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Show SHCFAR IN HEBREW RITUAL Wood Instrument Dates Back to the Very Earliest Youth of tho World. Hebrew historians, with a special eye (or. ear) to the racial history, are very proud of their shofar. Tlu y say It is the oldest form of wood wind Instrument In-strument in the world, that it was used In the original Mosaic ritual, ft Is the one musical instrument, savs Dr. Cyrus Adler, which has been preserved pre-served unbrokenly In that ritual. There Is even a theory, voiced by Professor Steinthal, that the shofar antedates the people of Israel. He says It probably goes back to prehistoric prehis-toric times. And another lnvestlga-or lnvestlga-or points out that it obviously carao drst from a folk solely dependent on fhe grow-In? of vh"op. This ancient ram's horn instrument was perhaps earliest used for the signals sig-nals of alarm which wer so necessarily neces-sarily common in primitive society. The Israelites then adapted it to their religious services, and wilh such fitting fit-ting effect that It has persisted uniquely since the beginning. But the Talmud indicates that, even among the Hebrews, the shofar was also developed Into a horn for giving giv-ing alarms. Fundamentally these alarms would be incidental to war. Afterward, though, the Instrument was blown in other seasons of danger or distress. It warned of famine or of a plague of locusts or of drought. And It was employed in the public service serv-ice of excommunlc-'ion. The children of Israel had other horns which were used for musical and ritualistic purposes, but this Is the only one which has survived. |
