Rambam on Trumpets and Prayer

מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה מִן הַתּוֹרָה לִזְעֹק וּלְהָרִיעַ בַּחֲצוֹצְרוֹת עַל כָּל צָרָה שֶׁתָּבוֹא עַל הַצִּבּוּר. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (במדבר י ט) "עַל הַצַּר הַצֹּרֵר אֶתְכֶם וַהֲרֵעֹתֶם בַּחֲצֹצְרוֹת". כְּלוֹמַר כָּל דָּבָר שֶׁיָּצֵר לָכֶם כְּגוֹן בַּצֹּרֶת וְדֶבֶר וְאַרְבֶּה וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָּהֶן זַעֲקוּ עֲלֵיהֶן וְהָרִיעוּ: וְדָבָר זֶה מִדַּרְכֵי הַתְּשׁוּבָה הוּא. שֶׁבִּזְמַן שֶׁתָּבוֹא צָרָה וְיִזְעֲקוּ עָלֶיהָ וְיָרִיעוּ יֵדְעוּ הַכּל שֶׁבִּגְלַל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הָרָעִים הוּרַע לָהֶן כַּכָּתוּב (ירמיה ה כה) "עֲוֹנוֹתֵיכֶם הִטּוּ" וְגוֹ'. וְזֶה הוּא שֶׁיִּגְרֹם לָהֶם לְהָסִיר הַצָּרָה מֵעֲלֵיהֶם:

It is a positive Torah commandment to cry out and to sound trumpets in the event of any difficulty that arises which affects the community, as [Numbers 10:9] states: "[When you go out to war... against] an enemy who attacks you and you sound the trumpets...." [This commandment is not restricted to such a limited scope; rather] the intent is: Whenever you are distressed by difficulties - e.g., famine, plague, locusts, or the like - cry out [to God] because of them and sound the trumpets. This practice is one of the paths of repentance, for when a difficulty arises, and the people cry out [to God] and sound the trumpets, everyone will realize that [the difficulty] occurred because of their evil conduct, as [Jeremiah 5:25] states: "Your sins have turned away [the rains and the harvest climate]." This [realization] will cause the removal of this difficulty.

וְהַסְּגָן עוֹמֵד עַל קֶרֶן הַמִּזְבֵּחַ וְהַסּוּדָרִין בְּיָדוֹ. וְתָקְעוּ וְהֵרִיעוּ וְתָקְעוּ. וּבָאוּ וְעָמְדוּ אֵצֶל זֶה הַמְמֻנֶּה עַל הַצִּלְצָל. אֶחָד מִימִינוֹ וְאֶחָד מִשְּׂמֹאלוֹ:

When they would give the wine to the priest who would perform the libation, there were two priests holding two trumpets in their hands who would stand on the table where the fats [were placed]. The Segen stands on the corner of the altar with flags in his hands. [When he waves them], they would sound a tekiah, a teruah, and a tekiah. [The priests with the trumpets] would then stand next to the priest who was placed in charge of the cymbals, one to his right and one to his left.

וְזֶה הוּא שֶׁיִּגְרֹם לָהֶם לְהָסִיר הַצָּרָה מֵעֲלֵיהֶם:

This practice is one of the paths of repentance, for when a difficulty arises, and the people cry out [to God] and sound the trumpets, everyone will realize that [the difficulty] occurred because of their evil conduct, as [Jeremiah 5:25] states: "Your sins have turned away [the rains and the harvest climate]." This [realization] will cause the removal of this difficulty.

היא שצונו לתקוע בחצוצרות במקדש עם הקרבת הקרבן מקרבני המועדות. והוא אמרו יתעלה וביום שמחתכם ובמועדיכם ותקעתם וגו'. ובבאור אמרו שמצוה זו בחצוצרות. וכבר התבארו משפטי מצוה זו בספרי וראש השנה ותענית, וכן אנחנו מצווים לתקוע בחצוצרות בעתות הצורך והצרות כשנזעק לפני השם יתעלה, והוא אמרו וכי תבאו מלחמה בארצכם על הצר הצורר אתכם וגו'.

