Third Graders Build Their Own Shofars at the Shofar Factory
October 1, 2014 by
On Monday, all the third graders went on a special field trip to the Shofar Factory. We learned a lot about making a shofar and even got to make one of our own ahead of the Jewish high holidays. A shofar is a ram’s horn that some Jewish people blow in synagogues on the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
At the factory, we saw the ram’s horns being cut into shofars and learned about the process, and what makes a shofar kosher. A shofar has to be made from an animal that is kosher (except for a bull because of the story of the Golden Calf); the horn has to be bigger than a human fist; and it cannot have any holes. We learned where to cut the horn: you stick a wire hanger down as far as it will go in the ram’s horn and mark the spot on the hangar. Then, you take out the hanger and use it as a measure and mark the shofar. Then, you saw the horn. After that, you sand the shofar and shellac it to make it pretty. Many students like that part best.
We also got to hear the shofar blast in school. A man came to our class and showed us different shofar blasts. He has been blowing the shofar for 65 years! That is a long time. He even blew the shofar for Jewish soldiers serving in Korea.
