The Return to Zion
Encyclopedia
The Return to Zion is a term that refers to the event written in the biblical books of Ezra-Nehemiah
in which the Jews returned to the Land of Israel
from the Babylonian exile following the decree
by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great
, the conqueror of the Babylonian empire
in 538 BC, also known as Cyrus's Declaration.
Although the term was first coined after the destruction of the Second Temple
(mentioned in the Song of Degrees
), it was attributed to the event of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile to the Land of Israel after the destruction of the First Temple, following the decree of Cyrus the Great.
The biblical meaning of "The Return to Zion", Aliyah
, was later on borrowed from the ancient event and was adopted as the definition of all the immigrations of Jews to the Land of Israel and the State of Israel in modern times. The modern Aliyah began in the midst of the 19th century, to Jaffa, of the followers of Rabbi
Judah Bibas and Rabbi Judah Alkalai
, known as the Herald of Zionism (מבשרי הציונות) pioneers of modern Zionism
, and up to the rest of the Aliyot (plural of Aliyah) made after the establishment of the State of Israel.
The period between the biblical Return to Zion and the modern one consisted of several attempts of small groups to immigrate to the Land of Israel, and this period could be roughly divided into two categories: one for the Aliyah during the Middle Ages
and during the period of Renaissance
, and the other for the Aliyah during the modern era (18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century).
occupied the Kingdom of Judah
between 597-586 BC. The Babylonian army, under the commandment of Nebuzaradan, also named "chief executioner
" [chief Headsman] by the Bible, had destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem. The king of Judah
, Zedekiah
, was forced to watch his own two sons being slaughtered, and thereafter, his own eyes were put out and he was exiled to Babylon
(2 Kings 25). The population of the middle class and above was also deported alongside King Zedekiah, whereas the Kingdom of Judah was left only with the poor ones.
The deportees were led by Sheshbazzar, also named the prince of Judah, and Zerubbabel
the son of Shealtiel
a descendant of King David. Sheshbazzar, who was probably Shenazzar the son of Jeconiah
, king of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:18), was picked by Cyrus to lead the deportees, but Zerubbabel was appointed shortly afterwards as a representative of the Persian Empire in the Land of Israel (though some claim Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar where the same person). A remnant of Jews in Babylon never lost the affinity they had for Jerusalem as well as their faith in salvation.
According to the books of Ezra-Nehemiah
, a number of decades later in 538 BC, the Jews in Babylon were allowed to return to the Land of Israel, due to Cyrus's declaration, the decree of Cyrus the Great, the ruler of the Persian Empire that had conquered the region and granted the Jews the right to worship their God in Jerusalem, in some form of an autonomy
. Around 50,000 Jews made Aliyah to the Land of Israel, following the decree of Cyrus the Great, whereas most remained in Babylon. The return of the deportees to Judah during the next 110 years to follow since the decree of Cyrus the Great is known as "The Return to Zion", an event that Jews ever since have been inspired by.
), containing Jerusalem and Judea
, which even issued their own small silver coins
inscribed with the three letters Yehud. The borders of Yehud Medinata can be marked today as between Shephelaht Lod
(Lod
's lowland), Tel Azekah
, Keilah
, the Dead Sea
, Jericho
, and Bethel
.
The Yehud Medinata automony has known to inspire the future generation of Jews, their notion of their own national identity and aspirations, the need to end 2000 years of exile since the Babylon captivity and to continue to make Aliyah to the Land of Israel.
The ancient name Yehud Medinata also resembles to the name of modern Hebrew name Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel).
records that the Returnees to the Land of Israel were also faced with some difficulties:
Therefore, though feelings of disappointments were developed among the Zion Returnees, which also delayed the Construction of the Second Temple
that eventually was completed only in 516 BC.
Despite all the difficulties, The Return to Zion was the first time in human history where a people exiled from their homeland by the force of a foreign ruler had returned to their native Soil to reestablish their own joint national home and thereby further contribute to, and encourage the notion of a distinct National Identity for the Jewish people.
in the Hebrew Bible
, the Return to Zion occurred in several waves of Aliyah.
