The “IKEA effect” theorizes that we care more about things we make ourselves, simply because we were involved in their production. According to Rabbi Rachel Schwartz, the same is true for shofarot.
Schwartz and her husband, Rabbi Neil Tow of Congregation Sha’are Shalom, visited Kol Shalom on Sept. 15 to lead a shofar-making workshop. Members of the Rockville synagogue sanded, measured and drilled holes in antlers and rams’ horns and learned about the significance of the Jewish instrument.
“I think the most beautiful thing about each shofar is God makes each animal unique, and God makes each human unique, so even though you may know a process, it’s still a very humbling experience because of the uniqueness of each horn and the person making it,” Schwartz said. “We’re teaching and empowering people to really have that in their hands.”
Schwartz and Tow began by reviewing safety procedures, then Rabbi Fabian Werbin of Kol Shalom taught the dozens of attendees about the shofar.
“We started from scratch on the horns,” Werbin said, noting that the attendees used only horns from animals that were “slaughtered appropriately” in order to avoid unnecessary suffering.
It is easiest to start with the longest horns, then break those into pieces, Schwartz said. Every horn is slightly different — at one point, Tow noticed that Werbin had to come up with an unconventional solution.
“We had one horn during this workshop that had a lot of material inside of it, and we were trying to figure out a way to clear that material out,” Tow said of the combination of bone, keratin and cartilage inside a ram’s horn. “Rabbi Werbin came up with a great idea. He opened up a wire hanger and used it to clear out the inside of the horn.”
The attendees, who ranged in age from about five years old to senior citizens, went from station to station, some with their own power tools. During the workshop, some attendees were able to produce sound by blowing into their shofarot.
“It’s very exciting to see it go from a horn into a shofar in the space of maybe an hour or so, and just to see the excitement and participation, to know that you’re training the next class of shofar experts to participate in their communities, that’s a really exciting thing to be part of,” Tow said.
“It’s an event that brings the community together,” Werbin said. “Integration, learning, experiencing Judaism in a vivid way, that’s basically our goal.”
Schwartz and Tow have been making their own shofarot for more than seven years. The two lead an annual shofar-making workshop with Kol Shalom Talmud Torah’s sixth grade class, which they have been doing for three years.
“It’s so much more than making the shofar … it is about building community and this chain of mitzvah that you’re starting to create,” Schwartz said. “Because the mitzvah isn’t in making … the mitzvah is in hearing the shofar. So the more people who have the shofar in their hands, the more people who can hear it.”
The attendees made 50 shofarot in total, Werbin said.
“Think of all those families, individuals, children, anyone else who was there, who then can go and blow the shofar for someone who’s in a nursing home or a senior living center, or someone who’s sick, or someone who’s going through a difficult time or just a friend. Think of how many more people can hear the shofar and what that does for a community and the strength of a community and a community’s connection with God. It’s so much more than sawing and drilling and sanding,” Schwartz said.
The tradition of shofar-making began with the late Rabbi Dov Lerner, one of Schwartz’s mentors when she was an interim rabbi in Reading, Pennsylvania, who believed in incorporating more hands-on learning into the Jewish community to build connection and understanding. Schwartz said she wants to carry on Lerner’s legacy through leading these do-it-yourself workshops.
“It’s a really amazing thing when you craft something,” Schwartz said. “I think the same is true whether you’re making your own shofar, braiding your own challah; there is something that connects you to it stronger, that makes it more meaningful and you learn about it in a deeper way.”
The last step is coating the shofar with a light oil finish to bring out its color, which takes about a week to dry, Schwartz said. The timing worked out perfectly for Shofar on the Roof, an annual event hosted by Kol Shalom, this year on Sept. 22.
The tradition is a product of the pandemic, when congregants would gather in the parking lot outside the synagogue to hear the blowing of the shofar for Rosh Hashanah.
“People liked it very much, so we decided to embrace it and do it every year before Rosh Hashanah,” Werbin said. “We continue with the tradition.”
The festivities included songs with Hazzan Sally Heckelman and KSTT students, a shaved ice truck, an educational segment and, of course, sounds of the shofar.
As the event name suggests, three to four shofar blowers climb to the top of the synagogue’s roof. This year saw even more shofarot as congregants brought their creations from the Sept. 15 event: “We share the sound of the shofar,” Werbin said.
“[It’s a] call to reflection. You’re supposed to hear the sound of the shofar and think of our actions,” Werbin said. “This year, [the sound of the shofar] is even more significant because it’s been a difficult year for the Jewish people, so the call is also to remember what we went through.”
