Shulchan
Aruch Chapter 589: Those Required to Blow the Shofer (9
Paragraphs)
1. Anyone who is not obligated to do something cannot cover (be מוציא) other individuals’ obligation (by performing the commandment with them in mind).
2. A deaf person, a fool and a child are exempt. And even if the deaf person can speak but can’t hear, he is unable to perform the commandment. Because since he can’t hear, he is not one who is obligated. [However, one who is capable of hearing but can’t speak may be מוציא other’s obligation.]
3. A woman is exempt since it is a מצות עשׂה שׁהזמן גרמא (positive commandment dependant on a certain time of day or season [1]).
4. A hermaphrodite
may cover (be מוציא) other
hermaphrodites [2]. One whose sex is unknown is not even able to
cover (be מוציא) those
like him.
5. One who is half a slave and half a free man
is unable to perform the commandment (אינו
מוציא),
even for himself. It is necessary for a
free man to blow the Shofer for him, in order that he should be covered (יוציא).
6. Even though women are exempt, they may blow
the Shofer. Similarly, after a man
fulfills the commandment himself, he is still able to blow (again) in order to
be Yotzai [3]
the women. However, they do not make
the blessing and you shouldn’t make the blessing for them. [The custom (of the Askenazim) is that women
make blessings on aמצות עשׂה
שׁהזמן גרמא , and therefore in this case they should
make the blessing for themselves. But others
shouldn’t make the blessing for them if they already fulfilled the
commandment. If you are not only
blowing the Shofer for women, but you are also blowing it to cover a man, you
make a blessing even if you yourself already fulfilled the commandment; as
explained in 585:2.]
7. If one made a vow (נדר) that he can’t have any benefit from his friend, his friend is allowed to blow the Shofer for him in order that he should fulfill the commandment. This only applies when his friend blows the Shofer out of his own volition and decides to cover him. But if the one who made the vow tells him, “blow and be Yotzai me”, it is forbidden [4]. [If he said, “קונם תקיעותיו עלי”, then any scenario is forbidden[5].]
8. One who blows the Shofer for the sole purpose of practicing does not fulfill his obligation. Similarly, those who listen to such a person don’t fulfill their obligation. Also, one who blows to show off without having the in mind the commandment does not fulfill his obligation. If the blower had in mind to fulfill his own obligation, but did not have in mind to be Yotzai others, or if the blower had in mind to be Yotzai others, but the listeners did not have in mind to be Yotzai through him, they do not fulfill their obligation unless both the blower and listener have the proper intentions in mind.
9. If one blows the Shofer and has in mind to cover anyone who hears him, and a listener hears it and has in mind to fulfill his obligation, even though the blower did not have in mind this specific individual who heard him, and did not even know him, the listener is Yotzai since the blower had in mind to cover anyone who hears him. Therefore, one who is traveling on the road or sitting in his house that hears the Shofer blasts from the Shofer blower blowing for the congregation, fulfills his obligation if he has in mind to do so, since the Shofer blower has in mind to cover the public’s obligation
Translated by Jay Dinovitser www.shulchanarach.com 6/27/2006
[1] Women are exempt from such commandments. However, they may do them anyways unless there is a prevailing custom not to do them. Women have the custom to hear the Shofer anyways.
[2] Lit. “his species”
[3] Yotzai =יוציא = to cover
[4] The Mishna Brura writes that the reason for this is that the man is making his friend his messanger. However, he may say “anyone who wants to be Yotzai me may blow” since he is not appointing his friend as his messanger.
[5] This is a special type of vow, explained earlier, that even forbids the benefit of a Mitzvah.