Topic Study

• Torah: Wayiqra (Leviticus) 23:1-2, 23-25; Numbers 29:1-6
• Prophets: Joshua 6:1-21, Zephaniah 1:14-18
• Writings: Psalms 81:1-5
• Apostolic: Matthew 6:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
• Additional: Jubilees 6:23-28; Jubilees 12:16-27

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Leviticus 25:8-10
• Numbers 10:1-10
• Numbers 23:16-23
• Numbers 29:1-6
• Numbers 31:1-8
• Joshua 6:1-21
• 1 Samuel 4:1-11
• 2 Samuel 6:12-15
• Ezra 3:1-13
• Nehemiah 8:1-12
• Job 8:20-22
• Job 33:8-33
• Job 38:1-7
• Job 39:19-25
• Psalms 27:6; Psalms 33:3; Psalms 47:5; Psalms 89:15; Psalms 150:5
• Jeremiah 4:19; Jeremiah 20:15-16; Jeremiah 49:2
• Ezekiel 21:22
• Amos 1:14; Amos 2:2

RELATED ADDITIONAL READINGS

• Jubilees 5:27-31
• Jubilees 6:23-28
• Sirach 35:1-17

Torah

23:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them, ‘The appointed times of YHWH, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my appointed times…23 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh new moon, on the first day of the new moon, there shall be a rest for you, a remembrance of a shout*, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no work of service. You shall bring an offering made by fire to YHWH.’ ”

29:1 In the seventh new moon, on the first day of the new moon, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no work of service. It is a day of a shout. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to YHWH: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect; 3 and their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the ram, 4 and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; 5 and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon with its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering with its grain offering, and their libation offerings, according to their judgment, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to YHWH.

Prophets

1:14 The great day of YHWH is near. It is near and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of YHWH. The mighty man cries there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16 a day of shofar and shout* against the fortified cities and against the high battlements. 17 I will bring such distress on men that they will walk like blind men because they have sinned against YHWH, and their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of YHWH, but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his zeal; for he will make an end, yes, a terrible end, of all those who dwell in the land.

Writings

To the Overseer, on the gittith, to Asaph. 81:1 Sing aloud to Elohim, our strength! Make the shout* to the Elohim of Jacob! 2 Raise a song, and bring here the tambourine, the pleasant lyre with the harp. 3 Blow the shofar in the new moon in the covering to our festival day. 4 For it is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the Elohim of Jacob. 5 He appointed it in Joseph for a witness, when he went out over the land of Egypt, I heard a language that I didn’t know.

Apostolic

6:1 Be careful that you don’t do your righteousness before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in the heavens. 2 Therefore, when you do alms, don’t sound a shout* before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Amen, amen, I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you do alms, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, 4 so that your alms may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

4:13 But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so Elohim will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Yeshua. 15 For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from the heavens with a [call of command], with the voice of the chief angel and in the shofar of Elohim. The dead in Messiah will rise first, 17 then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Additional

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

Jubilees 6:23 And on the new moon of the first new moon, and on the new moon of the fourth new moon, and on the new moon of the seventh new moon, and on the new moon of the tenth new moon are the days of remembrance, and the days of the seasons in the four divisions of the year. These are written and ordained as a witness for ever. 24. And Noaḥ ordained them for himself as feasts for the generations for ever, so that they have become thereby a memorial unto him. 25. And on the new moon of the first new moon he was bidden to make for himself an ark, and on that (day) the land became dry and he opened (the ark) and saw the land. 26. And on the new moon of the fourth new moon the mouths of the depths of the abysses beneath were closed. And on the new moon of the seventh new moon all the mouths of the abysses of the land were opened, and the waters began to descend into them. 27. And on the new moon of the tenth new moon the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noaḥ was glad. 28. And on this account he ordained them for himself as feasts for a memorial for ever, and thus are they ordained.

