Rosh Hashanah is full of rich customs and beautiful prayers, but at its core is one powerful mitzvah straight from the Torah: the sounding of the shofar.1 The piercing cry of the shofar awakens the soul and proclaims G‑d’s kingship.2

While there’s a lot the shofar-blower needs to know (like which horn to use and how to get the sounds just right), this guide is all about you, the listener. What do you need to know to fulfill this special mitzvah properly?

Who Needs to Hear the Shofar?

Men: All Jewish men over 13 are biblically obligated to hear the shofar on Rosh Hashanah.3

Women: Since it’s a positive mitzvah tied to a specific time, women are technically exempt. But over time, it’s become a widespread and cherished custom for women to hear the shofar too, so much so that it’s treated as a binding commitment. Most women make a point of hearing it both days, and young girls are customarily taught to do the same (see below regarding the blessings that women make upon hearing the shofar).4

Children: They aren’t biblically required, but once they reach “the age of education”5 (when they’re old enough to understand the mitzvah, generally around 6 or 7), there’s a rabbinic obligation to start training them to fulfill it. That’s why it’s appropriate to bring children to shul for the shofar.6

A child above the age of education but before Bar Mitzvah can’t blow the shofar to help an adult fulfill their obligation.7

If the shofar-blower already did the mitzvah for himself, he can still blow again for kids above the age of education. In that case, the child should say the blessing, not the blower.8

What Time Can You Hear the Shofar?

The mitzvah can technically be fulfilled anytime during the day, but there are a few details to know: While the halachic day begins at dawn, the sages said we should wait until sunrise to avoid mistakenly blowing it while it’s still nighttime. That said, if someone did blow after dawn but before sunrise, you’re still good—you don’t need to do it again.9

The shofar should ideally be sounded before sunset. The period between sunset and nightfall is halachically uncertain, so if you didn’t manage to hear the shofar before sunset, you should still hear it after sunset—just without a blessing. Why? Because with biblical obligations we act stringently and fulfill the mitzvah even in cases of doubt, while with blessings we’re lenient in cases of doubt.10

What Do You Actually Need to Hear?

If you're hearing the shofar as part of the services in the synagogue:

From a biblical perspective, the mitzvah of shofar can be fulfilled any time during the day of Rosh Hashanah. But our sages established that the shofar should be blown during the three special blessings of the Musaf Amidah: Malchiyot (Kingship, proclaiming G‑d as King), Zichronot (Remembrances, recalling G‑d’s mercy upon His people), and Shofarot (verses about the shofar).11 Communities differ in whether they blow during both the silent Amidah and the chazzan’s repetition, or just during the repetition.12

In addition, the sages established that 30 blasts should be blown before Musaf, right after the Torah reading.13 Over time, this blowing came to be seen as the main performance of the mitzvah, and just hearing those 30 blasts fulfills your basic Torah obligation.

Today, however, the universal custom is to hear 100 sounds in total over the course of the service. According to the custom followed by Chabad, these are divided as follows:

  • 30 blasts after the Torah reading
  • 30 during the silent Musaf Amidah
  • 30 during the chazzan’s repetition of Musaf
  • 10 during Kaddish

This structure ensures that the mitzvah is fulfilled in the optimal way, while also weaving the shofar’s cry throughout the central prayers of the day.14

(Additionally, many communities, including Chabad, blow another 30 at the end of the service, both for anyone who missed earlier blasts and as a spiritual tactic to "confuse the Satan.")

If you’re not hearing the shofar as part of the services:

If you're praying on your own, you don’t blow or hear the shofar during your Amidah. You just need to hear 30 blasts, the same ones blown after the Torah reading in shul.15

If there are extenuating circumstances and it’s not possible to hear 30 blasts, at least hear 10 blasts, using the same sequence found in the siddur for the Amidah, but don’t say a blessing beforehand.16

Explanation:

The Torah mentions shofar blowing three times in connection with this season—twice regarding Rosh Hashanah and once regarding Yom Kippur of the Jubilee year. From this, the Talmud17 derives that the mitzvah requires three sets of blasts, each consisting of a tekiah (long blast), teruah (broken sound), and another tekiah. Altogether, this makes nine blasts as the basic biblical obligation.

Because there is uncertainty in the Talmud about the precise form of the teruah—whether it is a sobbing sound (teruah), a wailing sound (shevarim), or a combination (shevarim–teruah)—all three possibilities are performed. This brings the total to 30 blasts, which is the minimum that should be heard. Neverthelss, in extenuating circumstances one should blow at least 10 which is the bare minimum.

