At this time of year you are probably getting used to hearing Happy New Year, Shana tova, and the words Rosh Hashanah bandied about and wondering what is this exactly. Rosh Hashana is a combination of penance and joy. It is hard to explain so I will share a short (2 1/2 min.) video I recently discovered that explains this weird holiday, and also contains the blowing of the shofar - the ram's horn - which I will talk more about after the video.
http://youtu.be/UDVprarv7aA
Now you are probably why a shofar? The shofar is a ram's horn and is reminiscent of human vocal expression, and is supposed to awaken us to do the work of self-evaluation and introspection regarding the world and our place in it during the month prior to Rosh Hashanah. As such it is integral to the High Holidays (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) services and also used in preparatory work during the month prior to what we call "The Awesome Days" "Yamim Noraim" or "The High Holidays" . And by the way it's harder to get a sound out of it than it looks. (Yes I tried and failed). But here are some examples of people who succeeded.
The longest shofar blast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=EQkbmu2UhLA
And a totally new initiative, the shofar flash mob, groups who got together at different places in the world this year, 2011/5771 to blow the shofar together.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HfYlKBHgw&feature=related
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