Midras Bilangan 10:5: Midrash Tanchuma & Sifrei Bamidbar

(Numb. 31:1-2:) “Then the Lord spoke, ‘Exact vengeance for the Children of Israel [on the Midianites].” Let our master instruct us: How many sustained blasts (teqi'ot) does one blow on the eve of the Sabbath to disengage the people from labor? Thus have our masters taught (in Suk. 5:5): One blows three sustained blasts to have the people cease from labor.⁵See Shab. 35b. How? The hazzan of the congregation takes the trumpets and goes up to the roof at the highest point in the city and blows. [Thereupon] whoever is far from the city leaves his work. Then [the hazzan] comes again and blows a second time. [Thereupon] those who are nearer enter the city. When he blows a third time, they place the hammin⁶I.e., the Sabbath food kept warm from Friday. in the oven and light the [Sabbath] lights. [If] he has finished blowing [while] the pot was on the stove, they set it on the ground. If there was a light in a woman's hand, she sets it on the ground. The Sabbath is sanctified with trumpets; and so also are new moons and festivals, as stated (in Numb. 10:10), “When you have a day of rejoicing, at your fixed festivals, and on your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets.” Moreover, when they moved out [from camp], they blew the trumpets to move out, as stated (in Numb. 10:5), “Then you shall blow a short blast (teru'ah) and the camps shall move out.” Also when [the congregation] gathered in, they blew the trumpets, as stated (in vs. 7), “When the congregation assembles, you shall blow sustained blasts and not short ones.” And when an enemy oppresses you, you shall blow the trumpets, as stated (in vs. 9), “And when you go to war [in your land against an enemy who oppresses you, you shall blow the trumpets].” And when they went to make war against Midian, they carried out their vengeance with trumpets, as stated (in Numb. 31:6), “with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the alarm (teru'ah) in his hand.”

(Bamidbar 10:5) "And you shall sound a blast" ("Utekatem teruah"): A teruah (a rapid succession of three notes, tremolo) by itself, and tekiah (a long, sustained sound) by itself. You say, a tekiah by itself and a teruah by itself. But perhaps (in this context) tekiah and teruah are one and the same? (This cannot be, for) (7) "And when the people are to be gathered, you shall sound a tekiah and not a teruah" indicates that tekiah and teruah are distinct sounds. "utekatem teruah": We are hereby taught that a tekiah precedes a teruah. Whence is it derived that a teruah (also) follows a teruah? From (Ibid. 6) :"teruah yitkeu" ("a teruah shall they blow.") R. Yishmael the son of R. Yochanan b. Beroka says: This (derivation) is not needed. It is written (Ibid.) "And when you blow a second teruah." Let "second" not be written. Why is it written? To serve as a prototype (binyan av) for the tekiah, that it be second (i.e., after) the teruah — whence we learn that (in sum he blows) tekiah-teruah-tekiah. This tells me only of (the order in) the desert. Whence do I derive (the same for the order on) Rosh Hashanah? It is written "teruah" here and it is written "teruah" elsewhere (re Rosh Hashanah). Just as "teruah" here — tekiah-teruah-tekiah, so, "teruah" there — tekiah-teruah-tekiah. Three "teruoth" are written in respect to Rosh Hashanah: (Vayikra 23:24) "Shabbaton zichron teruah," (Ibid. 25:9) "Veha'avarta shofar teruah," (Bamidbar 29:1) "Yom teruah yihiyeh lachem" — two tekioth for each (teruah). In sum, on Rosh Hashanah there are three teruoth and six tekioth — two (sets of tekiah-teruah-tekiah) prescribed by the Torah, and one by the scribes: "Shabbaton zichron teruah," "veha'avarta shofar teruah" — by the Torah. "Yom teruah yihiyeh lachem" — This comes for its teaching (that the shofar is blown in the daytime ["yom"], and not at night). R. Shmuel b. Nachmani says in the name of R. Yonathan: One prescribed by the Torah; two prescribed by the scribes. "Shabbaton zichron teruah" — by the Torah. "veha'avarta shofar teruah" and "yom teruah yihiyeh lachem" — These come for their teachings, ("veha'avarta") to teach that there is an unbroken sound (tekiah) before the teruah, and "yom," to teach that the shofar is blown in the daytime.

(Bamidbar 10:5) "And when you blow a teruah, then there shall travel the eastern encampments. (6) And when you blow a second teruah, then there shall travel the southern encampments": Perhaps just as he blows (tekiah-teruah-tekiah [separately]) for the eastern and southern (encampments), thus does he blow (them separately) for the northern and western encampments. It is, therefore, (to negate this) written "a teruah (i.e., tekiah-teruah-tekiah) shall they blow for their travels" — one tekiah (i.e., one set tekiah-teruah-tekiah) for two sides (together, the northern and the western). Other say: (The meaning is) three (i.e., three blowings, tekiah-teruah-tekiah) for each side (northern and western individually).