Israel – The Defense Ministry has no problem purchasing foreign goods: The socks, uniform and even symbols worn by the IDF soldiers are all made abroad.
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Now it turns out that even the shofar (ram’s horn) blown on the High Holidays is being imported from China and Morocco – all in order to save NIS 4,500 (about $1,215).
Ahead of the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur, the Defense Ministry issued a tender for the purchase of 150 ram’s horns. This year, for the first time, a number of foreign manufacturers competed against the Israeli market.
The local manufacturers later learned that their foreign competitors won the bid thanks to a small price difference – NIS 30 ($8) per shofar.
“I offered a shofar for NIS 70 ($19), which hardly leaves me a profit, and the winner made an offer of NIS 40 ($11),” said Avraham Rivak, who has been manufacturing ram’s horns for the IDF for many years. “It’s a pity that the Defense Ministry does something like this.”
The Chief Rabbinate expressed its support for the Israeli manufacturers, but for different reasons.
“In terms of items used for religious purposes, the production must remain in Israel,” said Rabbi Aryeh Levin, head of the ritual objects department at the Tel Aviv Religious Council. “Beyond the economic aspect, there is an aspect of holiness.”
How chin lu made the shofer lshem mitzva?
Exactly what should be done-called free markets
What’s so holier about having a Jew chop off a horn’s ram and drill a hole in it or some Chinese villager doing the same thing but for less? If only the Chinese could help lower prices in the kosher food oligopoly that terrorizes populations with their artificial prices.
Lishem mitzvot parnassa…
What’s next? Sifrai Torah, tefillin and mezuzos?
this is the same thing with mezuzahs,people think of cheaper,when they do not realize that level of yiras shomayim matters a great deal,because what kind of throughts goes through a non-jew,and this does affect us,we put up a higher level of mezuzahs,that cost much more and to be frank,l do feel the differences,isn’t this the reason we tovel our pots and dishes? lifing the level of kedusah matters greatly
I agree with #5 . There has to be some finality as to what can and cannot be manufactured around the world. Please!
Remember how the seculars scream bloody murder when the religious community imports foreign fruit and vegetables during shemittah, saying that they should buy Israeli produce? Haven’t heard them complaining now, though.
How is the shevorim teria going to come out of the shofar? Ching chang chong whoooooooooooo!!
Putting aside the pros and cons of chinese shofros, how amzing is it that we are livng in a time where is a country who’s army provides shofros for its soldiers. Since the times of the bayis sheini we have not had such a thing.
There is no requirement in halacha that a shofar be made in israel. We haven’t seen any gedolim, n all times, to be mehader to use a shofar made in israel. So I don’t understand what these rabbis are talking about.