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Allusions in rabbinic literature to the Biblical character of Ezra , the leader and lawgiver who brought some of the Judean exiles back from Babylonian captivity, contain various expansions, elaborations and inferences beyond what is presented in the text of the Bible itself.
According to Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah, Ezra marks the springtime in the national history of Judaism; "the flowers appear on the earth" (Canticles 2:12) are considered a reference to Ezra and Nehemiah. [1]
Ezra was worthy of being the vehicle of the Torah, had it not been already given through Moses. [2] The Torah was forgotten, but Ezra restored it. [3] Were it not for its sins, Israel in the time of Ezra would have witnessed miracles as in the time of Joshua. [4]
Ezra was the disciple of Baruch ben Neriah. [5] his studies prevented him from joining the first party returning to Jerusalem in the reign of Cyrus the Great, the study of the Law being of greater importance than the reconstruction of the Second Temple. According to another opinion, Ezra remained behind so as not to compete, even involuntarily, with Joshua ben Jotzadak for the office of chief priest. Nonetheless, there is a slight controversy within rabbinic sources as to whether or not Ezra had served as Kohen Gadol. [6]
Ezra reestablished the text of the Torah, introducing therein the Assyrian or square characters, possibly as a polemical measure against the Samaritans. [7] He showed his doubts concerning the correctness of some words of the text by placing points over them. Should Elijah, said he, approve the text, the points will be disregarded; should he disapprove, the doubtful words will be removed from the text. [8] These dots are called eser nekudot.
Ezra wrote the Book of Chronicles and the book bearing his name, the Book of Ezra. [9]
Ezra is regarded and quoted as the type of person most competent and learned in the Law (Torah). [10]
The rabbis associate his name with several important institutions. It was he who ordained that three men should read ten verses from the Torah on Monday and Thursday and on Shabbat afternoon; [11] that the "curses" in Leviticus should be read before Shavuot, and those in Deuteronomy before Rosh Hashanah. [12] He ordained also that courts be in session on Mondays and Thursdays; that garments be washed on these days; that garlic be eaten on the eve of Sabbath; that the wife should rise early and bake bread in the morning; that women should wear a girdle; [13] that women should bathe and wash their hair three days prior to their immersion; [14] that peddlers go forth into cities where market days were established; [15] that under certain contingencies men should take a ritual bath; that the reading at the conclusion of the blessings should be min ha-olam ve-ad ha-olam ("from eternity to eternity", against the Sadducees). [16]
His name is also associated with the work of the Great Assembly. [17] He is said to have pronounced the Divine Name according to its proper sounds, [18] and the beginnings of the Hebrew calendar are traced back to him. [19]
Ezra is identified with Malachi by Joshua ben Karha. [20]
According to tradition, Ezra died at the age of 120 in Babylonia. Benjamin of Tudela was shown his grave on the Shatt al-Arab, near the point where the Tigris flows into the Euphrates [21] According to another legend, he was at the time of his death in Babylon, as a courtier in the retinue of Artaxerxes. [22] In the selichah אלה אזכרה for the Tenth of Tevet, the date of Ezra's death is given as the 9th of Tevet. [23]
Masei, Mas'ei, or Masse is the 43rd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the 10th and last in the Book of Numbers. The parashah comprises Numbers 33:1–36:13. The parashah discusses the stations of the Israelites' journeys, instructions for taking the land of Israel, cities for the Levites and refuge, and the daughters of Zelophehad.
Johanan bar Nappaha was a leading rabbi in the early era of the Talmud. He belonged to the second generation of amoraim.
Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE.
According to Jewish tradition the Great Assembly was an assembly of possibly 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, which existed from the early Second Temple period to the early Hellenistic period, roughly coinciding with the Persian hegemony over the nation of Israel. The assembly's members, known as Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, traditionally included such figures as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Mordechai and Zerubbabel.
Rabbah bar Naḥmani was a Jewish Talmudist known throughout the Talmud simply as Rabbah. He was a third-generation amora who lived in Sassanian Babylonia.
Shimon ben Lakish, better known by his nickname Reish Lakish, was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was reputedly born in Bosra, east of the Jordan River, around 200 CE, but lived most of his life in Sepphoris. Nothing is known of his ancestry except his father's name.
Rav Pappa was a Babylonian rabbi, of the fifth generation of amoraim.
Rav Ḥisda was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Kafri, Asoristan in Lower Mesopotamia near what is now the city of Najaf, Iraq. He was an amora of the third generation, and is mentioned frequently in the Talmud.
Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a tanna of the fourth generation. He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Of the many Rabbi Yose's in the Talmud, Yose Ben Halafta is the one who is simply referred to as Rabbi Yose.
Eleazar ben Pedat was a second and third-generation amora or Talmudist from Babylon who lived in Syria Palaestina during the 3rd century.
Hanina ben Pappa was a Jewish Talmudist living in the Land of Israel, halakhist, and aggadist who flourished in the 3rd and 4th centuries.
Samuel ben Nahman or Samuel [bar] Nahmani was a rabbi of the Talmud, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century until the beginning of the 4th century.
Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah is an aggadic midrash on Song of Songs, quoted by Rashi under the title "Midrash Shir ha-Shirim". It is also called Aggadat Hazita, from its initial word "Hazita", or Midrash Hazita.
A takkanah translated as 'improvement', is a major legislative enactment within halakha, the normative system of Judaism's laws. A takkanah is an enactment which revises an ordinance that no longer satisfies the requirements of the times or circumstances, or which, being deduced from a biblical passage, may be regarded as new. A takkanah is enacted by rabbinical decree or ordinance, issued to improve and preserve religious life. It is, therefore, the antithesis of the gezerah (Hebrew: גְּזֵרָה, romanized: gǝzērā. The term is applied also to the institution provided for in the enactment.
Eliezer ben Jacob II was a Tanna of the 2nd century.
The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either
In the Abrahamic religions, the voice of God is a communication from God to human beings through sound with no known physical source.
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the universe or over God's creatures, in given contexts.
Rabbah bar Abuha was a Babylonian rabbi of the second generation of amoraim.
Rabbi Isaac Nappaha, or Isaac the smith, was a rabbi of the 3rd-4th centuries who lived in the Galilee.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Ezra the scribe". The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
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