A powerful performance heralding the beginning of the Jewish New Year will continue in Launceston on Tuesday.
As part of Rosh Hashanah – meaning head of the year – Rabbi Yochanan Gordon will take part in the blowing of the shofar for the Launceston community.
An ancient instrument typically made from a ram’s horn, the shofar is the central symbol of two-day holiday.
Commemorating the creation of the world, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Days of Awe, a 10-day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in the Yom Kippur holiday.
Synagogues blast the shofar every day for a month leading up to the holiday, culminating with a sequence of 100 blasts during the Rosh Hashanah services – this year on September 30 and October 1.
Rabbi Gordon said all were invited to hear the performance and fulfill one of Rosh Hashana’s most important observances.
“The blast of the shofar is a powerful call to repentance, and the opening act to one of the happiest times of a new year,” he said.
“Wherever Jews are in Launceston, I invite them to witness this meaningful alert to the season.”
In order to hear the sound of the shofar, people are invited to attend the main blowing at the Launceston Synagogue on Saint John Street, on October 1 from 11.45am.
Read the article in The Examiner.