Editing Shofar (section)

== Use in modern Jewish prayer ==
{{Main|Shofar blowing}}
The shofar is used mainly on [[Rosh Hashanah]]. It is customary to blow the shofar 100 or 101 times on each day of [[Rosh Hashanah]]; however, [[halakha]] only requires that it be blown 30 times. The various types of blast are known as ''tekiah'', ''shevarim'', and ''teruah''. The 30 required blasts consist of the sequences ''tekiah''-''shevarim''-''teruah''-''tekiah'', ''tekiah''-''shevarim''-''tekiah'', ''tekiah''-''teruah''-''tekiah'', each sequence repeated three times.

The shofar is also blown in synagogue at the conclusion of [[Yom Kippur]]. Some only blow a ''tekiah gedolah''; others blow ''tekiah''-''shevarim''-''teruah''-''tekiah''.

Because of its inherent ties to the Days of Repentance and the inspiration that comes along with hearing its piercing blasts, the shofar is also blown after weekday morning services (in some communities, also at weekday afternoon services) for the entire month of [[Elul]], the last month of the Jewish civil year, preceding Rosh Hashana. It is not blown on the last day of Elul (in some communities, the last 3 days of Elul), however, to mark the difference between the voluntary blasts of the month and the mandatory blasts of Rosh Hashana. Shofar blasts are also used in some communities during penitential rituals such as [[Yom Kippur Katan]] and optional prayer services called during times of communal distress. The exact modes of sounding can vary from location to location.

In an effort to improve the skills of shofar blowers, an International Day of Shofar Study is observed on [[Rosh Chodesh Elul]], the start of the month preceding Rosh Hashanah.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shofarcorps.org/ |title=International Day of Shofar Study |access-date=24 June 2011 |archive-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405052351/https://shofarcorps.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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File:Haredi man blowing a Shofar.jpg|A Jewish [[Haredi]] man blowing a Shofar, 2012.
File:Hasid-Uman (6).JPG|Hasidic Jew, blowing the kudu shofar in [[Uman]], Ukraine, 2010.
File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Blowing the Shofar at the Western Wall.jpg|A Jewish [[Israel]]i man blows the shofar at the [[Western Wall]], [[Jerusalem]].
File:Schofar Decke.jpg|alt=Linen schofar cover from the 20th century, in the collection of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland.|Linen schofar cover from the 20th century, in the collection of the [[Jewish Museum of Switzerland]].  
</gallery>