Page 102 - Chayei Adam LAYOUT sivan 5782

Chayei Adam - K’lal 142 - The Order of the Tekiahs

‘teruah’ is an expression of long broken shevarim, or quick short blasts, or perhaps
both of them together, shevarim and teruah. Therefore, Chazal decreed that we
should fulfill all possible combinations and blow tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah three
times, tekiah-shevarim-tekiah three times, and tekiah-teruah-tekiah three times.
However, there is no possibility that it refers to teruah-shevarim and one should
blow teruah and then shevarim. [This is] because when the Torah writes ‘teruah’
the intent is an expression of crying and it isn’t the normal way of one who cries
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to cry short cries first and then [switches to] longer moans. Rather, a person
moans first and then cries short cries. [Also] one should say that they should
have only instituted that we blow tekiah-shevarim-teruah-tekiah, and then one
would have fulfilled his obligation anyway, because if teruah is shevarim, he
already blew it, and if it means tekiah, he also already blew it, and why then
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should he blow tekiah-shevarim-tekiah and tekiah-teruah-tekiah? The reason is
that one must blow tekiah-teruah-tekiah straight, without the interruption of any
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other sound, and if so, perhaps teruah is really [just] shevarim and in which case
the teruah serve as an hefsek between the shevarim and the tekiah which follows,

or, similarly, perhaps teruah means the teruah sound alone and the shevarim is an
interruption between the first tekiah and the teruah.

םדו רשב
as three ‘yebavos’, which Rashi explains to be would be sure to fulfill their Torah obligation.
very short [and rapid] sounds. Yet, a beraisa On the surface, it seems that this was a real
teaches that a teruah is as long as three case of doubt and until R’ Abahu came along,
shevarim. The gemara answers that it is in fact some people were blowing one way, and
a matter of dispute, and there are two others, a different way. Indeed, the Rambam
approaches in understanding a teruah; either understands it this way. However, one should
it is comprised of a few broken, but longer then wonder what happened before R’ Abahu
sounds (which we refer to as shevarim), or, a instituted that everyone blow every
series of very short sounds (which is what we combination. Is it possible that a large
call teruah). The gemara (Rosh Hashana 34a) percentage of the Jewish people were not
tells us that because of this doubt, R’ Abahu fulfilling their obligation to blow the shofar on
enacted that everyone should blow three sets Rosh Hashana? In response to this question,
of every possible combination (tekiah-sheverim Rav Hai Gaon suggested that by Torah law,
-teruah-tekiah, tekiah-shevarim-tekiah, and any crying sound is a valid teruah, be it a
tekiah-teruah-tekiah). This way, everyone series of shevarim, or of teruahs, or a

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