N.J. Event Hopes to Break Swampscott Shofar Record

A gathering in New Jersey later than month is working to break a world-record set nearly a decade ago in Swampscott for the most people blowing a traditional Jewish trumpet at one time.

The Great Shofar Blowout is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21 at the Aidekman Jewish Community Campus in Whippany, N.J., according to the New Jersey Jewish News. The goal of the event is to have 1,500 people attend and break the world record for the “largest shofar ensemble” of 796 participants set in 2006 at Phillips Beach in Swampscott, the coordinator of the event, Aviva Gutnick told New Jersey Jewish News. The record is logged in the Guinness Book of World Records.

At the time the 2006 event, sponsored by the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, it more than doubled the previous record that was set a year earlier by a Philadelphia synagogue, the Boston Globe reported at the time. The New Jersey Jewish News reported that an attempt last year in Toronto to break the record fell short.

A shofar is a ram’s-horn trumpet blown by the ancient Hebrews in battle and during religious observances. It is used in modern Judaism, especially during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur, according to Merriam-Webster. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, starts at sundown on Sept. 24.

Already, 500 people have signed up for the Whippany event, reports the New Jersey Jewish News. Participants are asked to bring their own shofar, plus shofars will also be for sale beforehand. A last-minute shofar blowing clinic will also be offered, according to the New Jersey Jewish News report.