Community Shofar Factory attendees make ram's horn trumpets

After Emily Kaufman finished the Sept. 10 craft session, she had something she'd wanted for years.

She now had a shofar, a ram's horn trumpet and traditional Jewish musical instrument used to signify victory and celebration.

“I am very excited to have a personal shofar for our new year," she said, while enjoying the event with her family. "I have been wanting one since high school, 35 years ago."

The Community Shofar Factory saw families come together to make their own shofars. The event was presented through a partnership between Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, Chabad of Downtown SRQ and Chabad Lubavitch Of Sarasota & Manatee Counties.

The instrument is sounded on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, held from Sept. 15 to 17 this year, and on Yom Kippur, held from Sept. 24-25 this year.

"This is an opportunity just for our Jewish families to celebrate the new year, and for non-Jewish families to become familiar with and experience the traditional Judaism in a hands-on sort of way," said Head of School Dan Ceaser.

The event began with a short presentation on types of shofars, different types of horns and what types of horns are kosher, before moving on to the workshop where participants created their own using ram’s horns shipped from the east coast of Florida.

Also on offer were apples and honey, a traditional dish of Rosh Hashanah.

Sam Valentin, who attended with her 4-year-old son Beau Peterson and his grandmother Debbie Valentin, said although the family is not Jewish, they enjoy learning about different cultures.  

“We learned a lot about how (shofars) are made, along with different animals — what can be used to make the horn — and the different criteria,” she said.