‘Shofar So Good:’ British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Attempts To Blow Shofar
Boris Johnson attempts to blow the shofar. Image by Twitter Screenshot
(JTA) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted, and failed, to blow a shofar while on a visit to northern England.
During a visit on Friday to meet voters in Doncaster, Yorkshire, the newly minted prime minister was approached by a woman who invited him to “blow the holy shofar.” She explained that the instrument, which she said is “like a trumpet,” is from Israel.
Johnson expressed concern about whether he is allowed to blow the holy instrument, used by Jews on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur and during the month leading up to the high holy days, and the woman responded that “God has authorized you.”
The exchange was posted in a video online by Britain’s Channel 5 News.
Johnson was not able to get a sound out of the instrument, but managed to utter the age-old pun “Shofar so good,” before handing it back to the woman.
Johnson previously tried to blow the shofar in 2011, when the mayor of London, during a ground-breaking ceremony for London’s new Jewish Community Center building in Finchley, North London, which took place the day before Yom Kippur. He managed to get a sound out of it that time, after a short tutorial by then-chief rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
A strange moment for Boris Johnson in #Doncaster as he was asked to blow a holy Shofar horn.
His adviser was not keen but the PM gave it a good go anyway, only to be let down by his technique. pic.twitter.com/6jywCGQicQ
— Channel 5 News (@5_News) September 13, 2019
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Trump’s heedless approach to an Iran deal could be a big problem for Israel
-
Fast Forward In NYC, Itamar Ben-Gvir says he’s changed — and wants ‘the Trump plan’ in Gaza
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.