Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Surround Sound

September 18, 2025

Q On Rosh Hashanah morning, our shul has an early minyan and a late one in adjacent rooms. The final shofar blasts of the early minyan often come at about the same time as the late minyan’s first ones, and the sound can be heard through the wall. Is that a problem?

A The pattern of the shofar blasts—tekiah, truah, tekiah—is based on drashos from psukim (Rosh Hashanah 33b). We are unsure whether the correct truah sound is shvarim, truah, or shvarim–truah, so we blow all three variants to eliminate any doubt (Rosh Hashanah 34a).

If an additional blast interrupts this pattern, it invalidates the entire sequence. For example, if a shvarim is blown between the tekiah and truah, it invalidates that tekiah–truah–tekiah sequence, so the sequence must be repeated (O.C. 590:8). Likewise if two truos are sounded consecutively (ibid.).

Even if the incorrect blast was blown by someone other than the designated ba’al tokeia, it interrupts the sequence for those who hear it (O.C. 588:2). But Acharonim debate whether hearing an incorrect sound without the intent to be yotzei counts as a hefsek (interruption): The Magein Avraham (590:10) says it doesn’t, but the Mechaber (O.C. ibid. 8) appears to be strict. Based on that, the Chayei Adam (142:16, cited approvingly by Biur Halacha O.C. 580 s.v. kemisaseik) directs that adjacent shuls should stagger their shofar blowings. (It is a problem only when the sound comes during a sequence, not between sequences.)

Bedi’eved, if a foreign sound is heard, one may rely, per the Biur Halacha, on the Magein Avraham. In Orchos Rabeinu (Vol. 2 p. 194) it is reported that the Steipler was not concerned about this issue regarding the tekios at Musaf, as the main mitzvah was fulfilled with the first round of tekios.