La Voz

Media Credit: Photo by Marjan Sadoughi [Click to enlarge]

Loud rock music blasted as work gloves, sandpaper, metal clamps, saws, sanding machines and paint were all available for students to use to make the traditional shofar, a round Jewish instrument made from a ram's horn, in the main quad.

In celebration of Rosh Hashanah, Jews, Israelis, and Friends, a De Anza College Jewish club, hosted the event with a shofar factory last Thursday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm for anyone who wanted to participate and learn about the holiday and its cultural traditions.

Last Wednesday and Thursday was Rosh Hashanah, literally meaning the "head of the year," ushering in the new Jewish calendar year with a celebration. After ten short days, known as "The Days of Awe," will be Yom Kippur, a day of fasting.

"These two holidays are huge; it's like Christmas and Easter, just ten days apart," said Rebacca Reice, JIF adviser and JCSC fellow for Hillel of Silicon Valley.

Shofar making has plenty of purposes during the holiday season but the most well-known is that it symbolizes the binding of Abraham in the Torah.

In the story, God wanted to test Abraham's faith and so asked him to sacrifice one of his sons. Abraham followed God's request but at the last minute, God replaced the Abraham's son with a goat. The shofar became a symbol of forgiveness and repentance.

"The sound of the shofar is expected to be heard when the Messiah comes," Reice said. "It is there to remind us that we have apologies to make and relationships to work on so the new year will start off with a clean slate."

To make the horn, the end is sawed off for an opening and then smoothed with sandpaper. An optional acrylic protective finish is painted on for durability. The last and final step is to test it out by blowing it as hard you can.

The shofar is blown somewhat like a trumpet and should have a deep sound. There was more than 45 horns available for students to make.

"We had a very generous grant from DASB so we were able bring a chabad rabbi on campus who was familiar with the process of creating shofars," said Ryan Medeiros, JIF vice president.

Beside the work area was a small booth with promotional pamphlets, Israeli candy and traditional apples dipped in honey for anyone with a sweet tooth. The sweets are to symbolize a wish for a sweet new year.

Some of the reasons for the event's appeals range from curiosity and interest to unique music and free sweets. Blaring on the speakers was a live performance of the band The Jews.

"It sounded very interesting and I always had a deep interest in other cultures since childhood. I feel that it is a responsibility to be an active participant," said Michaelina Zmijewski, ICC secretary.

A simpler reason, student Daniel Reynolds thought it would be "cool to try something new."

On the event, Medeiros said, "It was very successful and we had a huge turnout of Jews and gentiles alike. [JIF] was able to promote the club to those who were interested and wanted to get more involved."

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