Jubilees 12:16 And in the sixth week, in the fifth year thereof, Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh new moon to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the character of the year with regard to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. 17. And a word came into his heart and he said: “All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out? If He desireth, He causeth it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desireth, He withholdeth it, And all things are in His hand.” And he prayed that night and said “My Elohim, Elohim Most High, Thou alone art my Elohim, And Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen. And Thou hast created all things, And all things that are the work of Thy hands. Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have sway over the thoughts of men’s hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my Elohim. And establish Thou me and my seed for ever That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore.” 21. And he said, “Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to them, or am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of Thy servant that he may fulfil (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O my Elohim.” 22. And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent to him through me, saying: “Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the house of thy father unto a land which I shall show thee, and I shall make thee a great and numerous nation. And I shall bless thee And I shall make thy name great, And thou wilt be blessed in the land, And in thee will all families of the land be blessed, And I shall bless them that bless thee, And curse them that curse thee. (cf. Genesis 12:1-3) 24. And I shall be an Elohim to thee and thy son, and to thy son’s son, and to all thy seed: fear not, from henceforth and unto all generations of the land I am thy Elohim.” 25. And the Lord Elohim said: “Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language which hath been revealed”; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from the day of the overthrow (of Babel). 26. And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to speak with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation. 27. And he took the books of his fathers, and these were written in Hebrew and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he studied them during the six rainy new moons.*

*i.e. the winter since Israel’s winter season is from late October to mid-March. Winter is characterized by rainfall, concentrated in the winter new moons, amounts to around 580 millimeters (23 inches) per annum, and it is quite abundant from December to February.

Related Scriptures

25:8 You shall count off seven Sabbaths of years, seven times seven years; and there shall be to you the days of seven Sabbaths of years, forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall make the shofar shout* to cross over in the tenth day of the seventh new moon. On the Day of Atonements you shall make the shofar cross over in all your land. 10 You shall make the fiftieth year holy, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a yovel to you; and every man shall return to his own property, and every man shall return to his family.

10:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Make two trumpets of silver. You shall make them of beaten work. You shall use them for the convocation of the congregation and for the journeying of the camps. 3 When they blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the door of the Appointed Tent. 4 If they blow just one, then the lifted up ones, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you. 5 When you blow a shout*, the camps that lie on the east side shall go forward. 6 When you blow a shout* the second time, the camps that lie on the south side shall go forward. They shall blow a shout* for their journeys. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not shout*. 8 “The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets. This shall be to you for a statute forever throughout your generations. 9 When you go to war in your land against the adversary who oppresses you, then you shall shout with the trumpets. Then you will be remembered before YHWH your Elohim, and you will be saved from your enemies. 10 “Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed times, and in the beginnings of your new moons, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the slaughters of your peace offerings; and they shall be to you for a remembrance before your Elohim. I am YHWH your Elohim.”

23:16 YHWH met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.” 17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has YHWH spoken?” 18 He took up his parable, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor. 19 Elohim is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it. 21 He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. YHWH his Elohim is with him. The shout* of a king is among them. 22 Elohim brings them out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. 23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has Elohim done!’

31:1 YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the sons of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, that they may go against Midian, to execute YHWH’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You shall send one thousand out of every tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel, to the war.” 5 So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the shout* in his hand. 7 They fought against Midian, as YHWH commanded Moses. They killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

4:1 The word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. 2 The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. 3 When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has YHWH defeated us today before the Philistines? Let’s get the ark of the covenant of YHWH out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the witness of YHWH of Armies, who sits above the keruvim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the witness of Elohim. 5 When the ark of the covenant of YHWH came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout*, so that the land resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” They understood that the ark of YHWH had come into the camp. 7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “Elohim has come into the camp.” They said, “Woe to us! For there has not been such a thing before. 8 Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty elohim? These are the elohim that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!” 10 The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell. 11 Elohim’s ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

6:12 King David was told, “YHWH has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that belongs to him, because of Elohim’s ark .” So David went and brought up Elohim’s ark from the house of Obed-Edom into David’s city with joy. 13 When those who bore the ark of YHWH had gone six paces, he slaughtered an ox and a fattened calf. 14 David danced before YHWH with all his might; and David was clothed in a linen ephod. 15 So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of YHWH with a shout* and with the sound of the shofar.

