The Badatz Eida Chareidis has issued its annual warning to consumers who are planning to buy a shofar ahead of Rosh Hashanah. In the announcement released by the beis din it is stated many non-kosher shofaros are sold nationwide and this includes in frum stores.
The alert states the matter is particularly problematic this year as many shofaros arriving from Morocco have cracks in them, rendering them pasul. These shofaros are nevertheless sold as kosher. The Eida recommends buying a shofar with a high-end hashgacha. Most stores sell shofaros without any hashgacha, as is the case in tourist areas, the shuk in Yerushalayim and even many stores in the Geula area.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
A shofar needs a hecksher that it came from a proper animal that was properly slaughtered. A hecksher by definition can not refer to whether or not it is cracked, just as hecksher on wine can not depend on whether it has gone sour, and a hecksher on bread can not ceritify that it has not gone moldy. A hecksher deals with the creation of an item, not its subsequent history. No Beis Din could ever certify that a shofar has cracked either in transit or in use.
Unfortunately I have seen many shofars that have hashgocho and have either cracks or repair marks (although not all of them would make a shofar passul). I suggest everyone examine every shofar carefully and not rely on hashgochos.
With all respect to Badatz, they have their priorities misplaced. With so much treifus coming in from the Palestinian-controlled areas mislabeled with plumbas from Badatz, why do they worry about pasul shofaros…the Ebeshter will hear the sounds of tekios and taruos from a shofar and know its coming from his yidden during chodesh elul and the yomim noraiim, even if the shofar has a crack. Again, putting form over substance.
Just asking… Does Badatz ever give over GOOD NEWS?
A crack in a Shofar can be filled in with glue and rendered undetectable. This is what the Badatz is warning against. Of course one must be a Chacham with eyes in his head to determine if it has cracked since it left the factory, even if it has a good Hechsher.
GadolHadorah – I am afraid that it is you who has her priorities misplaced. A Shofar that is Pasul does not allow one to fulfill the Mitzvah d’Oraisa of Tekias Shofar. Hashem places form along with substance very high on His list of things that are important in the fulfillment of Mitzvos in this world.
Where have you ever heard of Treif meat being labelled with a Badatz? Source please.
bklynmom – the Badatz is the largest Chareidi Beis Din in E”Y. The public announcements they issue are always warnings. There would be no point in announcing that one need not worry about, say, worms in your hats. Statistics show that 1 in 2 people who go to the Badatz for a Din Torah hear good news from them.
Surprisingly no mention is made of the Shofar not being kosher if the mouth tip is cut after the hole was drilled. That’s a common difficult finishing touch to master. I watched Shofros being made and when offered to try, none of us could do it. The drill kept sliding through the bent angle of shofar rendering it Pasul. Those who just cut off that end are using a Pasul shofar.
To #3: Gadolhadorah – so have you decided that those sections of the Shulchan Aruch that discuss the laws of what is kosher and what is pasul in a shofar have been canceled? You are paskening that “the Ebeshter will hear the sounds of tekios and taruos from a shofar even if it has a crack.” Well, yes, some cracks do not disqualify a shofar and some do. Regulating what is being brought in from the palestinian areas is really within the purview of the army and security forces, not the mashgichim of the Badatz.
And to #4: the good news is that someone is keeping an eye on the shofaros that are being sold, and that there is a way to obtain a kosher shofar.
to number 1
you seem to make a incorrect comparison. When the shofar is made it is certified that it has no cracks. Some people take shofers that have cracks and fill them so the crack is not apparent, but filling a crack and concealing it does not make it kosher, it is NOT.
The certification means that the shofer does not have a crack apparent or FILLED. It is for the FILLED CRACK that we need the certification, since it is not apparent to the unaided consumer.
It would be high time for the Badatz to maybe lower their prices as such we can purchase their shofros
#1 The shofar need not come from a shchutah just as your tefillin need not come from a shechutta. It must be from a kosher species, and according to our minhag (and l’ikuva according to Rambam. If the source is in a really intresting place, you might need to worry about tikroves az
#6, your concept does not shtim with the halacaha of shiur tefach. Shofros are always cut at both ends, one for decorateion, and the other because the natural horn is closed at the tip. It that narrow end breaks, and the end is reworked and smoothed, if you have the shiur it is good
Edit to #10 end of line three add “from a sheep”