Daf HaYomi B'Halacha Daily Email

Should the seal of a hole in a shofar be removed before Yom Tov?

As we have learned, a shofar with a sealed hole is still kosher as long as the following three stipulations are met: 1) the plug must be made from the same material as the shofar, 2) the shofar must have retained its original sound, and 3) the majority of the original shofar must be intact. Under pressing circumstances in which there are no other shofros available, a shofar is still acceptable if it is mostly intact and it either retained its original sound or is plugged with the original material. This leniency may only be relied upon if one realized on Yom Tov that this was the only shofar available. Otherwise, the plug should be removed before Yom Tov so that the shofar will be kosher lechatchila.

שו"ע תקפו, ז-ח, עם משנ"ב, שעה"צ וביה"ל]]

Can a cracked cup be used for netilas yadayim?

A shofar that is cracked is invalid. According to some Rishonim, this applies even if only a small area is cracked. Even when there is nothing missing from the surface of the shofar and the sound has not changed, it may not be used. This is because the shofar will eventually split and become pasul due to the pressure of the blowing. The halacha classifies any shofar that is destined to split as if it has already done so. The Achronim explain that this rule is only mid’rabonon. Chazal were concerned that the shofar could split without the blower realizing it, causing an invalid shofar to be used for tekiyos. A similar halacha is found with regard to using a cracked cup for netilas yadayim. The poskim say that although a cup with a hole can still be used under certain circumstances, a cracked cup is invalid.

שו"ע תקפו, ח, עם משנ"ב, שעה"צ וביה"ל, וביאורים ומוספים דרשו46-47

Can a cracked shofar be tied together?

Some Rishonim rule that a cracked shofar is only invalid if the crack runs along most of the shofar. Under pressing circumstances, this opinion may be relied upon. When only a minor area of the shofar is cracked, the problem may be solved by fastening it with string or rope If the crack runs along most of the shofar, though, the crack must be glued together; tying with string would not suffice in that case. Although glue is not the same material as the shofar (see above), it is acceptable since it is not noticeable. If the crack is wide and the glue is noticeable, it is subject to the halachos that pertain to plugging a hole with a non-shofar material.

[שו"ע תקפו, ח, עם משנ"ב, שעה"צ וביה"ל, וביאורים ומוספים 'דרשו']

The Gemara states that any sound that comes from a shofar is acceptable for the mitzvah of tekiyas shofar. Although the sound may be low, scratchy and muffled, it is still valid.

A hole in a shofar does not invalidate it. If the hole alters the sound of the shofar, however, the Rema rules that it should only be used if there are no other shofros available.

The Rishonim disagree about whether the material used to plug a shofar must come from a kosher shofar or whether it can come from any animal, even those whose horns are not valid for shofar.

What is the minimal length of a shofar?

Can a small person blow from a small shofar?

Can a shofar be glued together?

PLEASE NOTE: The information in this email is for learning purposes only. Please review the Mishna Berura and Biurim U'Musafim before making a halachic decision. Hebrew words are occasionally transliterated to enable a smoother reading of the text. Common Ashkenazi pronunciation is generally used in these cases.