of the two – shevarim-teru’ah.
we explore the implications and resonances of moaning vs sobbing in the ritual of shofar blowing form different voices up to the profound statement of blowing in the face of the NAZI machine.