Shofar time is here again

In classes promising to teach participants to “toot your own horn,” Craig Weisz , a member of Cong. B’nai Israel in Emerson and the husband of the synagogue’s religious leader, Rabbi Debra Orenstein, hopes to demonstrate that sounding a shofar “is not all that difficult.”

“My 5-year-old daughter can do it,” he said, as can his 7-year-old son.

While there are different levels of preparation – including the spiritual aspect, “understanding the meaning of the shofar and what it’s about” – Weisz said he will be focusing on “simple technical tips.”

“It’s not a musical instrument,” he said, acknowledging that professional musicians might nevertheless have some advantages in playing the ram’s horn. “You make a raspberry sound with your lips and put the shofar near your mouth.”

Weisz said playing the shofar is almost “counterintuitive.”

“You don’t blow into it,” said the Teaneck resident. “I’ll try to get [attendees] to understand what to do with their mouths. It’s not about pressing it hard; it’s about being relaxed.”

Weisz said he has sounded a shofar for many years, but became more knowledgeable about it several years ago when he attended a workshop in Los Angeles. He noted that the mitzvah is not to sound a shofar but rather to hear it.

“When I am blowing it, I am not performing a mitzvah but rather helping [the congregation] to do a mitzvah,” he said. “I’m particularly aware of the purpose. It helps you to focus on the preparation.”

“It’s not about the size of the shofar,” he added. “When you understand that without feeling daunted, with a little guidance you can get a good sound. The goal is not to get a full pure tone but to get something. That’s all that’s required.”

Weisz’s workshops will take place at the synagogue on Sept. 11 and 25 at 9:30 a.m., and Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. For additional information, call (201) 265-2272 or e-mail bnaioffice@bisrael.com.