And that is that He commanded us to blow with trumpets in the Temple during the bringing of the holiday offerings. And that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "And on your joyous occasions and on your festivals [...], you shall blow, etc." (Numbers 10:10). In the explanation (Rosh Hashanah 26b), they said that this commandment (on public fasts) is with the trumpets. And the regulations of this commandment were already explained in the Sifrei, in Rosh Hashanah and in Taanit. And likewise are we commanded to blow with trumpets at times of need and of distress, when we yell out in front of God, may He be exalted.

מַתְנִי׳ שׁוֹפָר שֶׁל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה שֶׁל יָעֵל פָּשׁוּט וּפִיו מְצוּפֶּה זָהָב, וּשְׁתֵּי חֲצוֹצְרוֹת מִן הַצְּדָדִין. שׁוֹפָר מַאֲרִיךְ וַחֲצוֹצְרוֹת מְקַצְּרוֹת, שֶׁמִּצְוַת הַיּוֹם בְּשׁוֹפָר. וּבְתַעֲנִיּוֹת בְּשֶׁל זְכָרִים כְּפוּפִין, וּפִיהֶן מְצוּפֶּה כֶּסֶף, וּשְׁתֵּי חֲצוֹצְרוֹת בָּאֶמְצַע. שׁוֹפָר מְקַצֵּר וַחֲצוֹצְרוֹת מַאֲרִיכוֹת, שֶׁמִּצְוַת הַיּוֹם בַּחֲצוֹצְרוֹת.

MISHNA: The shofar that was used on Rosh HaShana in the Temple was made from the straight horn of an ibex, and its mouth, the mouthpiece into which one blows, was plated with gold. And there were two trumpets, one on each of the two sides of the person sounding the shofar. The shofar would sound a long blast, whereas the trumpets would sound a short blast, because the mitzva of the day is with the shofar. And in contrast, the shofarot used on public fast days were made from the curved horns of rams, and their mouths were plated with silver. There were two trumpets in the middle between the shofarot, and the shofar would sound a short blast, whereas the trumpets would sound a long blast, for the mitzva of the day is with the trumpets.

תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: שֵׁשׁ תְּקִיעוֹת תּוֹקְעִין עֶרֶב שַׁבָּת. רִאשׁוֹנָה — לְהַבְטִיל אֶת הָעָם מִמְּלָאכָה שֶׁבַּשָּׂדוֹת. שְׁנִיָּה — לְהַבְטִיל עִיר וַחֲנוּיוֹת. שְׁלִישִׁית — לְהַדְלִיק אֶת הַנֵּר, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי נָתָן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא אוֹמֵר: שְׁלִישִׁית — לַחֲלוֹץ תְּפִילִּין. וְשׁוֹהֶה כְּדֵי צְלִיַּית דָּג קָטָן אוֹ כְּדֵי לְהַדְבִּיק פַּת בַּתַּנּוּר, וְתוֹקֵעַ וּמֵרִיעַ וְתוֹקֵעַ, וְשׁוֹבֵת. אָמַר רַבִּי יוֹסֵי בַּר חֲנִינָא: שָׁמַעְתִּי שֶׁאִם בָּא לְהַדְלִיק אַחַר שֵׁשׁ תְּקִיעוֹת — מַדְלִיק. שֶׁהֲרֵי נָתְנוּ חֲכָמִים שִׁיעוּר לְחַזַּן הַכְּנֶסֶת לְהוֹלִיךְ שׁוֹפָרוֹ לְבֵיתוֹ. אָמְרוּ לוֹ, אִם כֵּן נָתַתָּ דְּבָרֶיךָ לְשִׁיעוּרִין. אֶלָּא מָקוֹם צָנוּעַ יֵשׁ לוֹ לְחַזַּן הַכְּנֶסֶת בְּרֹאשׁ גַּגּוֹ, שֶׁשָּׁם מַנִּיחַ שׁוֹפָרוֹ. לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מְטַלְטְלִין לֹא אֶת הַשּׁוֹפָר וְלֹא אֶת הַחֲצוֹצְרוֹת.

