622. Pre-Shabbos Shofar Blasts

Shabbos 5:18

Six shofar blasts should be blown in every Jewish community on Friday afternoons. These shofar blasts are blown from a high elevation so that they can be heard by everyone in the city and its suburbs.

Shabbos 5:19

When the first shofar blast is blown, the people in the fields are to stop plowing, digging, and performing other agricultural work. Those who are closer to the city are not permitted to enter until those who are farther away arrive so that everyone enters the city at the same time. Stores may remain open at this time. When the second shofar blast is blown, the stores are to be closed but hot water and pots of food may continue cooking on stoves. When the third shofar blast is blown, a person removes those pots that he plans to remove, insulates those he plans to insulate, and lights Shabbos candles. After waiting the length of time that it would take to roast a small fish or to stick a loaf of bread on an oven wall (as was the case with their ovens), a tekiah, a teruah and another tekiah are blown and all forms of labor are stopped.