Brochoh to be Motzi Others
1. Individual. If one was already yotzei tekias shofar and wants to then be motzi less than ten other men, each man should make both brochos for himself (מ"ב תקפ"ה סק"ה ). The general minhag is to be motzi them in any case; one should not protest this (שם ).
2. Ten. If he is being motzi ten men, one of them should make the brochos and the others are yotzei, since this is called a tzibbur (שעה"צ סקט"ו ).
3. Women. If he is being motzi women, he may not make a brochoh for them, even bedieved. The Mechabeir holds they do not make the brochos either; the Rama holds they make both brochos for themselves (רמ"א סי' תקפ"ט ס"ז ).
Didn’t Hear Brochos
4. If one came to shul after the brochos for the shofar were made [which is common for women who come to hear the tekios] and thinks he can make the brochos before the tekios start, he should quietly make the brochos to himself (מ"ב תקפ"ה סקי"א ). Otherwise, he can make the brochos before the set of tekioh-shvorim-tekioh or the tekioh-tru’oh-tekioh.
5. If while he was making the brochos, the ba’al tokeia started blowing, he should finish the brochoh, but he lost that line of tekios since one needs to hear the tekioh from start to finish. He should make it up afterwards.
6. If he arrived after the first series of tekios and wants to be yotzei with the tekios of Shmoneh Esrei, he may make the brocho mid-Shmoneh Esrei right before the tekios when he is at the right spot (חוט שני ר"ה עמ' ס"א ), in the same way that a kohein can make the brochoh before duchening even mid-Shmoneh Esrei (מ"ב סי' קכ"ח סקכ"ו ). However, he should not make Shehecheyonu.
Noise During the Tekios
7. If one hears a sound besides for the shofar during the tekios but still heard the entire tekioh, he is yotzei. This is because it is an infrequent mitzvoh and dear to people, so they make sure to listen to the shofar without getting distracted by the other sound; thus, we do not say ‘two sounds together are not heard’ and he is yotzei.
8. Still, the poskim write that everyone should make sure not to cough or clear their throats during the tekios so they hear all of them from beginning to end (מ"ב תקפ"ז סקט"ז ). Also, one may not spit, grunt, or yawn out loud (מ"ב תקצ"ב סק"י ). This is not because two sounds together are not heard; it is because we are concerned that he will get confused due to the sounds of the coughing etc. and not listen well to the sound of the shofar.
9. For this reason, one should not bring small children to shul lest they distract the tzibbur with their games and noise (מ"ב תקפ"ז שם ).
10. Similarly, people should not move chairs or tables during the tekios for the same reason. If, however, any of these sounds were made, but one still heard the entire tekios, he is yotzei.
Blowing After the Makri Finishes
11. The ba’al tokeia must only start the tekios after the makri finishes saying the whole word (מקור חיים סי' תקפ"ה ). Bedieved if he did not, the tzibbur is still yotzei since their mind is on the tekios (הליכות שלמה פ"ב סט"ו ). However, once Moron the Ga’avad of Yerusholayim Rav Tuvia Weiss made the ba’al tokeia repeat a tekioh because of this.
Two Breaths for a ‘Shvorim-Tru’oh’
12. The poskim debate whether a shvorim-tru’oh should be blown in one or two breaths, as well as what is considered two breaths.
13. Straight out the shevarim. Some say that ‘one breath’ means that the tru’oh comes straight after the shvorim without a pause (אבנ"ז או"ח תמ"ג תמ"ד, חזו"א או"ח קל"ו ). Still, there must be a very short pause to end the shvorim (חוט שני עמ' ע"ב ).
14. With a pause. The Mishnoh Bruroh (סקי"ח ) holds that ‘one breath’ means without breathing between the two. However, there must be a pause, just less than the time it takes to take a breath. The Chazon Ish holds that is already considered ‘two breaths’.
15. Pausing the length of a breath. The Mishnoh Bruroh holds that ‘two breaths’ means pausing between them for the time it takes to take a breath. The Shulchon Oruch Horav (ס"ח ) and the Brisker Rav (פניני רבינו הגרי"ז עמ' ס"ח ) hold that the ba’al tokeia must actually take a breath [this means inhaling; presumably, exhaling the rest of his breath and then inhaling would be a longer-than-necessary pause.
16. Ideally, we try to be yotzei all the opinions. Thus, one can divide them among the different sets of tekios (שו"ע ס"ד ).
17. By the Shul of the Ga’avad of Yerusholayim, Rav Tuvia Weiss, we do one breath according to the Mishnoh Broroh – which is two according to the Chazon Ish – during the first set of tekios since that is for sure yotzei according to some. During the tekios in Shmoneh Esrei, they do the Chazon Ish’s ‘one breath’, and during Chazoras Hashatz, the Mishnoh Bruroh’s ‘two breaths’.
Length of a Tru’oh
18. Rashi holds a tru’oh is three ‘kochos’, or a third of the shiur of what we call a tru’oh. That is the first opinion in Shulchon Oruch (תק"צ ס"ג ). Tosfos hold it is at least nine kochos. That is the second opinion and the one we follow. This machlokes also has ramifications for the lengths of shvorim and tekios, as will be explained.
