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Why must the shofar on Rosh Hashanah be kafuf (curved)? The Gemara (גמרא) reveals that kafuf serves the kiyum of tefillah embedded in the mitzvah (מצוה) of shofar. Rashi (רש"י) and Tosafot debate whether kafuf is me'akev: is it merely l'chatchilah (lacking tefillah but retaining shofar), or does a straight shofar invalidate the entire mitzvah? The shiur develops the chiddush that tefillah is intrinsic to the cheftza of shofar on Rosh Hashanah.
This Gemara (גמרא) shiur on Rosh Hashanah 26b analyzes the fundamental nature of the shofar used on Rosh Hashanah and Yovel, focusing on whether it must be kafuf (curved) or pashut (straight). The shiur explores a deep machloket between Rashi (רש"י) and Tosafot about whether the requirement of kafuf is me'akev (essential) or merely l'chatchilah (preferred). The Gemara distinguishes between the shofar of Rosh Hashanah and the chatzotzrot (silver trumpets) used on ta'anit (fast days). Rashi explains that the chatzotzrot serve the function of "mikra ha'edah" - gathering the people - which is fundamentally different from the shofar's role on Rosh Hashanah. The shiur emphasizes that the shofar on Rosh Hashanah embodies three distinct kiyumim: the basic mitzvah (מצוה) of shofar, zecher l'Akedat Yitzchok (remembrance of the binding of Isaac), and tefillah (prayer).
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Rosh Hashanah 26b
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