Beginning with our daf TB Rosh Hashana 26 until the end of our massekhet, the Gemara deals with different issues surrounding the shofar. The first issue is what qualifies as a shofar. The rabbis ruled “All shofarot are fit for blowing except for the horn of a cow, because it is a horn [keren-קֶרֶן] and not a shofar.” (Sefaria.org translation) The Gemara gives three different explanations why the rabbis prohibited the use of a cow’s horn. Ulla’s answer is the best known. “Ulla said: This is the reasoning of the Rabbis, who say that the horn of a cow is unfit for sounding on Rosh HaShana. They say this in accordance with the opinion of Rav Ḥisda, as Rav Ḥisda said: For what reason does the High Priest not enter the innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, with his golden garments to perform the service there on Yom Kippur? It is because a prosecutor [kateigor] cannot become an advocate [sanneigor]. Since the Jewish people committed the sin of worshipping the Golden Calf, the High Priest may not enter the Holy of Holies to atone for the Jewish people wearing golden garments, as they would bring that sin to mind.” (Sefaria.org translation) We want the High Priest, our representative, to officiate the Yom Kippur service in a way to ensure our atonement. He should avoid using anything like the cow’s horn that would incriminate us by reminding God of our past sins.
A shofar was blown on three occasions, Rosh Hashanah and the Jubilee year, to gather people together on public fast days, and merely before Shabbat announcing the end of the weekday. There are two kinds of shofars, the straight shofar of an Ibex (יָעֵל פָּשׁוּט) and the curved shofar of a ram (זְכָרִים כְּפוּפִין). There are three opinions which shofar is used for Rosh Hashanah, the Jubilee year, and on public fast days.
“MISHNA: The shofar that was used on Rosh HaShana in the Temple was made from the straight horn of an ibex… And in contrast, the shofarot used on public fast days were made from the curved horns of rams… Yom Kippur of the Jubilee Year is the same as Rosh HaShana with regard to both the shofar blasts that are sounded and the additional blessings that are recited in the Amida prayer.
“Rabbi Yehuda disagrees and says: There is a difference between the two days: On Rosh HaShana one blows with horns of rams, whereas in Jubilee Years one blows with horns of ibexes…
“GEMARA: Rabbi Levi said: The mitzva of Rosh HaShana and of Yom Kippur of the Jubilee Year is to blow with curved shofarot, and that of the rest of the year, on fast days, is to blow with straight shofarot.” (Sefaria.org translation)
The shofar becomes a metaphor for the posture of the individual. “The Gemara asks: With regard to what principle do these tanna’im disagree? One Sage, Rabbi Yehuda, holds that on Rosh HaShana the more a person bends his mind and humbles himself by bending in prayer, the better. Therefore, a curved shofar is sounded as an allusion to our bent minds and bodies. But on Yom Kippur, the more a person straightens his mind and prays with simplicity, the better. Therefore, a straight shofar is sounded. The other Sage, the anonymous tanna of the mishna, maintains the opposite: On Rosh HaShana, the more a person straightens his mind and avoids any crookedness, the better. On fasts, on the other hand, the more a person bends his mind and humbles himself, the better.” (Sefaria.org translation)
Rashi explains why a straight
shofar is blown on Yom Kippur signaling the Jubilee year. On the Jubilee
property returns to its original owner and slaves are freed. The posture of the
individual is standing tall and straight because everything is righted and
fixed in his eyes. The straight shofar alludes to the person’s returned status.
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