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Joy's own hand-made Shofar in Sunny Southern California
Selfie © Joy Krauthammer
SOUNDS OF THE SHOFAR INSPIRE ME
~ JOY Krauthammer
TEKIAH
SOUNDS of the SHOFAR (SOS) inspire me to open with
a primal blast, the beginning of Elul on day one, Rosh
Chodesh, for self-reflection/Cheshbon
Hanefesh, knowing I can meet Our Beloved in the field. A serious soul
journey lies ahead, and I am inspired to meditate on SOS!
SHEVARIM
SOS inspire me for the New Year to once again seasonally
awaken to my Jewish tradition and heritage, and connect to my faith and beliefs,
knowing SOS in the same sequence of blasts are heard around the world.
SOS help me to stimulate others when I play
shofar. Friends receiving SOS are a gift to me, and I am further inspired with Chesed to give more and joyously do more
mitzvot.
SOS, as I practice playing, inspire me to study
Torah and understand more fully.
TERUAH
SOS inspire me to Shma/listen silently to the notes, and more deeply, in awe, and with
strong kavannah/intention to be a better Ba'alat
Tekiah (as my husband, z'l, taught me when we bought our first shofar in
the Old City.)
Sounds of the Shofar inspire me to breathe
deeply, expansively --G*d in and out.
SOS inspire me to use tools, instruments of
music of my own faith, and to mamash delve
deeper and higher into my Judaism.
SOS inspires me to share with pride and joy in
interfaith gatherings with my own authentic ancient Jewish instrument of
sound-- shofar, in addition to spiritually playing drum/tof and timbrel ala Miriyahm
HaNeviah in temples. SOS inspire
me to carve my own personal shofar.
TEKIAH GEDOLAH
The shofar inspires me through grateful breath to
connect L'Dor V'Dor with my children
and their child; to the Holy One, Mount Moriah, Mount Sinai, and to our People,
all the way back to the ram caught in the thicket by its horns (Genesis 22:13);
and to our Matriarch, Sarah, who died because of the Akeda/ the Binding. When I save little goats
with their horned heads stuck in fences, and I give them freedom--I am
inspired. Baruch Hashem.
~ ~ ~
SOUNDS OF THE SHOFAR INSPIRE ME is repinted from:
HEARING SHOFAR, The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, 2012-08-19
post by Michael Chusid (Thank you, Michael, for this illustrious blog and your dedication to sharing shofar.)
http://hearingshofar.blogspot.com/2012/08/jewels-of-elul.html
and
JEWELS OF ELUL VIII in www.letmypeoplesing.com
http://www.letmypeoplesing.com/jewels/?page_id=61
(Yasher Koach, Craig Taubman, in your 8th year sharing Jewels with us all.)
HEARING SHOFAR, The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, 2012-08-19
post by Michael Chusid (Thank you, Michael, for this illustrious blog and your dedication to sharing shofar.)
http://hearingshofar.blogspot.com/2012/08/jewels-of-elul.html
and
JEWELS OF ELUL VIII in www.letmypeoplesing.com
http://www.letmypeoplesing.com/jewels/?page_id=61
(Yasher Koach, Craig Taubman, in your 8th year sharing Jewels with us all.)
Note
I was inspired to write on this topic because of the daily focus question posted in "Jewels of Elul VIII", 2012
"If you had to name three ways in which the sound of the shofar inspires you, what would they be?"
I dedicate "Sounds of the Shofar" to Reb Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen, z'l, whose first yahrzeit (27 Elul) is in three weeks. This will be the first Elul without Reb Yosef, a singer of holy songs. May he hear all the sounds of the shofarot around the world and in heaven.
May all judgements be sweetened
May all prayers be accepted
May we merit to teshuvah shelayma b'simchah
(Thank you, Reb Sarah Leah.)
"If you had to name three ways in which the sound of the shofar inspires you, what would they be?"
I dedicate "Sounds of the Shofar" to Reb Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen, z'l, whose first yahrzeit (27 Elul) is in three weeks. This will be the first Elul without Reb Yosef, a singer of holy songs. May he hear all the sounds of the shofarot around the world and in heaven.
CREATING MY SHOFAR, another illustrated SHOFAR story:
May all prayers be accepted
May we merit to teshuvah shelayma b'simchah
(Thank you, Reb Sarah Leah.)
BlesSing before the shofar is blown
Barukh atah Adonai elokeinu melekh ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu lishmo’s kol shofar.
Blessed are You, Hashem our G*d, who makes us holy with mitzvot and gives us the mitzvah of hearing the sound of the shofar.
"Then you shall sound the horn loud; in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month—the day of Atonement—you shall have the horn sounded throughout your land." (Leviticus 25:9)
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| Grandbaby's first shofar © AvivaBell Photography |
AriellaShira and her Gemsbok Shofar
Seeing my friend immediately after she carved her own shofar,
I was inspired to photograph her.
photos and collage © Joy Krauthammer
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| Michael Chusid, Ba'al Tekiah (Hearing Shofar) Joy Krauthammer, percussion © Mark Reden |
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| Joy Krauthammer, shofar © Maria 2011 |
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| Toddler and shofar © Joy Krauthammer |
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| Jael Greenleaf, shofarot © Joy Krauthammer 1992 or 1995 |
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| Shofar player and drummers REMO MUSIC CENTER © Joy Krauthammer |
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| B'nai Horin, Rabbis Stan Levy, Laura Owen shofarist, Leslie Goldman and friends © Joy Krauthammer |
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| Rina Daly, shofar © Joy Krauthammer |
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| Shofar drawn by Pinkas drawing in Grandma Ethel's home, now in Joy's. Photo taken and developed by Arielle Photo of photo drawing by Joy K. |
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It looks like I enjoy taking photos of shofars. - Joy Krauthammer
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Your poetic prose expresses a deep listening to shofar and the heart. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteKol hakavod, Joy, for all of your wonderful efforts to apply Jewish values toward the creation of a better world.
ReplyDeleteMay you be blessed to have great success with all of your efforts.
Kol tuv, Shabbat shalom, and shana tova,
Richard Schwartz