Shofar Maker: 'People Are Buying Invalid Shofars Without Even Knowing'

Any time of day you arrive at Shimon Keinan's shofar factory in the Golan Heights, you'll find him with a shofar in hand. Sometimes he is sounding it, sometimes cleaning, and sometimes manufacturing. Even while conversing with us, he continues to work and create. He occasionally pauses the conversation, lets out a loud blast, and ensures the shofar performs its function properly.

"I was born with a shofar in hand," Shimon tells us with a smile, "since I remember myself, I felt a rare connection to shofars, and by the age of ten, I could already sound one well. The problem was I didn't own a shofar nor had money to buy one, so I made a shofar out of a pipe and a funnel and used that to practice. At 18, I became the official shofar blower for the synagogue. After the army, I served as a shofar blower for eight years in two synagogues, Sephardic and Ashkenazi, learning the customs and how the blowing is done in each place. Later, I crafted the first real shofar of my life. It was when we slaughtered a sheep in the village, and while everyone else dined, I requested the horn. My father explained to me the method of making shofars in Morocco, and I set to the task with excitement, trying to mimic the actions. The outcome was very fine, and ever since, shofar making has become a part of me."

Photo: Hadar Rofe

From Metal Factory to Shofar Manufacturing

Shimon is an interesting man who always does what he believes is right and good for him. It resembles why as a young man, he went to learn at a vocational school and later established a metal factory that built coops and barns all over the southern Golan Heights. But at 54, he felt an unexplainable pull toward the world of shofars.

"I closed the metal business and launched a shofar business," he recounts. "It was a bold move because my previous factory was quite successful, yet the shofar world was foreign to me, and I didn't even know where to source materials. But I am a craftsman in every essence, and I believed I could succeed, with Hashem's help."

His first task was searching for horns to make shofars, which he found to be no simple task since there are no horn productions in the country. "Eventually, I connected with a Muslim trader from Turkey and flew specifically to Istanbul, from where I brought my first horns," he says. "One advantage there was my fluent Arabic, as I am Moroccan, and Arabic was my childhood tongue. Later on, I also flew to Morocco to bring production materials from there. In those days, there were no direct flights from Israel, and I would pass through various global airports. I neither speak nor read English, but Hashem accompanied and guided me everywhere. Today, I know many countries worldwide, solely because of shofars."

Photo: Hadar Rofe

But horns are not everything because manufacturing shofars also requires machines. "There are no 'shofar machines' in the country, so I built everything with my own hands," he clarifies, "Nothing was simple, and there were many mistakes along the way, but everything is from above, and I do not say this lightly. I truly felt the divine providence assisting me in every undertaking. Whenever something stalled, I looked up to the sky and said: 'Master of the universe, I am trying; please join in helping me,' and the help always came."

And what is the primary challenge in producing shofars?

Shimon surprises: "The work is extremely complex and accompanied by challenges throughout, but the main difficulty lies before the actual work even begins. Because even at the horn import stage, you encounter problems as the state creates significant hurdles and doesn't easily approve imports. It requires a lot of bureaucracy and handling. Of course, the production itself isn't easy either; the work is very delicate and sensitive. A moment's lack of attention, and the shofar is already disqualified."

Does this happen to you sometimes?

"When people ask me this question, I respond in kind: 'Doesn't your wife ever burn the food sometimes?' Because even a very professional chef might mess up a dish once in a while, and in shofar manufacturing, there are sometimes mistakes that disqualify the shofar. If it's small horns, you can deal with it, but when it happens with a large and special horn, one you worked hard to import and paid a significant sum for, it's much harder to accept. Over time, I learned to cope with it and accept things as they are. I always feel it's all from above and don't complain."

"Of course, there's also the hard work to adapt the shofars to meet kashrut and halacha requirements. Our factory is certified by the Badatz Edah HaChareidis, which requires a lot of investment and thought. I believe the mouthpiece of the shofar is its soul, and when working on it, I try to focus solely on holy matters and not talk about trivialities at all. From a visual standpoint, it's also important to me to invest because a mitzvah object should be beautified, and the shofar should look appealing on the outside as well."

Photo: Hadar Rofe

A Shofar for Everyone

The customers visiting Shimon's factory store are numerous and encompass all types and styles, both from Israel and abroad. "There are large shops and institutions that want to purchase shofars; there are religious councils wanting to provide each synagogue with a shofar, and there are also individuals interested. Truthfully, there is no shortage of shofars on the market, but the major issue is that there are a lot of vendors selling shofars imported from China and Morocco. While their price is low, their kashrut is highly questionable, and many of these shofars are invalid. Unfortunately, I see them sold in famous retail chains, as well as at holy sites and various pedestrian malls. People purchase them thinking they've made a good deal, not realizing they're sounding an invalid shofar and not fulfilling the public's obligation."

How can we identify fake shofars? Can you give us a sign for recognition?

"It's hard to spot with a non-professional eye, which is why the sellers are so successful in their sales. The only way is to buy a shofar only from a Judaica store, from a trustworthy seller who fears Heaven. It's like going to buy a luxury suit worth 1000 shekels and being asked to pay only 180. You'd immediately think something is amiss. It's the same here; the low prices are not just coincidental, and I say this from painful experience with shofars people brought me to examine, which they then had to throw away in disappointment."

How many shofars have you produced over the years? Can you estimate?

"Every year, I estimate that I make about 2000 shofars. Each shofar is handcrafted over hours and is very special in its own right, as I customize it for the customer. People come to me with certain mouth or chin structures, and I tailor each to what's best for them. Just recently, a shofar blower came to me who, following an accident, lost movement in his lower lip, yet wanted to continue sounding the shofar. I crafted a shofar suitable for his situation, and he took it with tears, sharing that since the accident, the only thing that bothered him was the thought he wouldn't be able to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. It truly warmed my heart because I work on each shofar for hours, but the satisfaction when I see the customer leave with a smile is worth it all."