Shofar: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The shofar, one of the earliest known musical instruments, is usually made from a ram's horn. Used in biblical times to signal important events, it is also blown on High Holy Days (10 days in the fall of the year). It is sounded many times during the services of Rosh ha-Shanah (the Jewish New Year) and once to conclude Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).

The blasts of the instrument are meant to wake slumbering souls to review their actions of the past year, to make amends, and to renew their devotion to work for the social and communal good in the coming year. This shofar is of a form typical of central European instruments, with a straightened shaft and flattened mouthpiece. It belonged to Curator Cyrus Adler's grandfather, Leopold Sulzberger, who was born in Germany. Sulzberger arrived in the United States in 1838, and died in 1881.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date made: before 1838
• user: Sulzberger, Leopold
• user: Cotton States Exposition
• Object Name: shofar
• Physical Description: horn, ram (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 3 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in x 1 in; 8.89 cm x 29.21 cm x 2.54 cm
• Place Made: Germany
• Subject: Judaism
• Subject: Immigration
• Subject: Expositions and Fairs
• Subject: Family
• related event: Cotton States and International Exposition
• ID Number: MI.095142
• accession number: 22131
• catalog number: 95142
• accession number: 25947
• Credit Line: Gift of David Sulzberger, 1889
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation.