Ezra - Mover and Shaker

Who was Ezra? What type of leader was he? Why is he significant?

Torah scholar extraordinaire

Mover and shaker

Influencer

Teacher

ה֤וּא עֶזְרָא֙ עָלָ֣ה מִבָּבֶ֔ל וְהֽוּא־סֹפֵ֤ר מָהִיר֙ בְּתוֹרַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥ן ה' אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיִּתֶּן־ל֣וֹ הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ כְּיַד־ה' אֱלֹקָיו֙ עָלָ֔יו כֹּ֖ל בַּקָּשָׁתֽוֹ׃ (פ)

Ezra 7:6

that Ezra came up from Babylon, a scribe expert in the Teaching of Moses which the LORD God of Israel had given, whose request the king had granted in its entirety, thanks to the benevolence of the LORD toward him.

סנהדרין כ״א ב:כ״ד

תניא

רבי יוסי אומר

ראוי היה עזרא שתינתן תורה על ידו לישראל

אילמלא (לא) קדמו משה

משה הוא אומר (שמות יט, ג) ומשה עלה אל האלקים בעזרא הוא אומר (עזרא ז, ו) הוא עזרא עלה מבבל מה עלייה האמור כאן תורה אף עלייה האמור להלן תורה

Sanhedrin 21b:24

It is taught in a baraita (Tosefta 4:5): Rabbi Yosei says: Ezra was suitable, given his greatness, for the Torah to be given by him to the Jewish people, had Moses not come first and received the Torah already. With regard to Moses the verse states: “And Moses went up to God” (Exodus 19:3), and with regard to Ezra the verse states: “This Ezra went up from Babylon and he was a ready scribe in the Torah of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given” (Ezra 7:6). Just as the going up stated here, with regard to Moses, is for the Torah, which he received from God and transmitted to the Jewish people, so too, the going up stated there, with regard to Ezra, is for the Torah, as he taught Torah to the Jewish people and was suitable to have originally merited to give it.

בבא קמא פ״ב א:ג׳

עשרה תקנות תיקן עזרא שקורין במנחה בשבת וקורין בשני ובחמישי ודנין בשני ובחמישי ומכבסים בחמישי בשבת ואוכלין שום בערב שבת ושתהא אשה משכמת ואופה ושתהא אשה חוגרת בסינר ושתהא אשה חופפת וטובלת ושיהו רוכלין מחזירין בעיירות ותיקן טבילה לבעלי קריין:

Bava Kamma 82a:3

§ The Sages taught that Ezra the Scribe instituted ten ordinances: He instituted that communities read the Torah on Shabbat in the afternoon; and they also read the Torah on every Monday and Thursday; and the courts convene and judge every Monday and Thursday; and one does laundry on Thursday; and one eats garlic on Shabbat eve. And Ezra further instituted that a woman should rise early and bake bread on those days when she wants to bake; and that a woman should don a breechcloth; and that a woman should first comb her hair and only then immerse in a ritual bath after being ritually impure; and that peddlers of cosmetics and perfumes should travel around through all the towns. And Ezra further instituted the requirement of immersion for those who experienced a seminal emission.

תוספות על בבא קמא פ״ב א:ג׳:א׳

ודנין בב' ובה' - וא"ת והלא קודם תקנת עזרא היו בית דין קבועין בכל יום כדאמר בכתובות (דף ג. ושם) א"כ מה תיקן עזרא וכי תיקן שלא יהו קבועין אלא בב' ובה' ואומר ר"ת שלא היו קבועין תחילה בכל יום אלא בעיר אחת והוא תיקן בכל עיר ועיר בב' ובה':

Tosafot on Bava Kamma 82a:3:1

...

משנה ברורה תק״פ:י״ג

(יג) (יג) לא נודע - ובסליחות שלנו איתא שמת עזרא הסופר:

Mishnah Berurah 580:13

it was not known - In our selichot penitential prayers it says that on this day Ezra the Scribe died. (10th Tevet)

סוכה כ׳ א:י״א

ואזדא ריש לקיש לטעמיה דאמר ריש לקיש הריני כפרת רבי חייא ובניו שבתחלה כשנשתכחה תורה מישראל עלה עזרא מבבל ויסדה חזרה ונשתכחה עלה הלל הבבלי ויסדה חזרה ונשתכחה עלו רבי חייא ובניו ויסדוה וכן אמר רבי חייא ובניו לא נחלקו רבי דוסא וחכמים על מחצלות של אושא

Sukkah 20a:11

The Gemara notes: And Reish Lakish follows his line of reasoning stated elsewhere, as Reish Lakish said: I am the atonement for Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons, as initially, when some of the Torah laws were forgotten from the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael, Ezra ascended from Babylonia and reestablished the forgotten laws. Parts of the Torah were again forgotten in Eretz Yisrael, and Hillel the Babylonian ascended and reestablished the forgotten sections. When parts of the Torah were again forgotten in Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons ascended and reestablished the forgotten sections. This expression of deference toward Rabbi Ḥiyya introduces the halakha that Reish Lakish is citing in his name. And so said Rabbi Ḥiyya and his sons: Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis did not disagree concerning the soft mats of Usha,

משנה תורה, מסירת תורה שבעל פה ו׳

אֵלִיָּהוּ קִבַּל מֵאֲחִיָּה הַשִּׁילוֹנִי וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וֶאֱלִישָׁע קִבַּל מֵאֵלִיָּהוּ וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וִיהוֹיָדָע הַכּוֹהֵן קִבַּל מֵאֱלִישָׁע וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וּזְכַרְיָהוּ קִבַּל מִיְּהוֹיָדָע וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְהוֹשֵׁעַ קִבַּל מִזְּכַרְיָה וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְעָמוֹס קִבַּל מֵהוֹשֵׁעַ וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וִישַׁעְיָהוּ קִבַּל מֵעָמוֹס וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וּמִיכָה קִבַּל מִיְּשַׁעְיָה וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְיוֹאֵל קִבַּל מִמִּיכָה וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְנַחוּם קִבַּל מִיּוֹאֵל וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וַחֲבַקּוּק קִבַּל מִנַּחוּם וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וּצְפַנְיָה קִבַּל מֵחֲבַקּוּק וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְיִרְמְיָה קִבַּל מִצְּפַנְיָה וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וּבָרוּךְ בֶּן נֵרִיָּה קִבַּל מִיִּרְמְיָה וּבֵית דִּינוֹ, וְעֶזְרָא וּבֵית דִּינוֹ קִבְּלוּ מִבָּרוּךְ וּבֵית דִּינוֹ.

Mishneh Torah, Transmission of the Oral Law 6

Elijah received it from Ahijah the Shiloite and his tribunal; Elisha received it from Elijah and his tribunal; Jehoiadah the priest received it from Elisha and his tribunal; Zechariah received it from Jehoiadah and his tribunal; Hosea received it from Zechariah and his tribunal; Amos received it from Hosea and his tribunal; Isaiah received it from Amos and his tribunal; Micha received it from Isaiah and his tribunal; Joel received it from Micha and his tribunal; Nahum received it from Joel and his tribunal; Habakkuk received it from Nahum and his tribunal; Zephaniah received it from Habakkuk and his tribunal; Jeremiah received it from Zephaniah and his tribunal; Baruch son of Neriah received it from Jeremiah and his tribunal; Ezra and his tribunal received it from Baruch son of Neriah and his tribunal.

משנה תורה, מסירת תורה שבעל פה ז׳

בֵּית דִּינוֹ שֶׁלְּעֶזְרָא, הֶם הַנִּקְרָאִין אַנְשֵׁי כְּנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. וְהֶם חַגַּי זְכַרְיָה וּמַלְאָכִי, וְדָנִיֵּאל חֲנַנְיָה מִישָׁאֵל וַעֲזַרְיָה, וּנְחֶמְיָה בֶּן חֲכַלְיָה, וּמָרְדֳּכַי, וּזְרֻבָּבֶל; וְהַרְבֵּה חֲכָמִים עִמָּהֶם, תַּשְׁלוּם מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים זְקֵנִים. הָאַחֲרוֹן מֵהֶם הוּא שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק, וְהוּא הָיָה מִכְּלַל הַמֵּאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים, וְקִבַּל תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה מִכֻּלָּן; וְהוּא הָיָה כּוֹהֵן גָּדוֹל, אַחַר עֶזְרָא.