. This Aliyah was named after its leader Sheshbazzar because most scholars have agreed that he is a descendant of the House of Jeconiah, King of Judah.
The Book of Ezra
depicts Sheshbazzar's Aliyah as a consent and encouragement of the Persian King Cyrus:
as well as Joshua the son of Jehozadak who was appointed to Kohen Gadol
(High Priest), in 538 BC.
According to the story detailed in Book of Ezra 42,360 made Aliyah in this wave of Zion Returnees to Jerusalem and Judah. Among them, 24,144 men, 4,289 Kohen
s (Presits), 74 Levites, 128 Singers, 139 Gatekeepers (Singers and Gatekeepers were the roles of the Levites in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that had been past from one generation to another), 392 Nethinim
, 652 could not tell their fathers' houses and their seed, and 12,542 women and children. In addition to those Returnees, 7,337 servants and handmaids joined in. They also brought up their working animals: 736 horses, 246 mules, 435 camels, 6,720 donkeys . A Smaller portion of this wave of Aliyah was well to do, possibly one-sixth of the Zion Returnees, whereas the rest were of a lower class and poor. The Zion Returnees, in this Aliyah, were of the Tribe of Judah
and the Tribe of Benjamin
and settled in their cities and places from before the destruction of the first temple, Solomon's Temple
, as many of them kept scribed documents indicating their Land tenure status of land ownership in various places.
Due to the return of many single men, and the lack of Jewish single women, a phenomenon of mixed marriages with alien women has evolved; probably even the sons of the Kohen Gadol have married alien women. This wave of Aliyah had been on good terms with the Persian Government, whom allowed the Zion Returnees to run a religious autonomy. However, the economy situation was not very well, there was a lack of infrastructures, due to the consecutive ruins in the aftermath of the destruction of the first temple, taxes and many housing needs, as well as consecutive years of harsh drought and other natural disasters that hit the land of Israel, which the Zion returnees suffered from. At those times the Jews have reinstituted the sacrificial offerings to god with the reestablishment of the Altar
in 538 BC (כ"ה בכסלו, שנת ג'רכ"ב). This event was prior to the reconstruction of the newly emerging temple in Jerusalem, which has restored the status of Jerusalem as the heart and soul of the Jewish people. The Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work, but their proposals were declined. Consequently the Jews had suffered from harassment at the hands of the Samaritans. Despite the disruptions and delays in the construction works of the Temple and Jerusalem, on the part of various foes, the Zion returnees have managed to complete the construction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 516 BC.
, in 458 BC. Around 5,000 Jews made Aliyah in this wave of Zion Returnees.
The Talmud
mentions that Ezra
was delayed in making Aliyah to the Land of Israel, because he had to stay alongside his Rabbi, Baruch ben Neriah
, a Talmid (disciple) of Jeremiah
and one of the leading figures among Jews, but too old and weak to make such Aliyah to the Land of Israel . The situation was not easy at the time in the Land of Israel in many ways. The economic burden of heavy taxes was tough for the Jews there, politically; the harassments from various enemies had increased, and they even managed to influence the Persian Government to order the stopping of the construction works of refortification of Jerusalem's City Walls. Religiously, the mixed marriage was a spreading phenomenon that was perceived as a major threat to the culture and the future of the Jews as a nation. Ezra, who was one of the greatest scholars of that generation, made Aliyah in order to improve the situation for the Jews in the land of Israel, and indeed began a serious of initiatives upon his arrival in Jerusalem, that was to influence the life of the Jew there and the days of the Second Temple.
Ezra made Aliyah with an official approval of the Persian Government and license to take out all donated money from exiled Jews and Government officials to the Holy Temple and Jews living in Israel. He was also permitted to transfer holy vessels to the Temple in Jerusalem, and a decree was given to the government treasurers to allocate them with money, wheat, wine and oil. In addition, all which served in the Holy Temple, the Kohens, Levites and Nethinim were given tax exemption, and he was authorized to appoint magistrates and judges and to teach the law of God to the people of Israel, as well as the authority to impose penalties of confiscation, banishment or execution, if needed .
Along with other scholars, Ezra has established the Great Assembly
, which served as the highest authority of deciders on the Halakha
in cases of religious laws and as a body of leaders to the nation of Israel. In addition, he served in the Holy Temple as the Kohen Gadol (High Priest).