3:1 When the seventh new moon had come, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Yeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his relatives, and built the altar of the Elohim of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Torah of Moses the man of Elohim. 3 In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to YHWH, even burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They kept the festival of booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the judgment, as the duty of every day required; 5 and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the appointed times of YHWH that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to YHWH. 6 From the first day of the seventh new moon, they began to offer burnt offerings to YHWH; but the foundation of the temple of YHWH was not yet laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia. 8 Now in the second year of their coming to Elohim’s house at Jerusalem, in the second new moon, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Yeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of YHWH’s house. 9 Then Yeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together to have the oversight of the workmen in Elohim’s house: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites. 10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of YHWH, they set the priests in their vestments with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise YHWH, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to YHWH, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted in a great shout*, when they praised YHWH, because the foundation of YHWH’s house had been laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, many also in a shout* in joy, 13 so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout* of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people were shouting a great shout* and the noise was heard far away.

8:1 All the people gathered themselves together as one man into the wide place that was in front of the water gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Torah of Moses, which YHWH had commanded to Israel. 2 Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the assembly, both men and women, and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh new moon. 3 He read from it before the wide place that was in front of the water gate from early morning until the middle of the day, in the face of the men and the women, and of those who could understand. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the Torah. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed YHWH, the great Elohim. All the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” with the lifting up of their hands. They bowed their heads, and did bow down to YHWH with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Yeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the Torah; and the people stayed in their place. 8 They read in the book, in the Torah of Elohim, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the convocation. 9 Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “Today is holy to YHWH your Elohim. Don’t mourn, nor weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Torah. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared, for today is holy to our Lord. Don’t be grieved, for the joy of YHWH is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy. Don’t be grieved.” 12 All the people went their way to eat, to drink, to send portions, and to celebrate, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

8:20 “Behold, Elohim will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers. 21 He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with a shout*. 22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame. The tent of the wicked will be no more.”

33:8 “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, I have heard the voice of your words, saying, 9 ‘I am clean, without disobedience. I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me. 10 Behold, he finds occasions against me. He counts me for his enemy. 11 He puts my feet in the stocks. He marks all my paths.’ 12 “Behold, I will answer you. In this you are not just, for Elohim is greater than man. 13 Why do you strive against him, because he doesn’t give account of any of his matters? 14 For Elohim speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed, 16 then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, 17 that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man. 18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. 19 “He is chastened also with pain on his bed, with continual strife in his bones, 20 so that his life abhors bread, and his soul dainty food. 21 His flesh is so consumed away that it can’t be seen. His bones that were not seen stick out. 22 Yes, his soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the destroyers. 23 “If there is beside him an angel, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to show to man what is right for him, 24 then Elohim is gracious to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom.’ 25 His flesh will be fresher than a child’s. He returns to the days of his youth. 26 He prays to Elohim, and he is favorable to him, so that he sees his face in a shout*. He restores to man his righteousness. 27 He sings before men, and says, ‘I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it didn’t profit me. 28 He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit. My life will see the light.’ 29 “Behold, Elohim does all these things, twice, yes three times, with a man, 30 to bring back his soul from the pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of the living. 31 Mark well, Job, and listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will speak. 32 If you have anything to say, answer me. Speak, for I desire to justify you. 33 If not, listen to me. Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”

38:1 Then YHWH answered Job out of the whirlwind, 2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me! 4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the land? Declare, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6 What were its foundations fastened on? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Elohim will shout*?”

39:19 “Have you given the horse might? Have you clothed his neck with a quivering mane? 20 Have you made him to leap as a locust? The glory of his snorting is awesome. 21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in his strength. He goes out to meet the armed men. 22 He mocks at fear, and is not dismayed, neither does he turn back from the sword. 23 The quiver rattles against him, the flashing spear and the javelin. 24 He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, neither does he stand still at the sound of the shofar. 25 As often as the shofar sounds he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He smells the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and a shout*.

Psalms 27:6 Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer slaughters of a shout* in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to YHWH.

Psalms 33:3 Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout* of joy!

Psalms 47:5 Elohim has gone up with a shout*, YHWH with the sound of a shofar.

