1)

(a)The Beraisa permits blowing a Shofar that is overlaid with gold -provided the area where one places one's mouth is clear.

(b)Abaye reconciles our Mishnah, which permits overlaying the mouthpiece of the Shofar with gold - by restricting this ruling to those areas of the Shofar where the Ba'al Toke'a does not place his mouth, (exactly as the Beraisa says).

2)

(a)The Beraisa comments - that Hash-m said "Zachor" and "Shamor" simultaneously, something that a human mouth cannot speak, and a human ear cannot hear.

(b)Initially, we reconcile this with our Mishnah, which permits blowing the Shofros and the trumpets simultaneously - by giving that as the reason for extending the blowing of the Shofar (so that everyone would at least hear the end of the note, even if they could not hear the beginning).

(c)We cannot learn from the Mishnah later (which states that if the Ba'al Toke'a blew a double-length note at the end of one set of Teki'os, he cannot count it as two notes), that one is obligated to hear the entire note, and not just the beginning - because the reason there could be that it is not possible to divide one note into two, which is not the case here.

(d)We learn that one cannot be Yotzei with just the beginning of the note without the end, from the Mishnah later, which renders Pasul a note that is blown into a pit, because of the echo, despite the fact that the first part of the note is heard clearly (leaving unanswered the Kashya on the Beraisa of Zachor v'Shamor from our Mishnah).

3)

(a)We reject the contention that our Mishnah permits the two notes because they are blown by two people, whereas "Zachor" and "Shamor" were both said by Hash-m - on the basis of the Beraisa in Megilah, which forbids two people together to translate the Torah for the community.

(b)We ultimately ascribe our Mishnah, which permits blowing the Shofros and the trumpets simultaneously - to the fact that, not only is it two people who are blowing, but in addition, the Shofar is something that everyone is keen to hear, and which one therefore makes a special effort to hear properly.

(c)We have a precedent for this in the Seifa of the Beraisa in Megilah - which permits being Yotzei Hallel or the Megilah, from even ten people who are reading it together, because these are things that people are eager to hear.

(d)And the reason that they extended the blowing of the Shofar beyond that of the trumpets - is to stress the fact that the Mitzvah of the day is the Shofar.

4)

(a)With regard to overlaying the Shofros' mouthpieces on a Ta'anis, we learn from the Pasuk ...

1. ... in Beha'aloscha "Aseh Lecha Shtei Chatzotz'ros Kesef" - that every gathering (such as on a Ta'anis) requires silver (and not gold).

2. ... in Metzora "v'Tzivah ha'Kohen u'Finu es ha'Bayis" - that the Torah has pity on the property of a Jew (and tries to spare him unnecessary loss), from which Chazal took their cue to overlay the trumpets with silver rather than gold.

(b)They nevertheless overlaid the Shofros with gold - because Kavod Yom-Tov overrides monetary considerations.

(c)When Rav Papa bar Shmuel tried to introduce the custom of blowing trumpets together with the Shofar - Rava told him that they only did that in the Beis Hamikdash.

(d)We learn this from the Pasuk in Tehilim "ba'Chatzotz'ros v'Kol Shofar Hari'u Lifnei ha'Melech Hash-m" - implying that trumpets accompany the Shofros when it is before Hash-m (in the Beis Hamikdash), but not otherwise.

5)

(a)Rebbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak points out that we say in Musaf of Rosh Hashanah 'Zeh ha'Yom Techilas Ma'asecha Zikaron l'Yom Rishon' - conforming with the opinion of Rebbi Eliezer, who maintains that the world was created in Tishrei (see Tosfos DH 'ke'Ma'an').

(b)The problem Rav Eina has with this is - that since we do not recite the above Pasuk on Yom Kippur of Yovel, how can our Mishnah say 'Shaveh ha'Yovel l'Rosh Hashanah ... ' ?

(c)We resolve the problem - by confining our Mishnah to all the other Berachos (and even to the rest of this Berachah, whose beginning and end are the same on Yom-Kippur of Yovel as on Rosh Hashanah.

(d)Rav Shisha b'rei d'Rav Idi has a slightly different text. According to him, we conclude in the same way as the first Lashon, only due to the insertion of the above Pasuk "Zeh ha'Yom Techilas Ma'asecha ... " - Rebbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak himself initially suggests, that our Mishnah does not go like Rebbi Eliezer.