Ezra decided on many regulations of the religious laws, Takanat Chachamim, with the purpose of resuming public order in the aftermaths of the destruction of the first temple and the Babylonian exile. Notably, strengthening Jewish relationship to Torah
, strengthening Jewish identity, and preventing assimilation. In that conjunction, he revolutionized the usage of the Hebrew alphabet
.
, in 445 BC. Prior to that, he served as the royal cupbearer to the king of Persia and as Man of the Great Assembly. It is not clear how many Zion returnees have joined him, but the Book of Nehemiah
depicts a strong army escort supplied by the king.
Nehemiah requested to temporarily go to Judah, to the place of his forefathers, in order to rebuild Jerusalem and repair its City walls and his request was approved by the king. For this purpose, he was given permission to cut down woods and was escorted by the army .
Nehemiah divided the construction work into 42 groups of families; each was responsible for its own district. Since Nehemiah found out in advance about the plan of Judah's enemies to come together and wage war against Jerusalem and to wreak destruction, each group would be building and watching at the same time; and thus he managed to prevent it, " The builders of the wall and the carriers of the loads were loading, with one hand doing the work and one holding the sword" (Nehemiah 4:11). In order to ensure the security of Jerusalem, he ordered the builders to lodge overnight in Jerusalem and to blow the horns immediately, when needed.
Due to a tough economic situation, that the people of Israel were under, Nehemiah had to face a public crisis during the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah heard the Jewish people's complaints and got angry at the Jewish nobles and officials for taking advantage of the crisis to make money off the poor Jews, especially those serving in the Holy Temple that were tax exempt, whereas the rest of the people of Israel were feeling the economic burden of heavy taxes by the Persian government. Nehemiah assembled a public hearing and contended with the nobles of Judah. He urged them to restore the poor ones of their fields and houses and relinquish their loans, and in order to set a personal example, he was the first to follow his own steps, proclaiming that he and his close associates would forgo their debts. He managed to get their assurances on this matter, but did not settle with their assurances and put them under oath that they should do according to this promise .
On the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul
, 52 days after the work began, the whole wall was completed . Jews from all classes had taken part in the reconstruction work that provided the poor Jews with livelihood and payments.
After twelve years in the land of Israel, he kept his promise and returned to Persia to the service of his royal master, but due to the deteriorating security, religious and social conditions in the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem in 431 BC, escorted by the army.
He acted with decisiveness upon his return. He ousted Tobiah the Ammonite
who settled himself inside the Holy Temple and placed back the Levites. He stopped the commerce on the Shabbath and acted against mixed marriage that evolved during his absence. In that conjunction, he drove out the Grandson of the Kohen Gadol (high priest) for his own mixed marriage.
In Nehemiah's time, Jerusalem's Jewish population had grown considerably.
Ezra-Nehemiah
Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...
in which the Jews returned to the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
from the Babylonian exile following the decree
Decree
A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
by the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
, the conqueror of the Babylonian empire
Neo-Babylonian Empire
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. Throughout that time Babylonia...
in 538 BC, also known as Cyrus's Declaration.
Although the term was first coined after the destruction of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
(mentioned in the Song of Degrees
Song of Degrees
Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 , that each starts with the ascription Shir Hama'aloth...
), it was attributed to the event of the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile to the Land of Israel after the destruction of the First Temple, following the decree of Cyrus the Great.
The biblical meaning of "The Return to Zion", Aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
, was later on borrowed from the ancient event and was adopted as the definition of all the immigrations of Jews to the Land of Israel and the State of Israel in modern times. The modern Aliyah began in the midst of the 19th century, to Jaffa, of the followers of Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Judah Bibas and Rabbi Judah Alkalai
Judah Alkalai
Judah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai was a Sephardic rabbi in Zemun in the Austrian Empire's District of Velika Kikinda and one of pioneers of modern Zionism....
, known as the Herald of Zionism (מבשרי הציונות) pioneers of modern Zionism
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
, and up to the rest of the Aliyot (plural of Aliyah) made after the establishment of the State of Israel.
The period between the biblical Return to Zion and the modern one consisted of several attempts of small groups to immigrate to the Land of Israel, and this period could be roughly divided into two categories: one for the Aliyah during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and during the period of Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, and the other for the Aliyah during the modern era (18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century).
Babylonian exile
The Babylonian empire, under the ruling of Nebuchadrezzar IINebuchadrezzar II
Nebuchadnezzar II was king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, who reigned c. 605 BC – 562 BC. According to the Bible, he conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and sent the Jews into exile. He is credited with the construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and also known for the destruction...
occupied the Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
between 597-586 BC. The Babylonian army, under the commandment of Nebuzaradan, also named "chief executioner
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
" [chief Headsman] by the Bible, had destroyed the First Temple in Jerusalem. The king of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, Zedekiah
Zedekiah
Zedekiah or Tzidkiyahu was the last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by Babylon. He was installed as king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, after a siege of Jerusalem to succeed his nephew, Jeconiah, who was overthrown as king after a reign of only three months and...
, was forced to watch his own two sons being slaughtered, and thereafter, his own eyes were put out and he was exiled to Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
(2 Kings 25). The population of the middle class and above was also deported alongside King Zedekiah, whereas the Kingdom of Judah was left only with the poor ones.
The deportees were led by Sheshbazzar, also named the prince of Judah, and Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel was a governor of the Persian Province of Judah and the grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of Judah. Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews, numbering 42,360, who returned from the Babylonian Captivity in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia . The date is generally thought to...
the son of Shealtiel
Shealtiel
Shealtiel or Greek-derived variant Salathiel was the son of Jeconiah, king of Judah. The Gospels also list Shealtiel as the son of Jeconiah, while lists him as the son of an otherwise unknown man named Neri...
a descendant of King David. Sheshbazzar, who was probably Shenazzar the son of Jeconiah
Jeconiah
Jeconiah "; ; ), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin , was a king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon in the 6th Century BCE and was taken into captivity. Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible. After many excavations in Iraq, records of Jeconiah's...
, king of Judah (1 Chronicles 3:18), was picked by Cyrus to lead the deportees, but Zerubbabel was appointed shortly afterwards as a representative of the Persian Empire in the Land of Israel (though some claim Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar where the same person). A remnant of Jews in Babylon never lost the affinity they had for Jerusalem as well as their faith in salvation.
The Return to Zion
Ezra-Nehemiah
Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...
, a number of decades later in 538 BC, the Jews in Babylon were allowed to return to the Land of Israel, due to Cyrus's declaration, the decree of Cyrus the Great, the ruler of the Persian Empire that had conquered the region and granted the Jews the right to worship their God in Jerusalem, in some form of an autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
. Around 50,000 Jews made Aliyah to the Land of Israel, following the decree of Cyrus the Great, whereas most remained in Babylon. The return of the deportees to Judah during the next 110 years to follow since the decree of Cyrus the Great is known as "The Return to Zion", an event that Jews ever since have been inspired by.
The Jewish autonomy
The Zion Returnees have settled in what became known as Yehud Medinata. Yehud, or Judah, was a self-governing Jewish province under the ruling of the Persian Empire, and included a small piece of territory out of Eretz Israel (the Land of IsraelLand of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
), containing Jerusalem and Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, which even issued their own small silver coins
Yehud coinage
The Yehud coinage is a series of small silver coins bearing the Aramaic inscription Yehud. They derive their name from the inscription YHD, "Yehud", the Aramaic name of the Persian province of Yehud; others are inscribed YHDH, the same name in Hebrew; it is possible that the former group date from...
inscribed with the three letters Yehud. The borders of Yehud Medinata can be marked today as between Shephelaht Lod
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
(Lod
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
's lowland), Tel Azekah
Azekah
Azekah was a town in the Shephelah guarding the upper reaches of the Valley of Elah, about 26 km northwest of Hebron. It has been identified with biblical Azeka.-Biblical history:...
, Keilah
Keilah
Keilah was a city in the lowlands of Judah . In 1 Samuel, David rescued it from the attack of the Philistines but the inhabitants proved unfaithful to him, in that they sought to deliver him up to Saul . He and his men "departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever they could go.” They fled to the...