Mishneh Torah, Transmission of the Oral Law 7

The members of Ezra's tribunal are called Men of the Great Assembly, namely: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Nehemiah son of Hacaliah, Mordecai, Bilshan²Ibn Ezra supports the contention that Bilshan is the name of one of Zerubbable's associates (Ibn Ezra; Ezra. 2.2.) See Megilah, 16b. G., Zerubbable and many other scholars with them, totaling the number of an hundred and twenty Elders. The last surviving Elder of among them was Simeon the Just, who was included among the one hundred and twenty, and received the Oral Torah from all of them, and succeeded Ezra to the High Priesthood.

Why didn't Ezra go to Israel straight away? He is only mentioned in Ch7!

מגילה ט״ז ב:י״ט

אמר רב ואיתימא רב שמואל בר מרתא גדול תלמוד תורה יותר מבנין בית המקדש שכל זמן שברוך בן נריה קיים לא הניחו עזרא ועלה

Megillah 16b:19

Rav said, and some say that Rav Shmuel bar Marta said: Studying Torah is greater and more important that building the Temple. A proof of this is that for as long as Baruch ben Neriah was alive in Babylonia, Ezra, who was his disciple, did not leave him and go up to Eretz Yisrael to build the Temple.

רש"י על מגילה ט״ז ב:י״ט:א׳

שכל זמן שברוך בן נריה קיים לא הניחו עזרא ועלה - שיש לך לתמוה למה לא עלה עזרא עם זרובבל בימי כורש עד השנה השביעית לדריוש האחרון לאחר שנבנה הבית כמו שכתוב בעזרא ויבא ירושלם בחדש החמישי היא שנת השביעית למלך וגו' (עזרא ז׳:ח׳) ובמדרש שהיה לומד תורה מפי ברוך בן נריה בבבל וברוך לא עלה מבבל ומת שם בתוך השנים הללו ודאמרן לעיל ברוך נתנבא בשנת שתים לדריוש בבבל היה מתנבא ושולח ספרים לירושלים:

Rashi on Megillah 16b:19:1

That all the time that Baruch son of Neriah lived, Ezra didn't leave him and Move to Israel (Make Aliyah) - That you have to wonder, why didn't Ezra make Aliyah with Zerubavel from the days of Coresh through the seventh year of Darius the Last, after the Beit Hamikdash was constructed as it is written in Ezra, "And he came to Yerushalaim in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king, etc." (Ezra 7), and in the Midrash, that he was learning Torah from the mouth of Baruch son of Neriah in Bavel, and Baruch did not move to Israel (Make Aliyah) and he died there during those years, and that which we say above, "Baruch prophesized in the year two of Darius in Bavel, he would prophesize and send books to Jerusalem:"

Who wrote the Sefer?

The first important point regarding Ezra-Nechemia is that they are two books wrapped up in one. The Talmud (Bava Batra 14b) makes it clear that they are counted as a single work. At the same time, it is noteworthy that the Christian Bible and the Vulgate, a late-4^th century Latin translation, consider Ezra-Nechemia two separate works.