Psalms 89:15 The happiness of the people who know of a shout*! They walk in the light of your face, YHWH.

Psalms 150:5 Praise him in cymbals of hearing! Praise him in cymbals of a shout*!

Jeremiah 4:19 My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart! My heart trembles within me. I can’t hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the shofar, the shout* of war.

Jeremiah 20:15 Cursed is the man who brought news to my father, saying, “A boy is born to you,” making him very glad. 16 Let that man be as the cities which YHWH overthrew, and didn’t repent. Let him hear a cry in the morning, and the shout* at noontime

Jeremiah 49:2 Therefore behold, the days come,” says YHWH, “that I will cause a shout* of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and it will become a desolate heap, and her daughters will be burned with fire; then Israel will possess those who possessed him,” says YHWH.

21:22 In his right hand was the lot for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with a shout*, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, and to build forts.

Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with a shout* in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind;

Amos 2:2 but I will send a fire on Moab, and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab will die with tumult, with a shout*, and with the sound of the shofar

Related Additional Readings​

And the water prevailed on the face of the land five new moons-one hundred and fifty days. 28. And the ark went and rested on the top of Lûbâr, one of the mountains of Ararat. 29. And (on the new moon) in the fourth new moon the fountains of the great deep were closed and the flood-gates of the heavens were restrained; and on the new moon of the seventh new moon all the mouths of the abysses of the land were opened, and the water began to descend into the deep below. 30. And on the new moon of the tenth new moon [1309 A.M.] the tops of the mountains were seen, and on the new moon of the first new moon the land became visible. 31. And the waters disappeared from above the land in the fifth week in the seventh year thereof, and on the seventeenth day in the second new moon the land was dry.

Sirach, or Wisdom of Sirach, and also known as the Book of Ecclesiasticus (abbreviated Ecclus.) or Sirach, is a work of ethical teachings, from approximately 200 to 175 B.C., written by the Jewish scribe Sirach of Jerusalem, on the inspiration of his father Joshua son of Sirach, sometimes called Jesus son of Sirach or Yeshua ben Eliezer Sirach. The Sirach was almost completely uncovered in Hebrew in the Dead Sea Scrolls, at Masada, and the Cairo Geniza. The multiplicity of manuscript fragments uncovered in the Cairo Genizah evidence its authoritative status among Egyptian Jewry until the Middle Ages. Quotes from Sirach can be found in Rabbinic literature in multiple places  including the Talmud in Bava Kamma 92b:13 and Hagigah 13a:2. Additionally, the Gospels and other Apostolic Scriptures quote from the Book of Sirach including the Song of Miriam in Luke 1:52 (cf. Sirach 10:14); the description of the seed in Mark 4:5, 16–17 (cf. Sirach 40:15); the statement by Yeshua in Matthew 7:16,20 (cf. Sirach 27:6); and Ya’aqov (James) 1:19 (cf. Sirach 5:11).

35:1 He that guards the Torah makes many offerings; He that takes heed to the commandments slaughters a peace offering. 2 He that returns a kindness offers fine flour; And he that gives alms slaughters a thank offering. 3 To depart from wickedness is a thing pleasing to YHWH; And to depart from unrighteousness is an atoning slaughter. 4 See that you appear not in the face of YHWH empty-handed. 5 For all these things are to be done because of the commandment. 6 The offering of the righteous makes the anoints the altar; And the sweet savor thereof is before the Most High. 7 The slaughter of a righteous man is acceptable; And the memorial thereof shall not be forgotten. 8 Glorify YHWH with a good eye, And diminish not the first fruits of your hands. 9 In every gift show a cheerful countenance, And dedicate your tithe with gladness. 10 Give to the Most High according as he has given; And as your hand has found, give with a good eye. 11 For YHWH recompenses, And he will recompense you seven-fold. 12 Do not offer him a bribe; for he will not accept them: And set not your mind on an unrighteous slaughter; For YHWH is judge, And with him is no partiality. 13 He will not show partiality against a poor man; And he will listen to the prayer of him that is wronged. 14 He will in no wise ignore the supplication of the fatherless; Nor the widow, when she pours out her story. 15 Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek? And is not her cry against him that has caused them to fall? 16 He that serves Elohim according to his good pleasure shall be accepted, And his supplication shall reach to the clouds. 17 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds; And till it come near, he will not be comforted; And he will not depart, till the Most High shall visit; And he shall judge righteously, and execute judgment.

