{"id":12225,"date":"2026-07-12T00:06:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T21:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12225"},"modified":"2026-08-05T14:16:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T11:16:37","slug":"17-12-06","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-12-06\/","title":{"rendered":"06. The Acceptance of Torah in the Days of Ezra"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifty-two years after the destruction of the First Temple, Cyrus, king of Persia, granted the Jews of Babylonia permission to return to the Land and rebuild the Temple. Yet only 42,000 volunteered to ascend. The returnees settled in Jerusalem and its surroundings, built the altar, offered sacrifices upon it, and prepared to build the Temple. However, because of accusations sent by the peoples of the land to the Persian kingdom, construction was halted for eighteen years, until Daryavesh II, son of A\u1e25ashverosh and Queen Esther, authorized the building of the Temple (Megilla<\/em> 11b\u201312a, and Rashi there).<\/p>\n

Despite all this, the national and spiritual state of the Jewish people was still at a low point. The overwhelming majority of the nation chose to remain in exile, while the Jewish settlement in the Land was small in number and spiritually impoverished. Few were engaged in Torah; many mitzvot were neglected; and even many from among the kohanim sinned by marrying non-Jewish women. Apparently, many believed that once the Jewish people had become scattered and dispersed among the nations, there was no longer an obligation to observe the mitzvot. It therefore became necessary, at the beginning of this new period, to determine how Torah observance would continue among Israel.<\/p>\n

In the sixth year of the Temple\u2019s construction, Ezra the Scribe, a towering spiritual figure, ascended from Babylonia and began stirring the people to engage in Torah and observe the mitzvot. The Sages described his greatness in remarkable terms: \u201cEzra was worthy for the Torah to be given through him, had Moshe not preceded him\u201d (Sanhedrin<\/em> 21b). They further said: \u201cWhen Torah was forgotten from Israel, Ezra ascended from Babylonia and established it\u201d (Sukka<\/em> 20a). Ezra was not only a sage but also a prophet; according to the Sages, Malakhi was his prophetic name (Megilla<\/em> 15a). About thirteen years after Ezra\u2019s ascent, Ne\u1e25emya, a minister in the Persian court, ascended to Jerusalem with governing authority from the king of Persia. Together, Ezra and Ne\u1e25emya strengthened the Jewish settlement in the Land, both nationally and religiously.<\/p>\n

The Sages compared the nation\u2019s return to the Land in the days of Ezra to its first entry in the days of Yehoshua bin Nun. Just as the nation accepted the mitzvot upon itself when it first entered the Land under Yehoshua, so too it had to accept them anew upon returning in the days of Ezra. And just as those who left Egypt were commanded, after entering the Land, to renew the covenant over the Torah they had received at Sinai, at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eival (Devarim 11:29\u201332; 27:1\u201326), so too the covenant had to be renewed in the days of Ezra (Yerushalmi<\/em>, Shevi\u2019it<\/em> 6:1; Arakhin<\/em> 32b).<\/p>\n

Indeed, this is exactly what the verses describe: in the days of Ezra and Ne\u1e25emya, the nation accepted upon itself to keep the Torah, with special emphasis on the mitzvot that required strengthening. As it is stated (Ne\u1e25emya 10:1\u201340): \u201cAnd because of all this we make a covenant and write it, and our officers, our levi\u2019im, and our kohanim are sealed upon it. And upon those sealed [were the priestly and Levitical clans and the heads of the people] \u2026 And they enter into a curse and an oath to walk in the Torah of God, which was given by the hand of Moshe, servant of God, and to observe and perform all the mitzvot of the Lord our Master, His ordinances, and His statutes. We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land [the non-Jews], nor take their daughters for our sons. And as for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on Shabbat to sell \u2013 we will not buy from them on Shabbat or on a holy day [that is, we will not conduct commerce on Shabbat or festivals]; and we will leave the seventh year [to rest during shemita<\/em>], and every debt [the remission of debts]\u2026 And we will bring the first fruits of our soil and the first fruits of every fruit tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord. And the firstborn of our sons and of our animals, as written in the Torah, and the firstborn of our cattle and our flocks, we will bring to the house of our God, to the kohanim who serve in the house of our God. And the first of our doughs [\u1e25alla<\/em>], our terumot<\/em>, and the fruit of every tree, wine, and oil, we will bring to the kohanim, to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our soil to the levi\u2019im\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

To reestablish Torah among the Jewish people, Ezra the Scribe founded the Great Assembly, the greatest and most important court in Jewish history. It consisted of 120 sages, among them the last prophets. This court examined the state of Jewish life and instituted the structures that would allow the Jewish people to endure even in dispersion, with part of the nation in the Land and the majority outside it. Among other things, the Men of the Great Assembly established the text of the tefillot<\/em> and berakhot, the times for public Torah reading in the synagogues, and the days on which courts would sit to judge interpersonal disputes. Through these measures, the Men of the Great Assembly restored Torah to the Jewish people and laid the foundation for the continued development of the Oral Torah. They raised many students and paved the way for the sages of later generations to issue ordinances and establish safeguards according to the needs of each generation. [7]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

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[7]<\/a>. According to all views, the Sages maintain (Arakhin<\/em> 12b\u201313a) that Ezra ascended near the end of the sixth year after the Temple was built and sanctified the Land for its mitzvot. In the seventh year, they began counting the years for shemita<\/em> and yovel<\/em>. All agree as well that about thirteen years later, Ne\u1e25emya ascended and helped Ezra consolidate his work. When precisely to place the covenant described in Ne\u1e25emya 8\u201310, however, is difficult to determine, and is the subject of disagreement (see Malbim to Ne\u1e25emya 7:73 and the Har\u1e25avot<\/em> here).<\/p>\n

It seems to me that Ezra and Ne\u1e25emya first ascended with Zerubavel, eighteen years before the Temple was built, when they were still young. At that time, Ezra served as scribe for the elders who formalized the covenantal pledge. He then returned to Babylonia to study Torah under his teacher, Barukh ben Neriah (Megilla<\/em> 16b), while Ne\u1e25emya returned to serve in the Persian royal court.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four years after Zerubavel\u2019s ascent, after Barukh ben Neriah had passed away, Ezra the Scribe ascended to the Land in the sixth year after the Temple was built. He became the spiritual leader of the Jewish people, restored the Great Assembly, and brought its enactments to completion by establishing the text of the tefillot<\/em> and berakhot and the order of the years for shemita<\/em> and yovel<\/em>. Ne\u1e25emya ascended after him and strengthened his work. The covenant mentioned in the verses therefore incorporates the various covenants that were accepted over the course of those generations.<\/p>\n

If, after the First Destruction, they continued counting shemita<\/em> years as a matter of custom, without counting yovel<\/em>, then when the count was renewed in the days of Ezra, they simply continued that custom, adding yovel<\/em> only in the fiftieth year. This follows the view of the Sages (Nedarim<\/em> 61a). According to Rashi\u2019s version of the text, even R. Yehuda agrees that they continued the earlier custom (Avoda Zara<\/em> 9b). According to Rabbeinu Tam\u2019s version, however, R. Yehuda maintains that when they resumed counting shemita<\/em> years, the earlier custom lapsed and they began a new order (Arakhin<\/em> 12b; see the Har\u1e25avot<\/em>).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifty-two years after the destruction of the First Temple, Cyrus, king of Persia, granted the Jews of Babylonia permission to return to the Land and rebuild the Temple. Yet only 42,000 volunteered to ascend. The returnees settled in Jerusalem and its surroundings, built the altar, offered sacrifices upon it, and prepared to build the Temple. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-17-12"],"yoast_head":"\n06. 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