The Sages taught in a baraita: They sound six blasts on Shabbat eve to announce that Shabbat is approaching. The Gemara details what each blast signifies. The first blast is in order to stop the people from work in the fields. The second blast is to stop those who are working in the city, and to inform the proprietors to close the stores. The third is to inform them to light the Shabbat light; that is the statement of Rabbi Natan. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: The third blast is to inform those who don phylacteries throughout the day to remove their phylacteries, as one does not don phylacteries on Shabbat. And he pauses after the third blast for the length of time it takes to fry a small fish or to stick bread to the sides of the oven. One who forgot to do so and needs those foods for Shabbat may do so then. And he sounds a tekia, and sounds a terua, and sounds a tekia, and he accepts Shabbat. It is then that Shabbat begins in every sense. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina, said: I heard that a person who was pressed for time and comes to light Shabbat lights after six blasts may light without concern, as even the moment of the sixth blast is not yet Shabbat. Proof for this is that the Sages provided the sexton of the synagogue a period of time to take his shofar, which he used to sound the blasts on a tall roof in the middle of the city, to his house. Clearly, during that interval it is not yet Shabbat. He said to him: If so, then you have rendered your statement subject to circumstances, and it would not apply uniformly to all. Shabbat would start at a different time in each place based on the distance between the site where the shofar is sounded and the home of the sexton. Rather, Shabbat began immediately after the final blast with no pause in between. The sexton had a concealed place on top of his roof, where he would sound the shofar, in which he would place his shofar because the consensus is that one may move neither the shofar nor the trumpets on Shabbat.

רַב פָּפָּא בַּר שְׁמוּאֵל סָבַר לְמִיעְבַּד עוֹבָדָא כְּמַתְנִיתִין. אָמַר לֵיהּ רָבָא: לָא אָמְרוּ אֶלָּא בְּמִקְדָּשׁ. תַּנְיָא נָמֵי הָכִי: בַּמֶּה דְּבָרִים אֲמוּרִים — בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ, אֲבָל בִּגְבוּלִין, מָקוֹם שֶׁיֵּשׁ חֲצוֹצְרוֹת — אֵין שׁוֹפָר, מָקוֹם שֶׁיֵּשׁ שׁוֹפָר — אֵין חֲצוֹצְרוֹת. וְכֵן הִנְהִיג רַבִּי חֲלַפְתָּא בְּצִיפּוֹרִי וְרַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא בֶּן תְּרַדְיוֹן בְּסִיכְנִי, וּכְשֶׁבָּא דָּבָר אֵצֶל חֲכָמִים אָמְרוּ: לֹא הָיוּ נוֹהֲגִין כֵּן אֶלָּא בְּשַׁעֲרֵי מִזְרָח וּבְהַר הַבַּיִת בִּלְבַד. אָמַר רָבָא, וְאִיתֵּימָא רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: מַאי קְרָאָה — דִּכְתִיב: ״בַּחֲצוֹצְרוֹת וְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר הָרִיעוּ לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ ה׳״, לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ ה׳ הוּא דְּבָעֵינַן חֲצוֹצְרוֹת וְקוֹל שׁוֹפָר, אֲבָל בְּעָלְמָא — לָא.

It is related that Rav Pappa bar Shmuel thought to act in accordance with the mishna regarding all the details of the shofar and the trumpets. But Rava said to him: They said this only with regard to the Temple. This is also taught in a baraita: In what case is this statement said? Only in the Temple, but in the provinces, anywhere outside the Temple, the halakha is as follows: Wherever there are trumpets, e.g., on fast days, there is no shofar, and wherever there is a shofar, e.g., on Rosh HaShana, there are no trumpets. And similarly, Rabbi Ḥalafta established the custom in Tzippori as it is described in the mishna, and so did Rabbi Ḥananya ben Teradyon in Sikhni, and when the matter came before the Rabbis they said: They acted in this manner only at the east gates of the Temple and on the Temple Mount. Rava said, and some say it was Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that said: What is the verse from which this is derived? As it is written: “With trumpets and the sound of a shofar make joyful noise before the Lord, the King” (Psalms 98:6), from which it may be inferred: Only before the Lord, the King, i.e., in His Temple, do we need both trumpets and the sound of a shofar, but in general, outside the Temple, we do not need both.