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Rosh Hashanah is not a biblical holiday, although it replaced a biblical one, and is notably different from the holiday it replaced. The biblical holiday, Yom Teruah, had a totally different purpose than Rosh Hashanah, which focuses on the onset of a new year, repentance, and commitment to live the next year properly. Yom Teruah concentrated on new moons and the number seven. The only mention of rosh hashanah, new year, in the Bible is in the writing of the sixth century B.C.E prophet in Ezekiel 40:1. However, Ezekiel was speaking about the first day of the first new moon later called Nisan. He was not talking about the first day of the seventh new moon, later called Tishrei, the date of the current holiday of Rosh Hashanah. According to the Torah in Exodus 12:1, and as recognized by the prophet, the beginning of the year is the new moon later called Nisan. This is the new moon in which the Israelites who were freed from Egyptian slavery became a nation. The new year is celebrated by Pesach and Hag Hamatzot, and the year begins, as does nature, in the spring. It was only during the Babylonian exile of 586 B.C.E that the Judeans accepted the Babylonian concept that the year begins in the fall, and the first day of the seventh new moon starts the new year. –Dr. Israel Drazin “Rosh Hashanah: the New Year that Wasn’t a New Year”

Rosh Hashanah is not mentioned in the Torah, Judaism’s founding religious text, and appears under different names in the Bible. Though the holiday was likely well established by the sixth century B.C., the phrase “Rosh Hashanah” shows up for the first time in the Mishna, a Jewish code of law compiled in 200 A.D.

Customs and Symbols of Rosh Hashanah

Apples and honey: One of the most popular Rosh Hashanah customs involves eating apple slices dipped in honey, sometimes after saying a special prayer. Ancient Jews believed apples had healing properties, and the honey signifies the hope that the new year will be sweet. Rosh Hashanah meals usually include an assortment of sweet treats for the same reason.

Round challah: On Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and other holidays, Jews eat loaves of the traditional braided bread known as challah. On Rosh Hashanah, the challah is often baked in a round shape to symbolize either the cyclical nature of life or the crown of Elohim. Raisins are sometimes added to the dough for a sweet new year.

Tashlich: On Rosh Hashanah, some Jews practice a custom known as tashlich (“casting off”), in which they throw pieces of bread into a flowing body of water while reciting prayers. As the bread, which symbolize the sins of the past year, is swept away, those who embrace this tradition are spiritually cleansed and renewed.

“L’shana tovah”: Jews greet each other on Rosh Hashanah with the Hebrew phrase “L’shana tovah,” which translates to “for a good year.” This is a shortened version of the Rosh Hashanah salutation “L’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem” (“May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year”).

A shofar is a ram’s horn that is blown in synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and every day during Elul, the Hebrew new moon that precedes Rosh Hashanah. It is also blown at the conclusion of Yom Kippur. There are three main types of shofar blasts — tekiah, shevarim and t’ruah. A fourth type, tekiah gedolah, is just a longer version of the regular tekiah blast.

Tekiah – Pronounced tuh-KEE-ah, the tekiah blast is one long note that acts as a kind of summons. Others have suggested that it is the sound of a king’s coronation. On Rosh Hashanah, we are traditionally called to reaffirm Elohim’s sovereignty.

Shevarim – Pronounced shih-vah-REEM, this word literally means “breaks” or “fractures.” The shevarim blast is three medium-length notes that have been compared to the sound of weeping.

T’ruah – Pronounced tih-ROO-ahh, the t’ruah blast is a series of very short, staccato sounds that have been compared to an urgent alarm, calling us to rouse from our spiritual slumber.

The three blasts are sounded in various combinations during the shofar service on Rosh Hashanah. They are traditionally concluded with one long tekiah gedolah (or “great tekiah”) which is similar to, but much longer than, the standard tekiah.