Images from The Pressler Gallery Polish Shofar, 17th-18th Century NNM 2369. Shofar, Poland, 17th-18th century. Ex coll.: Carol Geller, Vienna. Board of Trustees, 1990. Made from ram's horns, which are heated and shaped, shofars--the only ancient Jewish instrument that survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans (AD 70)--are signal instruments used for both liturgical and secular purposes. This splendid example came from the estate of Carol Geller, a Viennese dealer who specialized in obtaining antiques from behind the iron curtain, before he was murdered in Warsaw, Poland, in 1975. The seldom-seen, mystical Kabalistic text carved on the two sides can be translated: "The essence of the blowing of [the] shofar is to awaken the merit of the binding. And the count is as follows: Abraham together with Isaac amount to the word [6+5+4=15], which equals the name of God [5+10=15]. The Tervah amounts to 24 in front and afterward two straight sounds twice Tekiah, amount to the word [36]. [2+4] amounts to 6 and the [6+3] equals 9, together it amounts to God's name [5+10=15]. And therefore in order to sweeten the judgments of the fear of Isaac we combine the merit of Jacob the complete one since he completes the name of 4 letters which is in the likeness of the whole one, Jacob, which comes to 182 numerically. This is an indication of the statement and the binding of Isaac to the seed of Jacob, with mercy remember."   Click arrow to return to beginning of Pressler Gallery Tour Go to Pressler Gallery Tour Index Go to Virtual Tour Index Go to Checklist of 16th- and 17th-Century Instruments A postcard of this shofar is available from the Gift Shop National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD   57069 ©National Music Museum, 2002, 2003 Most recent update:   May 6, 2003 You are the 10,955th visitor to this page since January 15, 2002. College of Fine Arts The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page