Tooting their own horns

Jeff Blaine blows the shofar at Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Blaine)

Tekiah! Shofar season is upon us! 

During the Hebrew month of Elul—usually in August or early September—it’s customary to blow the shofar in preparation for the High Holidays, and then hear 100 blasts on Rosh Hashanah itself.  

I know it’s shofar season when I call my mother in late summer. Before she even says “Hello,” I’ll hear shofar blowing in the background. “Is Dad practicing?” I’ll ask, even though I know the answer. My father is a shofar blower, one of many in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of their shofar stories: 

Carol Goldbaum: Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston 

For more than 50 years, Goldbaum has blown shofar at her beloved Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC). As a child, she taught herself how to play the English hunting horn, a skill she later transferred to shofar blowing. 

“I’m not a Hebrew reader, and this was a way for me to say I’m part of the JRC family,” she said. Goldbaum would teach about shofar at the Hebrew school, creating special meanings for each of the calls. She associated the tekiah gedolah (the final, longest shofar blast) with “going forward and making resolutions for the new year.” 

Now 84, Goldbaum’s relinquishing the tekiah gedolah to a younger congregant. “It’s time,” she said. Still, she plans to be up on the bimah (pulpit) this Rosh Hashanah, blowing the same shofar she’s had since the beginning. 

Jeff Blaine: Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion, Oak Park 

Since 1983, Blaine has been blowing shofar at Oak Park Temple. Blaine recalls “the magical moment” from his childhood, hearing the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Now when the children come to watch him blow shofar, he gets “a lump in [his] throat.” 

“It’s a mitzvah to hear [the shofar]…I feel so deeply privileged to be able to serve the congregation, to help 1,000 people fulfill that mitzvah,” he explained. 

Around the middle of summer, Blaine starts feeling nervous. But as a practicing psychotherapist, he knows how to keep calm at shofar-blowing time. “I have a little mantra: ‘Slowly. Don’t rush it,’” he shared. “When I do that, and I stay centered, and I have the right kavanah (intention), it generally goes quite well.” 

 Ezra Landman-Feigelson: Anshe Sholom B’nai Israel Congregation, Lakeview 

Landman-Feigelson began blowing shofar at Anshe Sholom as a 16-year-old sophomore in high school. “The people who are hearing me blow shofar are the people who’ve watched me grow up,” he said. 

Now 24, Landman-Feigelson has acquired some memorable Rosh Hashanah moments. One year, he was asked to blow the shofar for a congregant in the hospital. “He actually passed away later that year, and I realized I was the last person to blow shofar for him,” he said. During COVID’s outdoor services, he had to put a mask on the end of the shofar where the sound comes out. 

Yet, there’s a constant for Landman-Feigelson every Rosh Hashanah. “When I make [the blessings], I close my eyes, and I have everybody in the room in mind, to fulfill the mitzvah,” he said. 

David Sager: Moriah Congregation, Deerfield 

For the past 66 years, Sager has been blowing shofar and he plans to keep going. “If I ever give it up, I’m going to feel like I’m old,” he joked. 

Sager began when he was just 13 years old at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, with a shofar he bought at its own gift shop. He now blows shofar at Moriah Congregation, using a shofar his friend brought him from Israel. Sager appreciates being surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and Moriah community. 

“This particular ritual of the High Holidays is the most ancient of everything in the service,” Sager said. “It goes back to Torah, it goes back to Sinai. Knowing that you’re doing it for the whole congregation is an honor and a gift.” 

Mimi Sager Yoskowitz is a writer and former CNN producer who’s working on her first novel. She’s a current trustee of the Jewish Women’s Foundation and former Young Women’s Board member. She lives on the North Shore with her husband and four children. Connect with her on Instagram: @mimisy6.