בבא בתרא י״ד ב:י״ב

ומי כתבן משה כתב ספרו ופרשת בלעם ואיוב יהושע כתב ספרו ושמונה פסוקים שבתורה שמואל כתב ספרו ושופטים ורות דוד כתב ספר תהלים על ידי עשרה זקנים ע"י אדם הראשון על ידי מלכי צדק ועל ידי אברהם וע"י משה ועל ידי הימן וע"י ידותון ועל ידי אסף

Bava Batra 14b:12

The baraita now considers the authors of the biblical books: And who wrote the books of the Bible? Moses wrote his own book, i.e., the Torah, and the portion of Balaam in the Torah, and the book of Job. Joshua wrote his own book and eight verses in the Torah, which describe the death of Moses. Samuel wrote his own book, the book of Judges, and the book of Ruth. David wrote the book of Psalms by means of ten elders of previous generations, assembling a collection that included compositions of others along with his own. He included psalms authored by Adam the first man, by Melchizedek king of Salem, and by Abraham, and by Moses, and by Heman, and by Jeduthun, and by Asaph,

בבא בתרא ט״ו א:ב׳

ירמיה כתב ספרו וספר מלכים וקינות חזקיה וסיעתו כתבו (ימש"ק סימן) ישעיה משלי שיר השירים וקהלת אנשי כנסת הגדולה כתבו (קנד"ג סימן) יחזקאל ושנים עשר דניאל ומגילת אסתר עזרא כתב ספרו ויחס של דברי הימים עד לו

Bava Batra 15a:2

Jeremiah wrote his own book, and the book of Kings, and Lamentations. Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote the following, and a mnemonic to remember which books they wrote is yod, mem, shin, kuf: Isaiah [Yeshaya], Proverbs [Mishlei], Song of Songs [Shir HaShirim], and Ecclesiastes [Kohelet]. The members of the Great Assembly wrote the following, and a mnemonic to remember these books is kuf, nun, dalet, gimmel: Ezekiel [Yeḥezkel ], and the Twelve Prophets [Sheneim Asar], Daniel [Daniel ], and the Scroll of Esther [Megillat Ester]. Ezra wrote his own book and the genealogy of the book of Chronicles until his period.

Two conquests - Land and Kedusha... similarities with Yehoshua

ברכות ד׳ א:י״ח

״עַד יַעֲבֹר עַמְּךָ ה׳״ — זוֹ בִּיאָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, ״עַד יַעֲבֹר עַם זוּ קָנִיתָ״ — זוֹ בִּיאָה שְׁנִיָּה. מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים: רְאוּיִם הָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵיעָשׂוֹת לָהֶם נֵס בִּימֵי עֶזְרָא כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה לָהֶם בִּימֵי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן. אֶלָּא שֶׁגָּרַם הַחֵטְא.

Berakhot 4a:18

The Gemara interprets homiletically that until Your people will cross refers to the first entry into Eretz Yisrael during the time of Joshua, while until the people You have acquired pass over refers to the second entry following the exile in Babylonia. Based on the juxtaposition of these two entries in this single verse, the Sages said: Israel was worthy of having a miracle performed on its behalf in the time of Ezra the scribe, just as one was performed on their behalf in the time of Joshua bin Nun. However, transgression caused the absence of a miracle.

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, עמידה, אבות ו׳

מֶֽלֶךְ עוֹזֵר וּמוֹשִֽׁיעַ וּמָגֵן: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' מָגֵן אַבְרָהָם:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Amidah, Patriarchs 6

King, Helper, and Deliverer and Shield.⁵God is a helper in all the fortunes of life by giving us the necessary energy and talents to succeed. He delivers us from both moral and physical suffering, and He shields us by keeping tragedy and evil influences from us. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Shield of Abraham.⁶These words complete the first blessing of Shemoneh Esrei called “Avos” (Patriarchs). And here too we bend our knees and bow when saying, “Blessed are You.” The major theme of this section is to praise God as “the Great”, as manifested in the Divine protection and providence He gave to the Patriarchs, of whom Abraham was the first.—Vilna Gaon

Ezra - Tefillah - our connection with G-d - doing our bit

Yehoshua - Nevuah - G-d doing His bit

The following is a summary of the chapters in Sefer Ezra:
1 - Cyrus’ call to ascend and rebuild the Temple
2 - An accounting of those who made aliya
3 - The construction of the Temple altar
4-6 – Anti-Semitic attempts to block the Temple reconstruction; the Jews finally build the Temple
7 - Ezra’s prayer
8 - Ezra’s aliya
9-10 - Ezra confronts the scourge of intermarriage