, the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
, Jericho
Jericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
, and Bethel
Bethel
Bethel was a border city described in the Hebrew Bible as being located between Benjamin and Ephraim...
.
The Yehud Medinata automony has known to inspire the future generation of Jews, their notion of their own national identity and aspirations, the need to end 2000 years of exile since the Babylon captivity and to continue to make Aliyah to the Land of Israel.
The ancient name Yehud Medinata also resembles to the name of modern Hebrew name Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel).
Difficulties after the return
Ezra-NehemiahEzra-Nehemiah
Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...
records that the Returnees to the Land of Israel were also faced with some difficulties:
- There were some tension created between the Zion Returnees and the local Israelites who resided in the areas of JudeaJudeaJudea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, SamariaSamariaSamaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
and BenjaminTribe of BenjaminAccording to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
. - Additional religious tension was created between them and the SamaritanSamaritanThe Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
because the Samaritans have perceived themselves as Jews in every count, whereas the Zion Returnees have treated them as Goyim (non Jews, Gentile). - Additional difficulty was the livelihood, due to the consecutive years of a harsh DroughtDroughtA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
that hit the land of Israel, shortly after The Return to Zion. - There were also some security difficulties aspects because the City Walls of Jerusalem was destroyed and did not provide defense.
- In addition to all those difficulties, the struggles between the communities' leaders, was also a factor because while Joshua the son of Jehozadak (Joshua the High PriestJoshua the High PriestJoshua the High Priest was, according to the Bible the first person chosen to be the High Priest for the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity The name is also spelled 'Jeshua' in some English versions , and, as with the earlier Joshua, is...
), was satisfied with the Religious Autonomy granted to Jerusalem by the Persians, Zerubbabel aspired to a statehood independence.
Therefore, though feelings of disappointments were developed among the Zion Returnees, which also delayed the Construction of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
that eventually was completed only in 516 BC.
Despite all the difficulties, The Return to Zion was the first time in human history where a people exiled from their homeland by the force of a foreign ruler had returned to their native Soil to reestablish their own joint national home and thereby further contribute to, and encourage the notion of a distinct National Identity for the Jewish people.
Stages of the Return to Zion (Biblical account)
According to the books of Ezra-NehemiahEzra-Nehemiah
Ezra-Nehemiah is the combined biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah - the two were originally one, but were divided by Christians in the 3rd century CE, and in Jewish circles in the 15th century...
in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, the Return to Zion occurred in several waves of Aliyah.
Sheshbazzar's Aliyah
Sheshbazzar's Aliyah (those claiming that Zerubbabel and Sheshbazzar were the same person, associate Sheshbazzar's Aliyah with Zerubbabel's Aliyah), had occurred near after Cyrus's Declaration, in 538 BC. Approximately 1,000 young Jews made Aliya in what became known as Sheshbazzar's Aliyah, out of the notion to redeem the land of Israel form its ruins and to reestablish the Holy Temple on Temple mountTemple Mount
The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as , and in Arabic as the Haram Ash-Sharif , is one of the most important religious sites in the Old City of Jerusalem. It has been used as a religious site for thousands of years...
. This Aliyah was named after its leader Sheshbazzar because most scholars have agreed that he is a descendant of the House of Jeconiah, King of Judah.
The Book of Ezra
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
depicts Sheshbazzar's Aliyah as a consent and encouragement of the Persian King Cyrus:
Zerubbabel's Aliyah
The second wave of Aliyah, known as Zerubbabel's Aliyah, was led by Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the grandson of Jeconiah, king of Judah, and a descendant of the house of DavidDavidic line
The Davidic line refers to the tracing of lineage to the King David referred to in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament...
as well as Joshua the son of Jehozadak who was appointed to Kohen Gadol
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
(High Priest), in 538 BC.
According to the story detailed in Book of Ezra 42,360 made Aliyah in this wave of Zion Returnees to Jerusalem and Judah. Among them, 24,144 men, 4,289 Kohen
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
s (Presits), 74 Levites, 128 Singers, 139 Gatekeepers (Singers and Gatekeepers were the roles of the Levites in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem that had been past from one generation to another), 392 Nethinim
Nethinim
Nethinim was the name given to the Temple assistants in ancient Jerusalem. The term was applied originally in the Book of Joshua to the Gibeonites who converted during the time of Joshua, later in the Book of Ezra they include the Avdei Shlomo the descendants of...
