Parshat Behalotcha: The Trumpets of Silver

By Daniel D. Stuhlman, DHL

In the fourth aliyah (Numbers 10:1-10) we read instructions for the preparation and use of חצוצרות כסף which is usually translated as “trumpets of silver.” The kohanim are commanded to use these instruments to call the congregation to the אהל מועד (tent of meeting). This is in sharp contrast to the use of an animal horn for the making of a shofar. (For more information on the shofar see my article, “The Translation of Shofar” http://home.earthlink.net/~ddstuhlman/crc109.pdf) The חצוצרות כסף were made of beaten sheets of silver, while a shofar could only come from the horn of an animal. A shofar with a silver mouthpiece or covered in metal is not kosher for ritual use. The חצוצרות כסף by law could only be sounded by the priests.

The root of חצוצרות is possibly .חצר This is not a certain root since this root has at least three other meanings in Biblical Hebrew. Hatzotzra (the singular) is possibly a duplication of the צר and/or onomatopoeia. But this is not certain.

One creates a trumpet by taking a sheet of metal, folding it over a form and then hammering it into shape. The seam is soldered or brazed to connect the two sides, sanded and finally polished to remove any signs of a seam. This process takes a skilled artisan and precision tools to make a usable trumpet. The trumpet was a long narrow instrument compared with the bent shape of shofar.

In the upper left quarter of this picture[1] is a 13^th century representation of a trumpet. There is also a similar picture on the Arch of Titus. Note the bell is aimed skyward. I was told by trumpet players that this is physically difficult and probably counter to the need to project the sound to the audience. Players normally aim the bell toward the audience by holding it parallel to the ground. This is the posture that I found in modern pictures of trumpet players as soloists and in ensembles.

The חצוצרות were used a both a secular and religious instruments (see II Kings 11:14, 2 Samuel 6: 12–16 and Hosea 5:8 for secular uses). It is interesting that we have no modern equivalent to this instrument. It is not used as a religious instrument or even a Jewish symbol. This is a very distinct contrast to the shofar which today is attached to Jewish ritual.

In our parasha the חצוצרות were used only by kohanim as an alarm and to gather tribes. The word, תרועה is used for the sound. This is the same sound as a shofar. Verse 10:8 even says that this blowing is law for all generations. In mesekhet Rosh Hashanah 27a they discuss blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana with חצוצרות on the two sides of the shofar. This verse is also quote in Yoma 3b. (The full discussion of this Gemara is before the scope of this paper.) In Rambam’s Mishna Torah in Hilkhot Shofar he describes the blowing of the shofar with חצוצרות and says we don’t do it that way.

In the Dead Sea Scrolls, The War of the Sons and Lightness and the Sons of Darkness 7:8 – 9:9 (see Theodor Gaster’s translation 3^rd ed. Pages 408-410) is a description of the use of both the shofar and hatzotzrot in a battle. Only the priests and levites blew the sounds for directing the battle. Numbers 10:9 is quoted as a source.

In 10:10 we are told to sound the hatzotzrot in every time of gladness and season, which means every holiday. Since the destruction of the Temples, we do not use musical instruments on Shabbat or holidays. This leaves us with a question as to what we can learn from this section. If we turn to II Chronicles 13:12-14, “See, God is with us as our chief, and His priests have trumpets for sounding …” and I Maccabees 4:40 “… and sounded the ceremonial trumpets and cried out to heaven.” The hatzotzrot were viewed as ceremonial objects and sounded by the priests to give the people courage, direction and cheerfulness. We don’t know exactly how instruments were used in the time of the Temple and we don’t know exactly why Numbers 10:1-10 has no connection to any Talmudic, medieval, or contemporary ritual or liturgy. We have no modern equivalent. I have no final conclusion, because we are missing too much information.

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[1] This picture is from a book in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, A Book of Testament Miniatures of the Thirteen Century. (Found in: http://www.themorgan.org/collections/swf/exhibOnline.asp?id=277)