Blowing Shofar for Others

Blowing for Other Jews

The Lubavitcher Rebbe encouraged those who are able to blow the Shofar to seek out Jews who did not hear the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah and blow for them.

• When blowing for those who were not in Shul, it is sufficient to blow the first 30 sounds that are sounded in Shul after the brachot. It is best to pause slightly between the Shevarim and Teruah but not to actually breathe in between.
• If, for whatever reason, one is unable to blow all 30 sounds, he should repeat the sequence of Tekiah Shevarim Teruah Tekiah three times. He should bear in mind that if either the Shevarim or Teruah is not necessary, it should be considered as if he is blowing them simply as music and not as a mitzvah. He should take a quick breath in between the Shevarim and the Teruah.
• If one is blowing for other men who do not know how to say a bracha, he may say a bracha for them even if he already heard the shofar and made the brachot.
• If a man who already heard the shofar is blowing for women, he should have one of the women say the bracha as he may not say it for them.
• According to the Sefardic custom, women should not make this bracha. If the man blowing the Shofar for them has already performed the mitzvah, he should blow it without a bracha.
• A child who knows how to blow the Shofar may blow the Shofar for other children.
• One who knows how to blow the Shofar himself may fulfill the mitzvah by hearing the blasts from someone else. The fact that he is not blowing it himself does not diminish the mitzvah since the main mitzvah is the hearing of the sounds and not the blowing.
• One may not blow extra shofar blasts if they aren’t fulfilling a mitzvah by doing so.