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Rosh Hashanah Chapter 3, Mishnah 5: Shofar of Yovel and Rosh Hashanah

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Before us is Mishnah 5 in the third chapter of Maseches Rosh Hashanah, which deals with the comparison between the shofar of the Yovel year and the shofar of Rosh Hashanah.

"Shaveh haYovel leRosh Hashanah litkiah v'livrachos" - on Yom Kippur of the Yovel year they would blow the shofar just as it is blown on Rosh Hashanah, and the two occasions are equal to one another in two matters: in the blowing and in the berachos.

"Litkiah" - two explanations:

  1. The type of shofar: according to this understanding, the Tanna Kamma holds that in both, on Yovel and on Rosh Hashanah, one uses the shofar of a wild goat, which is straight - the straight horn of a wild goat, as was taught above in Mishnah 3.

  2. The number of blasts: in both, the order of the blasts is the same - tekiah, teruah, tekiah, at least three times, and in practice, as we ultimately do, thirty times.

"V'livrachos": the berachos too are the same in both. Just as on Rosh Hashanah Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros are said in the Mussaf prayer, and blasts are sounded for each of them, so it is also in the Mussaf prayer of Yom Kippur in the Yovel year.

The view of Rabbi Yehudah:

Rabbi Yehudah disagrees regarding which type of shofar is used, and says: "BeRosh Hashanah tokin b'shel zecharim, uvaYovel b'shel ye'elim":

  • On Rosh Hashanah: one blows with the horns of rams, which are curved.

  • On Yovel: one blows with the horn of a wild goat, which is simple, that is, straight.

This is the reason we understand the opening of the Mishnah, when it says "litkiah," as referring primarily to the type of shofar that is used: Rabbi Yehudah contrasts Rosh Hashanah with Yovel and teaches that on Rosh Hashanah one blows with the horn of a ram, which implies that the Tanna Kamma, who equated them, also meant this.

In summary: in this Mishnah we learned that Yovel and Rosh Hashanah are equal with regard to the blowing and the berachos - with regard to the blowing, both as to the type of shofar and as to the order of the blasts and their number; and with regard to the berachos, that in both Malchuyos, Zichronos and Shofros are said in Mussaf and blasts are sounded for each of them. Rabbi Yehudah disagrees and holds that on Rosh Hashanah one blows with the curved horn of a ram and on Yovel with the straight horn of a wild goat, and from his words we learn that the dispute concerns the type of shofar.