, 652 could not tell their fathers' houses and their seed, and 12,542 women and children. In addition to those Returnees, 7,337 servants and handmaids joined in. They also brought up their working animals: 736 horses, 246 mules, 435 camels, 6,720 donkeys . A Smaller portion of this wave of Aliyah was well to do, possibly one-sixth of the Zion Returnees, whereas the rest were of a lower class and poor. The Zion Returnees, in this Aliyah, were of the Tribe of Judah
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Judah was one of the Tribes of Israel.Following the completion of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes after about 1200 BCE, Joshua allocated the land among the twelve tribes....
and the Tribe of Benjamin
Tribe of Benjamin
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Benjamin בִּנְיָמִין was one of the Tribes of Israel.From after the conquest of the land by Joshua until the formation of the first Kingdom of Israel in c. 1050 BCE, the Tribe of Benjamin was a part of a loose confederation of Israelite tribes...
and settled in their cities and places from before the destruction of the first temple, Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
, as many of them kept scribed documents indicating their Land tenure status of land ownership in various places.
Due to the return of many single men, and the lack of Jewish single women, a phenomenon of mixed marriages with alien women has evolved; probably even the sons of the Kohen Gadol have married alien women. This wave of Aliyah had been on good terms with the Persian Government, whom allowed the Zion Returnees to run a religious autonomy. However, the economy situation was not very well, there was a lack of infrastructures, due to the consecutive ruins in the aftermath of the destruction of the first temple, taxes and many housing needs, as well as consecutive years of harsh drought and other natural disasters that hit the land of Israel, which the Zion returnees suffered from. At those times the Jews have reinstituted the sacrificial offerings to god with the reestablishment of the Altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in 538 BC (כ"ה בכסלו, שנת ג'רכ"ב). This event was prior to the reconstruction of the newly emerging temple in Jerusalem, which has restored the status of Jerusalem as the heart and soul of the Jewish people. The Samaritans made proposals for co-operation in the work, but their proposals were declined. Consequently the Jews had suffered from harassment at the hands of the Samaritans. Despite the disruptions and delays in the construction works of the Temple and Jerusalem, on the part of various foes, the Zion returnees have managed to complete the construction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 516 BC.
Ezra's Aliyah
The third Aliyah of the Zion Returnees was led by Ezra the scribeEzra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
, in 458 BC. Around 5,000 Jews made Aliyah in this wave of Zion Returnees.
The Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
mentions that Ezra
Ezra
Ezra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
was delayed in making Aliyah to the Land of Israel, because he had to stay alongside his Rabbi, Baruch ben Neriah
Baruch ben Neriah
Baruch ben Neriah was the scribe, disciple, secretary, and devoted friend of the Biblical prophet Jeremiah. According to Josephus, he was a Jewish aristocrat, a son of Neriah and brother of Seraiah ben Neriah, chamberlain of King Zedekiah of Judah.Baruch wrote down the first and second editions of...
, a Talmid (disciple) of Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
and one of the leading figures among Jews, but too old and weak to make such Aliyah to the Land of Israel . The situation was not easy at the time in the Land of Israel in many ways. The economic burden of heavy taxes was tough for the Jews there, politically; the harassments from various enemies had increased, and they even managed to influence the Persian Government to order the stopping of the construction works of refortification of Jerusalem's City Walls. Religiously, the mixed marriage was a spreading phenomenon that was perceived as a major threat to the culture and the future of the Jews as a nation. Ezra, who was one of the greatest scholars of that generation, made Aliyah in order to improve the situation for the Jews in the land of Israel, and indeed began a serious of initiatives upon his arrival in Jerusalem, that was to influence the life of the Jew there and the days of the Second Temple.
