Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 17, 2023 is: shofar \SHOH-far\ noun

A shofar is the horn of an animal (usually a ram) blown as a trumpet by the ancient Hebrews in battle and during religious observances. It is used in modern Judaism especially during [Rosh Hashanah](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Rosh%20Hashanah) and at the end of [Yom Kippur](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Yom%20Kippur).

// As a child, Eli's favorite part of the [High Holidays](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high%20holidays) was the sounding of the shofar.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shofar)

Examples:

"Synagogues will also blow a shofar, a curved ram's horn, during Rosh Hashanah. There are many interpretations of the shofar’s meaning. One is that it represents the biblical story told in Genesis, in which Abraham sacrifices a ram instead of his son, Isaac. Rabbis have also interpreted the loud blast of the shofar as a wake-up call for the new year. [Rabbi Charlie] Schwartz called the sounding of the shofar 'the pinnacle of the Rosh Hashanah service in synagogues.'" — Marina Pitofsky, USA Today, 2 Sept. 2021

Did you know?

One of the shofar's original uses was to proclaim the [Jubilee](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jubilee) year (a year of emancipation of enslaved Jews and restoration of [alienated](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alienate) lands to their former owners). Today, it is mainly used in synagogues during the High Holidays. It is blown daily, except on [Shabbat](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Shabbat), during the month of [Elul](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Elul) (the 12th month of the civil year or the 6th month of the [ecclesiastical](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ecclesiastical) year in the Jewish calendar), and is sounded a number of times during the Rosh Hashanah services, and again at the end of the last service (known as [neilah](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neilah)) on Yom Kippur. The custom is to sound the shofar in several series that alternate shorter notes resembling sobbing and wailing with longer unbroken blasts.