19. The Mishnoh Bruroh (סקי"ב ) paskens that lechatchiloh one should follow the second opinion; bedieved, he may rely on the first, which is the main one, if it does not create a contradiction within one line of tekios. Nevertheless, many are meticulous to fulfill both by dividing them up among the tekios.
20. One can fulfill both opinions simultaneously for a tru’oh, since everyone agrees you can add on to it (שו"ע שם ). Therefore, we blow at least nine blasts for every tru’oh (מ "ב סקי"ב ).
21. The true length of a tru’oh. It is important to know the true length of a tru’oh since that determines the tekioh and shvorim. The nine-blast tru’oh that we blow is between 1 and 1.5 seconds, depending on the ba’al tokeia [this is not an exaggeration; check and see].
22. If the ba’al tokeia would blow exactly nine blasts, it would sound like six blasts to the tzibbur. Therefore, it is advisable to blow more than nine so as not to confuse the tzibbur.
Length of a Tekioh
23. A tekioh must be as long as the middle of tru’oh. I.e., in a tekioh-shvorim-tru’oh-tekioh, it must be as long as a shvorim-truoh; in a tekioh-shvorim-tekioh, as long as a shvorim etc.
24. The tekioh of a tek-sh-tru-tek must lechatchiloh be equivalent in duration to 18 short blasts (שו"ע ס"ג ), plus a bit (מ"ב סקי"ד ), i.e., 19, since the shvorim is a drop longer than a tru’oh. In reality, this is no longer than three seconds.
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Tekias Shofar – Rosh Hashonoh | Erev R”Hashonoh 5786
בברכת כתיבה ו ח תימה טובה
25. Some say that the pause between the shvorim and tru’oh must be considered. Thus, a ba’al tokeia who inhales between the two must add the length of six kochos for a total of 25 kochos (אלף המגן ס"ו בהג"ה, תשובות והנהגות ר"ה עמ' ס"ד ) – no more than four seconds.
26. It is sufficient for the tekioh of a tek-sh-tek to be ten kochos long since that is a bit longer than a tru’oh. For a tek-tr-tek, nine kochos, which is no longer than 1.5 seconds, is enough.
Length of a Shvorim
27. We blow three shvorims, each shever longer than a tru’oh, but shorter than a tekioh, depending on which opinion is followed.
28. Therefore, for a tek-sh-tek, according to the first opinion, a shever should be less than three kochos, since three kochos is already a tekioh of a tek-tr-tek (שו"ע ס"ג ). However, the Rama is meikel and holds a shever could be three kochos, since the tekioh of a tek-sh-tek is a bit longer and we only look at the tekioh of the current line.
29. According to the second opinion, it could be up until – but not including – nine kochos, since a tekioh is no less than nine kochos. The Mishnoh Bruroh (סקט"ו ) writes that it is best for each shever to be just three kochos long, i.e., between a third and half of a second per shever. Therefore, do not be surprised at a ba’al tokeia who blows a short shvorim, since that is how it should be; on the contrary, it is improper to elongate a shvorim.
30. When blowing a tek-sh-tr-tek, each shever may be longer since the tekioh is also longer (רמ"א שם ). Still, the Mechabeir holds that the shever of a tek-sh-tr-tek should be no longer than that of a tek-sh-tek.
Sound Changed Mid-Tekioh
31. All shofar sounds are kosher (שו"ע תקפ"ו ס"ו ). Therefore, if a tekioh changed in the middle from loud to soft or from clear to scratchy or went up a note, it is kosher as long as it did not have a full break (ארחות רבינו ח"ב עמ' קפ"ג). Some lechatchiloh make an upward change of note in the middle of a tekioh and shvorim (מנהג אמסטרדם ולאחרונה גם מנהג חסידי בעלז ).
32. Still, some say that the Maharil Diskin was very makpid that the sound be steady and unchanging (תשובות והנהגות ר"ה עמ' ס"א ), but most poskim hold that is just a hiddur.
33. It should be pointed out that this hakpodoh is primarily for those who blow a shvorim as a long sound that goes up and down, like ‘too oo too’ or ‘oo too’ (וכהוזכר בדרשת הרמב"ן ר"ה וכמנהג ליטא ורוסיא ). Since the rise and fall separates the shvorim, any rise and fall will separate a tekioh and break it up. Those who blow a shvorim as several short tekios of one note with a pause between them, like the minhag of Poland and Hungary, have no reason to be makpid not to change the note.
Tekios in the Silent Shmoneh Esrei
34. Some blow tekios in the silent shmoneh esrei. One who is not holding at the right point should stop davening to listen to the tekios and have kavonoh to be yotzei (מט"א תקצ"א סי"ג ). If he went ahead and finished the brochoh, he should wait for the tekios. They bang on the bimoh to announce that they are blowing the shofar.
35. It would seem that the ba’al tokeia himself must be holding at the right place in shmoneh esrei (כ"ק מרן גאב"ד ירושלים , בעל שע רי טו ביה ).
