The Judean faith is central to the Judean culture, and that culture is steeped in the region’s history; therefore, it is beneficial to delve into actual Judean history to truly cement how centrally ingrained in the region were Jews. Jews were not some isolated group nor did Jews ‘appear’ from elsewhere, which is why as we have seen by learning historical facts, some concepts that are now associated solely with Jews, were indeed borrowed from our neighbors and our neighbors borrowed customs and ideas from us.
The ‘modern’ observance of Rosh Hashana dates back to the 6th century BC and was heavily inspired by the Babylonians*, though the name, ‘Rosh Hashana’ did not appear in the Torah, but in the Mishna (first written collection of Jewish oral laws) in 200 AD. Rabbis applied meaning to the holiday as the anniversary of the creation of the earth/mankind per elements of the Judean faith, and as seen below, aspects of which were borrowed from the Babylonians. And the seventh month, Tishrei, is seen as the year’s Shabbat. The importance of introspection, asking for forgiveness, and being inscribed in the book of life also were introduced as unique Judean elements, as well as being judged by God during the days of Awe, Yamim Noraim.
What did Jews observe before the 6th century BC? A Torah-instructed holiday called Yom Teruah, a day of rest and remembrance marked by the sound of the shofar. The 6th century BC is also when Shabbat became to be widely observed by Jews, which makes sense as monotheism fully took hold among Jews during the time of the Babylonian Exile (586 BC).
The earliest historical reference to Shabbat was found in an inscribed pottery shard found in Mesad Hashavyahu, near Ashdod, dated to 630 BC.
- “Depending on time and place, the Mesopotamian New Year began either in the beginning of autumn, on the first day of the seventh month, called Tashritu (the origin of the Hebrew month-name Tishrei, not yet found in the Bible), literally meaning “Beginning,” and in the beginning of spring, on the first day of the first month, called Nisannu (Hebrew Nisan, found in the late biblical texts Esther 3:7 and Nehemiah 2:1), originally a Sumerian word meaning “First-fruit (offering). Thus, even the names of both months exhibit their calendrical role as “beginnings.” The framework in which the New Year’s festival occurred was called the akitu-festival, and it lasted eleven days, beginning on the first of Nisannu and ending on the eleventh of Nisannu.”
– Prof. Uri Gabbay, the Associate Professor of Assyriology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Department of Archaeology
The Babylonians also emphasized the themes of creation, combat & victory, and judgement. These themes, per the work of Professor Gabbay, can be seen in Psalms 74 specifically…” verses 12-17, God’s kingship is associated with a primordial battle against the sea and its creatures, and the creation of the world.”
It is inspiring that Jews today observe Rosh Hashana in much the same way as Jews did thousands of years ago, and will continue, thousands of years in the future.
The mighty shofar is an essential aspect of the High Holidays. Though the shofar can come from a goat, an antelope, or several other animals, the standard horn is that of a ram.
Shofars have deep significant meaning to the Judean race, used as a battle cry during war, in ancient times to dismiss slaves every 50 years, during these upcoming holidays, and traditionally to announce the coming of Shabbat – before town criers and the far more modern Shabbat sirens heard throughout parts of Israel.
An inscription was found at the southwest platform of the Temple Mount indicating it was a place for ‘trumpeting’ – shofar blowing – and from that vantage point, would have been an optimal place to announce the cessation of work ahead of Shabbat. That stone can be seen at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
What is absolutely fascinating is that today, the Jews of Djerba in Tunisia, hear the shofar sounded each Friday evening ahead of Shabbat. Most Jews on that island live in one area, Hara Kabira, and though Jews there today have cell phones and watches to tell time, they relish the significance of hearing the sounds of the shofar. Unfortunately, Jews in other parts of Djerba stopped blowing the shofar each week due to fear of assault by non-Jews, who in that area are Muslims.
Jews ended up across North Africa through various means – first, some came as traders under the command of King Solomon, and much later on, after the destruction of the first Temple in 586 BC. Ptolemy I of Egypt resettled some Jews to eastern Libya (which would serve as one of the significant battle grounds during the 2nd Jewish-Roman war, called the Kitos War, known as the war of the Diaspora Jews). Thousands more Jews were deported by the Romans across North Africa after 70 AD.
What makes a shofar kosher? It has to come from a dead animal, a horned animal, and not from a cow. Though the ram’s horn is the most popular, Yemenite Jews (who ended up in the Hejaz and then moving to other parts of Arabia – Yemen is the southern portion of Arabia – after both 586 BC and 136 AD) typically use gorgeous long twisted shofars, from an antelope called the kudu, as was especially typical of the Jews in Sana’a.
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To book a speaking engagement for your group/community, related to Zionism education, please contact: laureen@tbtnisrael.com.
A bit about me and my Zionism work, if anyone would like to join forces:
For 20 years, I was an anti-Israel Jew, not due to the media, but largely due to the Jewish organizations I was part of, who would misinform that Israel was ‘founded’ in 1948, that Herzl had anything to do with it, or even more laughable, the UN. Antisemitic terms such as ‘Palestinians’ to mean the Arab occupiers, and not the indigenous Jews in Israel, who were called Palestinians from 136 AD – 1948, West Bank, settlers, settlements, Green Line, and East Jerusalem. Other lies included that all Jews were exiled after 136 AD. Or that Jews came to Israel per a Biblical story and not invoking actual history, that Jews literally emerged from Semitic tribes in Judea & Samaria 4,000 years ago.
None mentioned that Gaza was Judean land since 145 BC, and to this day, legally, per international law (Article 80) still belongs to Israel. Or that Gaza was an epicenter of Judean life in numerous eras prior to the liberation of Israel, in 1948, by brave Jews after 20 years of fighting the British occupiers. Or that most of the Arab occupiers in Jewish Gaza are not ‘Gazans’ but former Egyptian nationals settled in after 1947/48 and radicalized, or that the other smaller cohort are former Israeli-Arabs who came to Israel originally from 25 different Muslim nations, and who then fled to Gaza, once Egypt stole Gaza, to help Arab armies kill Jews faster in the 1947-1948 War.
In 2014, I became a Zionist, and began to learn actual Judean history along with the history of Israel, as that is interwoven. Social media posting turned into becoming a published op-ed writer on the topics of Israel, antisemitism, and politics. Thousands of people since then have been converted to being pro-Israel solely by my sharing irrefutable facts and history. To date, I have been published over 50 times in both Jewish and non-Jewish publications. And, in 2022, I launched Taking Back the Narrative (www.tbtnisrael.com), a Zionism education company.
All my materials were triple vetted by top Middle Eastern affairs experts, and in the few years of the company being in operation, 7 classes of Israel Explained: Through the Lens of History have been completed, with on average of 100 students per class (worldwide, over Zoom), a newsletter, a Zionism-oriented podcast, The Zionist Corner, and I have been a featured speaker on podcasts, tv segments, and a speaker for both Jewish and non-Jewish groups in person and online.
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-glossary-combat-antisemitism/
https://tbtnisrael.com/articles/
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-education-services/
https://tbtnisrael.com/tbtn-in-the-media/
https://tbtnisrael.com/zionism-education-class/ (**Registration now open for Fall 2025 class).
My classes are perfect for those who are seeking to effectively push back on antisemitic lies. If anyone is interested in a meeting to potentially partner on any aspect of Zionism outreach, I welcome any inquiries. The range of educational services TBTN offers is outlined above.
I am currently also working on a ‘tear sheet’ on Israel to counter the false ones out there, to spread to colleges and universities for Spring 2026.