I’m walking through the long pedestrian tunnel that connects the Times Square subway station with the Port Authority Bus Terminal. When I reach the halfway point I become aware of a strange, high-pitched barking noise coming from somewhere up ahead of me. The sound is less like a dog than the bleating of a lamb or the bark of a seal – in other words, an unintelligible signal in a NYC subway station during a Tuesday morning commute. The sound doesn’t get louder or quieter as I proceed, which suggests that the source is traveling in the same direction I am. As I near the end of the tunnel where the pathway slopes precipitously (‘Not safe for wheelchairs’ a sign unapologetically announces) the sound gets louder and more frequent. But I still can’t see the source. Various theories cross my mind: a baby? a squeaking wheel? an injured pet? Then, finally, as crowd thins at the stairs leading to the 7 train, I find myself confronted with the culprit: a man dressed incongruously (for this January day) in a T-shirt and flip-flops. He’s wearing a yarmulka and is lugging a cart filled with all manner of overstuffed bags. But the cart itself is not the source of the noise, rather it’s the Shofar the man is blowing on insistently.