Editing Shofar (section)

=== Mitzvah ===
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - “Slichot” Prayer (2).jpg|thumb|right|Jewish "[[Slichot]]" prayer service with shofar during the Days of Repentance preceding [[Yom Kippur]] at the [[Western Wall]] in Jerusalem's Old City, 2008.]]
The Sages indicated that the [[mitzvah]] was to hear the sounds of the shofar. If a shofar was blown into a pit or cave, one fulfilled the mitzvah if they heard the original sound, but not if they heard the echo.<ref>[[Mishnah]] Rosh Hashanah 3:5; [[Mishnah Berurah]] 587:1–3</ref> Thus, most modern halakhic authorities hold that hearing a shofar on the radio or the Internet would not be valid to satisfy the mitzvah because "electronically reproduced sounds do not suffice for mitzvot that require hearing a specific natural sound.... However, one should consult a competent rabbi if an unusually pressing situation arises, as some authorities believe that performing mitzvot through electronically reproduced sound is preferable to not performing them at all."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080511204358/http://www.yasharbooks.com/grayexcerpt2.pdf "Fulfilling Mitzvot Through Electronic Hearing Devices"], Chaim Jachter and Ezra Frazer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927155806/http://www.yasharbooks.com/Gray.html Gray Matter volume 2] pp.&nbsp;237–244. {{ISBN|1-933143-10-X}}</ref>

According to [[halakha|Jewish law]] women and minors are exempt from the commandment of hearing the shofar blown (as is the case with any positive, time-bound commandment), but they are encouraged to attend the ceremony.

If the {{transliteration|he|ba'al tekiah}} (shofar sounder) blows with the intention that all who hear will perform the mitzvah, then anyone listening—even someone passing by—who intends to hear the Shofar can perform the mitzvah because the community blower blows for everybody. If the listener stands still, it is presumed he intends to hear.<ref>Mishnah Berurah 590:9</ref> If one hears the blast but with no intention of fulfilling the mitzvah, then the mitzvah has not been fulfilled.