Ezra made Aliyah with an official approval of the Persian Government and license to take out all donated money from exiled Jews and Government officials to the Holy Temple and Jews living in Israel. He was also permitted to transfer holy vessels to the Temple in Jerusalem, and a decree was given to the government treasurers to allocate them with money, wheat, wine and oil. In addition, all which served in the Holy Temple, the Kohens, Levites and Nethinim were given tax exemption, and he was authorized to appoint magistrates and judges and to teach the law of God to the people of Israel, as well as the authority to impose penalties of confiscation, banishment or execution, if needed .
Along with other scholars, Ezra has established the Great Assembly
Great Assembly
The Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah , also known as the Great Synagogue, was, according to Jewish tradition, an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets to the time of the development of Rabbinic Judaism, marking a transition from...
, which served as the highest authority of deciders on the Halakha
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
in cases of religious laws and as a body of leaders to the nation of Israel. In addition, he served in the Holy Temple as the Kohen Gadol (High Priest).
Ezra decided on many regulations of the religious laws, Takanat Chachamim, with the purpose of resuming public order in the aftermaths of the destruction of the first temple and the Babylonian exile. Notably, strengthening Jewish relationship to Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
, strengthening Jewish identity, and preventing assimilation. In that conjunction, he revolutionized the usage of the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
.
Nehemiah's Aliyah
The fourth Aliyah was led by Nehemiah the son of HacaliahNehemiah
Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...
, in 445 BC. Prior to that, he served as the royal cupbearer to the king of Persia and as Man of the Great Assembly. It is not clear how many Zion returnees have joined him, but the Book of Nehemiah
Book of Nehemiah
The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
depicts a strong army escort supplied by the king.
Nehemiah requested to temporarily go to Judah, to the place of his forefathers, in order to rebuild Jerusalem and repair its City walls and his request was approved by the king. For this purpose, he was given permission to cut down woods and was escorted by the army .
Nehemiah divided the construction work into 42 groups of families; each was responsible for its own district. Since Nehemiah found out in advance about the plan of Judah's enemies to come together and wage war against Jerusalem and to wreak destruction, each group would be building and watching at the same time; and thus he managed to prevent it, " The builders of the wall and the carriers of the loads were loading, with one hand doing the work and one holding the sword" (Nehemiah 4:11). In order to ensure the security of Jerusalem, he ordered the builders to lodge overnight in Jerusalem and to blow the horns immediately, when needed.
Due to a tough economic situation, that the people of Israel were under, Nehemiah had to face a public crisis during the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah heard the Jewish people's complaints and got angry at the Jewish nobles and officials for taking advantage of the crisis to make money off the poor Jews, especially those serving in the Holy Temple that were tax exempt, whereas the rest of the people of Israel were feeling the economic burden of heavy taxes by the Persian government. Nehemiah assembled a public hearing and contended with the nobles of Judah. He urged them to restore the poor ones of their fields and houses and relinquish their loans, and in order to set a personal example, he was the first to follow his own steps, proclaiming that he and his close associates would forgo their debts. He managed to get their assurances on this matter, but did not settle with their assurances and put them under oath that they should do according to this promise .
On the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul
Elul
Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
, 52 days after the work began, the whole wall was completed . Jews from all classes had taken part in the reconstruction work that provided the poor Jews with livelihood and payments.
After twelve years in the land of Israel, he kept his promise and returned to Persia to the service of his royal master, but due to the deteriorating security, religious and social conditions in the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem in 431 BC, escorted by the army.
He acted with decisiveness upon his return. He ousted Tobiah the Ammonite
Tobiah (Ammonite)
Tobiah was an Ammonite official who incited the Ammonites to hinder Ezra and Nehemiah's efforts to rebuild Jerusalem. He, along with Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arab, resorted to a stratagem, and, pretending to wish a conference with Nehemiah, invited him to meet them at Ono, Benjamin...
who settled himself inside the Holy Temple and placed back the Levites. He stopped the commerce on the Shabbath and acted against mixed marriage that evolved during his absence. In that conjunction, he drove out the Grandson of the Kohen Gadol (high priest) for his own mixed marriage.
In Nehemiah's time, Jerusalem's Jewish population had grown considerably.
See also
- History of ancient Israel and JudahHistory of ancient Israel and JudahIsrael and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of ancient Palestine. The earliest known reference to the name Israel in archaeological records is in the Merneptah stele, an Egyptian record of c. 1209 BCE. By the 9th century BCE the Kingdom of Israel had emerged as an important local power before...
