Rebbe,
The mishne says the mitzva of shofar on Rosh Hashana is done with the shofar of a yael pashut. Rashi translates yael as steinbok which seems to be a wild mountain goat usually identified as the ibex. It can be seen in Ein Gedi and other places.
Firstly, Rashi never uses a German word like steinbok. He always uses French for his translations. Is this an authentic Rashi or might someone else, (a bachur zitser?), have put that word in. Might the French have simply borrowed it from the German?
Secondly, the ibex's horn is large and curved, not straight. It looks like the letter C. What is pshat?
B'kavod,
Sam Kosofsky, Hillcrest Queens NY USA
(a) The Laz is indeed original and French. According to Otzar Lazei Rashi (Moshe Katan), the word that appears in the manuscripts is "esteinboc", with an Alef at the beginning, which derives from the German "steinbock" and has parallels in all of the Romance languages.
(b) The Yael is indeed identified as the Nubian Ibex (Pfr. Y. Felix, Flora and Fauna of the Talmud). Its antlers are not curved like the rams, but relatively straight. If a length of its antler is used for a Shofar, it will only be slightly curved, as opposed to a ram's horn.
Best regards,
Mordecai Kornfeld
Kollel Iyun Hadaf