6)

(a)Our Mishnah invalidates a Shofar which splits and is glued together is Pasul - because it is like two Shofros (and the Torah says one Shofar, and not two, as we learned earlier).

(b)The Tana rules that a Shofar is ...

1. ... not Kasher - if it is made of pieces of broken Shofar stuck together.

2. ... Kasher, if it had a hole which has now been stopped up - provided it does not interfere with the tone of the Shofar (we shall see more details of this Halachah in the Sugya).

(c)He also rules that someone who hears the Shofar ...

1. ... being blown inside a pit or an enclosure or ...

2. ... being blown inside a barrel - is Yotzei, provided he hears the tone of the Shofar, and not that of the echo.

3. ... being blown whilst he is walking behind the Shul is Yotzei - provided both he and the Ba'al Toke'a had in mind that he should be.

7)

(a)A Shofar is Kasher ...

1. ... if it has been shortened - provided it conforms with the minimum length of a Shofar (which will be discussed later).

2. ... if its wall has been scraped away until it is extremely thin - irrespective of which side it was scraped (on the outside or on the inside), or as to how thin it has been scraped.

(b)A Shofar is Kasher if it is overlaid with gold ...

1. ... on the inside - provided it is not overlaid at the spot where the Ba'al Tokei'a places his mouth (as we learned earlier).

2. ... on the outside - provided it does not interfere with the tone of the Shofar.

(c)A Shofar inside a Shofar is Kasher - provided one hears the inner Shofar, but not if it is the outer Shofar that one hears.

8)

(a)The Beraisa invalidates a Shofar that one 'turned'. The simple meaning of this is that one turned it inside out. Rav Papa adds - that even if one merely widened the thin end and made the wide end thin it is Pasul.

(b)Rav Masna learns this from the Pasuk in Behar (in connection with Yovel) "v'Ha'avarta Shofar Teru'ah ba'Chodesh ha"Shevi'i" - implying that the Shofar must be blown the way it grew on the animal's head (i.e. with the inside inside, and at the narrow end, the way it grew [and not inside out or at the opposite end).

9)

(a)A Shofar is Pasul if one stuck another kind of material on to one of the ends - irrespective of whether it was a different material as the Shofar or the same one.

(b)The Tana Kama of the Beraisa invalidates any hole that has been stopped-up (irrespective of which kind of material was used). Rebbi Nasan rules that it is Kasher on three conditions: 1. That it does not interfere with the tone; 2. That it is stopped it up with the same material as the Shofar, to which Rebbi Yochanan adds - that the majority of the Shofar (from the hole towards the mouth) must remain complete.

(c)In the second Lashon, Rebbi Yochanan restricts the Seifa, which invalidates a Shofar that has been stopped-up with a different material, to when the holed area comprised most of the Shofar. According to this Lashon, a holed Shofar that has been stopped-up with the same material only becomes Pasul - if it interferes with the tone of the Shofar.

10)

(a)A Shofar that has split lengthwise is always Pasul. A Shofar that has split widthwise is Kasher - only if the minimum size Shofar between the split and the mouthpiece remains intact (i.e. if it is sufficiently long to hold it in one's hand and still for some of the Shofar to be visible at both ends).

(b)The (natural) tone or pitch of the tone - in no way affect the Shofar's Kashrus.

(c)When they sent to Shmuel's father that if the Shofar has been hollowed, it is Kasher - they meant that instead of removing the entire Shofar from the bone of the animal (that grows inside it), they cut a hole into the bone, into which they will now blow.

(d)The Chidush is - that the same kind ('Min b'Mino') is not considered a Chatzitzah.

11)

(a)The Beraisa, which validates blowing into a pit - refers to those people who are actually standing inside the pit (who always hear the actual tone of the Shofar); whereas our Mishnah, which (sometimes invalidates it) refers to those who are standing outside (who sometimes hear the echo).

(b)This a proof for Rav Huna - who says that those who are standing inside the pit are always Yotzei.

(c)Others ask from the Beraisa ('Yatza') on to the Mishnah ('Lo Yatza') - to which Rav Huna gives the same answer (drawing a distinction between the people who are standing inside the pit and those who are standing outside it).