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The Jewish Return to Eretz

Yisrael
.

Joseph Sonnenblick
Unauthorized duplication prohibited
The Babylonian Empire
Babylonia conquered
Assyria in 612 BCE
The Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar
exiled the Jews twice;
1) 597 BCE taking the
elite of the Jewish
people to Babylonia
2) 586 BCE
destroying Jerusalem
& the Beit Hamikdash
Routes taken by the Exiles
Cyrus the Great King of Persia
Defeats Babylonia
539 BCE

The Babylonian
empire
fell to Cyrus the Great
and the Persians
Persian Empire
The Cyrus Proclamation
Cyrus Cylinder
Describes his Conquest
of Babylon in 539 BCE
Tells how he returned
images of gods to
temples throughout
Mesopotamia
Organized the return to
their homelands of the
Click for Cyrus peoples who had been
Video
held in Babylonia by the
Babylonian kings
Cyrus in The Book of Ezra
IN the first year of , , ,

Cyrus king of Persia, , , , - ,, ,
on the conclusion of ,-
, :, ,, ,
prophecy by the
mouth of Jeremiah, -, , -
Hashem aroused the - , ,- ..
spirit of Cyrus and , ,
- - ,
he issued a
proclamation
, ,
throughout all his ,,- , ,, ,,;
kingdom, and in ,-- , , , ,

writing, saying: Thus

said CyrusWhoever
is among you let
him go up to
Jerusalem.. And build
the Temple of
Cyrus the Great
539 BCE Cyrus the
Great, king of Persia
defeats the
Babylonians
538 BCE Cyrus
Proclamation
a) encourages all
exiled people to
return to their
ancient homelands Click for Persian Empire
Video
b) allows them to
rebuild their religious
shrines and Temples
Cyrus a Benevolent Ruler
Cyrus reverses the
policies of the
Bablyonians and
Assyrians who exiled
their conquered subjects
Cyrus allows the exiled
peoples to return to their
native homes
Cyrus and the Temple
, , ,
, - ,- ,, ,
,
,
, ,
.

Cyrus returns the


vessels of the
Temple which had
been taken from
Jerusalem
The Cyrus Proclamation:
Sources
The Book of Ezra

Cyrus Cylinder

Link to the British Museum & the


Cyrus Cylinder
Do the Jews Return to Israel?
Questions for thought:
Why throughout their
history did Jews stay in
the exile (the Galut)
and not return to
Israel?
Why dont Jews today
in the west move to
Israel in large
numbers?
What pctg of US Jews
move to Israel?
Zerubavel and the 1 Aliyah st

In 538 BCE
Zerubavel, a
member of the
Davidic dynasty
returns to Judea
with 42,360 Jews
They build a
and bring ,
Begin to build the
foundation for the
Temple
Opposition to Rebuilding the
The Samaritans, aTemple
mix
of tribes sent originally
by Sennacherib offer to
rebuild the Temple
together with the Jews
Zerubavel refuses their
help
The Samaritans attempt
to disrupt plans write
letters to the Persian
king; accuse the Jews of
disloyalty
Building of the Temple is
Completion of the Temple
In 516 BCE with the
encouragement of
Chagai, Malachi and
Zecharya the last
of the prophets
the Temple is
completed
,,, ,-
,, ,
; , , 70 years after its destruction
according to the prophecy of
-,
,, , ,
Jeremiah
, --
. -
Ezra and the 2nd Aliyah
Ezra HaSofer gets
permission from the
Persian king to return to
Judea
Given mandate to appoint
judges and establish
Torah law as the law of
the land
Sees intermarriage &
Chillul Shabbat
Ezra is an inspirational
leader
Organizes public
gathering
Reforms of Ezra
Public Reading of
the Torah on
Mondays and
Thursdays
Instituted a
covenant with the
people to
* keep Shabbat
* observe
Shmittah
* Provide wood for
The Anshei Knesset
Hagedolah
Ezra is one of the
founders of the Anshei
Knesset Hagedolah Men
of the Great Assembly
Their Accomplishments Include:

- Establishing the Order, Content &


Language of prayer
- Determine what books are included
in Tanach (the Canon) (these writings
are a) holy, b) authoritative, c) divinely
inspired
- Serve as a Conduit for transmission
Nehemiah the 3 Aliyah rd

Cupbearer to the Persian


king
Hears of deteriorating
state of Jerusalem walls
Given permission to go to
Jerusalem to rebuild the
walls
in 445 BCE
Samaritans again accuse
the Jews of fomenting
rebellion Who are the Samaritans?
Jews forced to rebuild Hear a real Samaritan
priest !
while bearing arms
Completes job in 52 days
Nehemiahs Return
Nehemiah forced to
return to Judea
because:
Shabbat Laws are not
being enforced
Intermarriage with
non-Jews is high
The Leviim were not
being paid and had
abandoned their
Temple
Jewish Settlements in the
Persian Empire
Elephantine served as a fortress
during the Persian occupation of
Egypt. Jewish soldier served as
mercenaries for the Persians.
A magnificent Temple was
also built modeled after the
one in Jerusalem
The Elephantine Papyri
The Collection contains Letters,
business contracts & texts that
document daily life
of a Jewish military colony in
Elephantine

The Passover Letter Gives


archaeological evidence to
the celebration of Passover
by Jews in Elephantine in 418

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