- ZionZionZion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
- ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
- Pre-Zionist AliyahPre-Zionist AliyahEver since the Jews were exiled from the Land of Israel, during all generations, many Jews aspired to return to their ancestral homeland. They immigrated as singles, in small groups, with or without immigration permits, and requested to live and be buried in the Land of Israel.The first in the this...
- Jewish diasporaJewish diasporaThe Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
- Gathering of IsraelGathering of IsraelThe Gathering of Israel is the promise given by Moses, in the Hebrew Bible, to the People of Israel before his death, prior to their entrance to Eretz Israel...
- Book of EzraBook of EzraThe Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
- Book of NehemiahBook of NehemiahThe Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Told largely in the form of a first-person memoir, it concerns the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, a Jew who is a high official at the Persian court, and the dedication of the city and its people to God's laws...
- EzraEzraEzra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
- NehemiahNehemiahNehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work rebuilding Jerusalem and purifying the Jewish community. He was the son of Hachaliah, Nehemiah ]]," Standard Hebrew Nəḥemya, Tiberian Hebrew Nəḥemyāh) is the...
- Cyrus the GreatCyrus the GreatCyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
- Cyrus cylinderCyrus cylinderThe Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several fragments, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia in 1879...
- Persian JewsPersian JewsPersian Jews , are Jews historically associated with Iran, traditionally known as Persia in Western sources.Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran. The Book of Esther contains some references to the experiences of Jews in Persia...
- Solomon's TempleSolomon's TempleSolomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, was the main temple in ancient Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount , before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar II after the Siege of Jerusalem of 587 BCE....
(First Temple) - Second TempleSecond TempleThe Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
- Temple in JerusalemTemple in JerusalemThe Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
- Shavei Zion (a MoshavMoshavMoshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
of cooperative agricultural community) - YehudYehudYehud is a city in the Center District in Israel that is part of the joint municipality of Yehud-Monosson. In 2007, Yehud's population was approximately 25,600 .- History :...
(Today a City in Israel) - Yehud coinageYehud coinageThe Yehud coinage is a series of small silver coins bearing the Aramaic inscription Yehud. They derive their name from the inscription YHD, "Yehud", the Aramaic name of the Persian province of Yehud; others are inscribed YHDH, the same name in Hebrew; it is possible that the former group date from...
- Yehud MedinataYehud MedinataYehud Medinata or simply Yehud, was an Achaeminid autonomous province covering Judea and parts of Samaria, located south to Eber-Nari...
(The Jewish Autonomy of the Zion Returnees)
Further Info
- The Return to Zion Jewish virtual library
- The Land of Promise: The Return to Zion MFA.gov.il
- HISTORY: Second Temple Period - Return to Zion MFA.gov.il
- The Persians Jewish virtual library
- Ramat Rahel – Later periods on the coins of Yehud, Jewish virtual library
- The Great Assembly Jewish virtual library
- Ezra the Scribe Chabad
- Between Cyrus and Balfour Declarations [Hebrew and introduction in English], Ancient and modern Return to Zion, Menahem SternMenahem SternMenahem Stern was an internationally acclaimed Israeli historian of the Second Temple period.-Biography:Menahem Stern was born in 1925 in Białystok, Poland. His father was a Lithuanian misnaged while his mother came from a Hasidic family. In his childhood he studied Hebrew and religious texts, but...
, Friedman shin publisher, 2005 http://library.gordon.ac.il/F?func=direct&doc_number=000085670₪t_base=GCL01 http://www3.openu.ac.il/ouweb/owal/new_books1.book_desc?in_mis_cat=110407 http://www.col.org.il/show_news.rtx?artID=21269
- Where the alien women in fact exiled? [Hebrew], Yonina Dor, The question of being aloof during the times of the Return to Zion, The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2006 http://www.publishersrow.com/Preview/AboutBook.asp?shid=0&pg=1&pid=15&bid=649&fid=31&o=1211740873964
External links
- The History of Coins: How We Got From Shekels to Sela'im on coins and Yehud coins, Jewish virtual library