About this episode
Study Guide Rosh Hashanah 29 Today's daf is sponsored by Natalie Taylor in loving memory of Harav Professor Yaakov Ross who passed away this past week, on the 26th of Cheshvan. Today's daf is also sponsored by Emma Rinberg in loving memory of her dear friend Helen Taylor's stone setting. "Helen is missed by her husband, children , grandchildren and sisters. Also by her close friends - we think of her often and miss her very much. May her memory be blessed." Does the shofar blower need to intend for who he is blowing the shofar? Is there a difference between one blowing for the community or for an individual? Related to the issue of intent, the Mishna brings two incidents that happened in the desert where the Jewish people were saved only when they turned their minds and their hearts to believe in God – the war with Amalek and the copper serpent that saved the people from the snakes that God sent to punish them. Who is obligated in shofar blowing? Only one who is obligated can blow the shofar for others who are obligated. Which blessings can one make on behalf of others even if one has already fulfilled one's obligation? In the Temple, they would blow the shofar on Shabbat. After the Temple was destroyed, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai institutes that the shofar is blown wherever there is a court. There is a debate regarding whether this was in Yavne only or anywhere where there was a court. Why don't we blow shofar on Shabbat? Is it derived from the Torah? Rabbi Levi ben Lachma says it is, but Rava questions him as in the Temple they blew shofar on Shabbat and also because blowing the shofar is not a melacha . Rava holds as Raba that since everyone needs to hear the shofar blown, but not everyone knows how to, they may carry a shofar four cubits in the public domain to find someone to teach them how to blow, and therefore, the rabbis forbade shofar blowing on Shabbat. A story is told of a debate between Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and Bnei Beteira about whether the shofar should be blown on Shabbat in Yavne. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai prevails and the shofar is blown. What are the opinions brought in the Mishna regarding the extent to which Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai permitted blowing the shofar on Shabbat? Only the court in Yavne, any established court, or even in one that was not established?