[HANASHIR:6713] Re: New Shofar

[LSalvay <LSalvay...>]

Meris,
Yes, we had the same "shofar" odor problem several years ago when someone 
brought my husband a beautiful shofar from Israel (he is one of the 
"baalei-tekiah" at our synagogue). The smell has faded over time (a LONG time), 
but his first recourse was to take the shofar to the car wash (the 
do-it-yourself kind with the high-pressure spray hose) and hose it out 
thoroughly with soap and then clear water. I think he also tried pouring 
vinegar in (I'm not sure if that worked), as well as healthy doses of Lysol 
spray at frequent intervals. 

Everything helped a little bit, but as with so many things, time and patience 
were the most effective solutions to the problem. Remember, the shofar was 
filled with living tissue (cartilage, actually) before it became a musical 
instrument -- it's going to take awhile to lose that smell of rotting flesh 
(Yuck!) (Just tell your daughter to keep lots of breath mints on hand when she 
blows her shofar this Rosh Hashanah!)

Hope this offers some measure of help.

Linda Salvay 

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