The Blessings on the Shofar

Before blowing, the shofar-blower says two blessings: one for the mitzvah, and Shehechiyanu (click here to print a PDF in advance if you’ll need it). If the blower already did the mitzvah earlier, then ideally the listener should make the blessings themselves. If the man listening is obligated but doesn’t know how to say the blessings, the blower may say them on their behalf, even if he already fulfilled his own obligation.18

No Talking Between Blessing and Blasts

The blessings recited before the first set of shofar blasts (tekios meyushav) cover the later blasts as well (tekios me’umad), so no new blessing is made prior to the blasts blown during the Musaf prayer. Since those later blasts are considered part of one mitzvah, neither the shofar-blower nor the listeners should speak from the time the blessing is said until all the blasts are finished.

If you do talk in the middle of shofar-blowing, even about unrelated things, you don’t repeat the blessing. Why? Because you began the mitzvah right after the blessing.

But if you talk between the blessing and the very first blast, you need to say the blessing again, unless you were saying something needed to help with the mitzvah (like “Pass me the shofar”).19

Also, don’t say “Baruch Hu u’varuch Shemo” when listening to the blessing—it might invalidate it!20

Do Women Say the Blessing?

If you are hearing the shofar during services, this question is not relevant, since you will hear the blessing from the shofar blower. But what about if the shofar is being blown for you at another point?

According to Ashkenazi custom, a woman hearing the shofar should say the blessing herself, including Shehechiyanu. If she doesn’t know how to say the blessing, the shofar-blower can make the blessing if he hasn’t already fulfilled the mitzvah and is fulfilling it now.21

If the shofar-blower already fulfilled his own obligation, then another man who is also listening to this shofar blowing should recite the blessing. If only women are listening and none of them can say the blessing, then the blessing should not be said.

(If the shofar-blower wants to say the blessing for women, he needs to still be obligated. He can either (a) blow the shofar for them before he hears it in shul, thereby fulfilling his obligation, or (b) he can intend not to fulfill his obligation during the blowing in shul, and instead fulfill it when blowing later for the women.)

In many, but not all,22 Sephardic communities, women don’t say blessings on time-bound mitzvahs they’re exempt from, even if they choose to do them.23

Should I Stand or Sit?

The shofar-blower should stand while blowing.24 If you’re listening, you can technically sit (except during the Amidah),25 but the custom is for everyone to stand if they can.26 If it’s too hard to stand, sitting is okay.

Can I Hear the Shofar Through a Hearing Aid?

The mitzvah is to hear the actual sound of the shofar. The blessing even says: “…who has commanded us to hear the sound of the shofar.” Jewish law also teaches that if the pure sound of the shofar is mixed with another sound, you don’t fulfill your obligation.27 Since electronic hearing aids don’t transmit the actual blast but create a reproduced sound, they can’t be relied on for this mitzvah.28

A person who is completely deaf—or uses cochlear implants in both ears—is technically exempt, since hearing is essential to this mitzvah, and therefore can’t blow for others.29 On the other hand, someone who is only partially deaf or hard of hearing is obligated.30

So if you wear hearing aids, remove them (if possible) and sit close to the blower, arrange a private blowing, or blow the shofar for yourself. If you can hear it this way, you can say the blessings and even blow for others. If, despite every effort, you can’t hear at all without hearing aids, you’re exempt from the mitzvah.31 Still, many halachic authorities recommend that you blow the shofar for yourself without a blessing, so you can participate in this central mitzvah of the day to the extent you’re able.32

If you’re using an ear trumpet (a non-electric device that collects and concentrates sound), you fulfill the mitzvah and can blow for others.33

A mute person who can hear is fully obligated and may blow for others, with someone else reciting the blessings.34

Can I Eat Before Hearing the Shofar?

This one actually depends on who you ask and what your customs is.

  • The ideal halachah is that if you're healthy and it’s not a hardship, wait until after you hear the shofar to eat or drink.35
  • If needed, many are lenient about drinking.36
  • In a case of pressing need, have a small snack (non-mezonot foods, or less than a k’beitzah of mezonot).37
  • Some congregations that have especially long services adopted the (controversial) practice of hosting a kiddush before shofar, so that everyone has energy for the second part of the service.
  • As a general note, when deciding what to do, bear in mind that women tend to be more lenient in this matter since they’re not formally obligated to hear the shofar to begin with.38

With this in mind, let us remember that the most important thing is to hear the shofar. So come, bring your friends, and usher in the Jewish New Year with this time-hallowed mitzvah!