Call of the Shofar was an organization based in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, US, focusing on personal and relational transformation. Call of the Shofar offers workshops assisting individuals to enhance their personal relationships. The organization's director is Steven (Simcha) Frischling.Interview with Simcha Frischling. ''Collive.com''.
/ref>Call of the Shofar raises alarm in Chasidic community. ''Baltimore Jewish Times''.
/ref> Some have termed Call of the Shofar programs "

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

like". Call of the Shofar members have voiced their contention to these designations.

Activities

Programs

Call of the Shofar leads experiential workshops, follow-up groups, teleconferences and private coaching.

Workshops

The "Seasons of Transformation" workshop is a 3-day residential events, usually held over a weekend starting Friday morning until Sunday evening including

Shabbos Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

Locations

Call of the Shofar frequently weekend workshops in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

;

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Dickter, Adam. Views on Cultish Retreats Varies Wildly. ''The Jewish Week''. Feb 26, 2014. Accessed March 10, 2014.
/ref> Other previous locations include

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

;

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Follow-up groups are regularly held in

;

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...

;

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

;

Monsey, New York Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...

;

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

;

and

Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Reception

Although the organization had been in operation for several years, Call of the Shofar had received little media attention up until December 2013. Following the publication of an interview with Frischling, the program received extensive coverage on news blogs and social media. Reviews of the program were mixed. The Call of the Shofar director publicly responded to the allegation posed by many rabbis and professional therapists that his program was a cult.Dickter, Adam. Chabad Leaders Clamp Down on Unorthodox Group Therapy Sessions. ''The Jewish Week''. February 19, 2014. Accessed February 21, 2014.
/ref>

In the Jewish community

Call of the Shofar received several favorable reviews from members of the general Jewish community, and received letters of support by several Jewish psychologists.

In the Chabad community

The program has received mixed to unfavorable reviews from the

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...

community. Rabbi

Shea Hecht Shea Hecht is an American Chabad rabbi, writer and radio broadcaster. He serves as chairman of the board of the National Committee for the Furtherance of Jewish Education. Hecht is a vocal supporter of political candidates. According to ''The G ...

has originally dubbed the program a "kosher cult" (also a "parve cult")."Call of the Shofar is a cult". ''Collive.com''.
/ref> Rabbis

Yaakov Schwei Aharon Yaakov Schwei (July 9, 1934 – April 24, 2020) was an Orthodox rabbi and a member of the Chabad Hasidic movement. Rabbi Schwei served on the Bais Din Tzedek (Jewish Rabbinical Court) of the Chabad community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. R ...

and Yosef Braun of the Crown Heights Beth Din (Rabbinical court) declared that attending programs run by the organization is forbidden under

Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...

. They were joined by the ''Vaad Rabbonei Lubavitch'' ("Central Committee of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbis in the United States and Canada"). While several Chabad rabbis denounced Call of the Shofar, others defended the desire of the program's attendees for seeking spiritual growth. The existing rabbinical approbations supporting Call of the Shofar were called into question by some within the Chabad community, while individual Chabad members have also spoken out in the organization's favor.

Call of the Shofar response

In an interview with the ''

Baltimore Jewish Times The ''Baltimore Jewish Times'' is a subscription-based weekly community publication aimed at the Jewish community of Baltimore. History The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in t ...

'', Frischling claimed to be an ordained rabbi and denied the charges of being a cult leader. Frischling stated that his organization has rabbinical approbations from Rabbi Yaacov Hopfer, of Baltimore's Congregation Shearith Israel, Rabbi

Michel Twerski Rabbi Michel Twerski (born May 1939) is an American Hasidic rabbi and composer of Jewish music. He currently heads the Beth Jehudah congregation in Milwaukee. He is the brother of the psychiatrist Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski. Rabbi Twerski is a de ...

and Rabbi

Shmuel Kamenetsky Shmuel Kamenetsky (born November 1924) is an American Haredi rabbi. He is the co-founder and rosh yeshiva (dean) of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages). Biography Ra ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Kamenetzky's approbation was withdrawn following the unfavorable reviews by rabbis in the

community. An additional approbation was added from Rabbi Yitzchak Breitowitz, of Yeshivas Ohr Sameach,

. An official statement by Friscling was published in the Call of the Shofar website stating that Call of the Shofar programs comply with Jewish law. In an interview with ''

The Jewish Week ''The Jewish Week'' is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. ''The Jewish Week'' covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC. In March 2016, ''The Jewish We ...

'', Frischling described his workshops as "profoundly positive".Dickter, Adam. The Man Behind Call of the Shofar. ''The Jewish Week''. February 19, 2014. Accessed February 21, 2014.
/ref>

References

{{reflist, 2 Jewish organizations based in the United States Large-group awareness training Personal development Jews and Judaism in Baltimore Organizations based in Baltimore Organizations with year of establishment missing