1. Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly
(~ BCE)

2. From Adam to Ezra
God creates the universe, and the “icing on the cake” is mankind.
The Sabbath is declared holy on the last day of the week of Creation: Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11
The Flood (Genesis 6-10)
Dispersion from Babel (Genesis 11)
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (Genesis 12-50)
The Jews leave Egypt
God brings the Jews to Mt. Sinai
God establishes the Sanhedrin
Period of the judges

3. From Adam to Ezra Saul is elected king David is chosen king
Solomon becomes king
Split of the kingdom: northern & southern
Northern kingdom, exiled ~740 BCE
Southern kingdom, exiled ~ BCE

4. Entering and Leaving Exile
Entering exile: 2 Chronicles 36:15-21 (v is the short version of Ezra 1:1-4)
“Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai said: “Why was Israel exiled to Babylonia and not to another land? Because the household of their patriarch Abraham came from there” (Tosefta, Bava Kama 7:2)
Leaving exile: Ezra 1:1-4, 1:7-8
Isaiah prophesies of Cyrus: Isaiah 45:1-6
“When Cyrus read this [referring to Isaiah’s prophecy] and admired the divine power, an earnest desire and ambition seized him to fulfill what was so written” (Josephus’ Antiquities, 2:1)

5. The “Cyrus Cylinder” is pictured above
The “Cyrus Cylinder” is pictured above. It provides us with historical evidence of Cyrus’ sending home of the Jews back to Judea.

6. Rebuilding the Holy Temple
Beit Hamikdash (in Hebrew)
Ezra 3:1-13

7. When did Ezra Live?
So I keep talking about “Ezra” but who was Ezra? Read Ezra 7:1-10
Ezra 4:6 mentions Ahasuerus (Xerxes) being king, pinpointing this event to the same time as the Book of Esther (Esther 1:1, 480s-460sBC). Interestingly enough, Josephus says this: “Upon the death of Darius [grandson of Cyrus], Xerxes his son took the kingdom; who, as he inherited his father’s kingdom, so did he inherit his piety towards God, and honor him; for he did all things suitably to his father relating to divine worship and he was exceedingly friendly to the Jews.”
Ezra 5:1 mentions the prophets Zechariah and Haggai. In Ezra 5:2 it says “the prophets of God were with them, helping them [build the Temple].” Ezra 5:5 says that when Tattenai (the Gentile governor) inquired about the Temple, he went to the “the Jewish elders” but “the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease [building].” Here, Haggai and Zechariah are linked with the “elders of the Jews.”

8. Ezra: Teacher and Leader
Ezra and the priests explain the Law: Nehemiah 8:1-9
The rabbis deduced from Neh 8:5 that the congregation should stand for the reading of the Torah.
Regarding Neh 8:8, this is the basis for reading the Targums in ancient synagogue services, although this is no longer done.
The Spirit gives us legal instruction: Nehemiah 9:20, 9:30, Ezekiel 36:27
Nehemiah 8:13 The priests and the heads of the families gather around Ezra when he read the Law.
Nehemiah 8:16-17 The Jews return to a level of obedience not seen in Israel since Joshua.
Nehemiah 8:18 Ezra read the entire Torah during Sukkot

9. Ezra’s Marriage Halacha
In Ezra 9:1-6 the people come to Ezra to decide a case (in accordance with Deuteronomy 16:18, 17:9-13). Ezra gives them his ruling in Ezra 10:1-5, Notice 10:14 and 10:16 – elders are appointed to act as Ezra’s assistants
Ezra 10:15 – it tells us the judges who were in the minority view and who did not support the final ruling, kind of like the Mishnah and Talmud.

10. Nehemiah’s Sabbath Halacha
Nehemiah 10:29-33 The people swear to do everything the Torah commands – including not buying or selling on Shabbat (which is not specifically commanded)
Nehemiah 13:15-22

11. Mordechai and Esther’s Purim Halacha

12. Men of the Great Assembly
Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 1.1 “Moses received the Law from Sinai and committed it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets committed it to the men of the Great Assembly… Simeon the Just was of the remnants of the Great Assembly…”
It continues… “Jose b. Joezer of Zerediah [280BC] and Jose b. Johanan of Jerusalem received the Law from them… Joshua b. Perahyah and Nittai the Arbelite [~120BC], Judah b. Tabbai and Simeon b. Shetah received the Law from them…Shemaiah and Abtalion received the Law from them… Hillel and Shammai received the Law from them…” Then saying #16 mentions Rabban Gamaliel, the grandson of Hillel. As we know, Paul was the star student of Gamaliel and by extension his halacha would have been that of Gamaliel and Hillel.

13. Conclusion
The Persian emperors were generally friendly toward the Jews and may have even had a positive disposition toward Judaism.
After decades of exile and lawless living, the people submit themselves to Ezra, he priests, and the elders. These men heard cases, decided cases, and helped execute rulings.
During the time of Ezra (550s-470sBC), the Sanhedrin (composed of 70 men) became the Great Assembly (which had 120) men. The Great Assembly formalized the Amidah prayer service and determined the canon of the Tanakh, among other very important things.
Ezra and the men of the Great Assembly formed the foundation of Second Temple Judaism. It’s impossible to understand Second Temple Judaism without a basic knowledge of this topic.