From: 	 heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: 	 Tuesday, September 02, 1997 1:00 AM
To: 	 Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: RE: Men of the Great Assembly



From:          "Pamela Jackson" 
To:            heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Subject:       RE:Men of the greate synagouge

hello Eddie and rooters 

Can someone please reply to me today.  I have to do a one page paper 
on Ezra and the men of the greate synagouge.

Please any information will be helpful

Shalom!

From Eddie:
**************

     In 586 B.C.E., King Nebechadnezzar took the Jewish people 
captive to Babylon. God decreed that it was His Will that the 
captivity only be for 70 years. Following this 70 year period, G-d 
would make an open way for the people to return back to the land of 
Israel (Jeremiah 25:8-13).

    The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the events 
following the return of a REMMANT of the Jewish people held captive 
in Babylon. It was a concern of Ezra and Nehemiah and others that the 
knowledge of Torah would be lost among the people in their captivity. 
Therefore, they initiated centers of Jewish learning for the people. 
The concept of the synogogue was created for the purpose of being a 
center of learning for the people so that the knowledge of Torah 
would not be forgotten but continue to be taught from generation to 
generation. When this was done, the structure of the services in the 
Synogogue were patterned after the ceremonies done in the Temple.

     The composite leaders in this effort were called the "Men of the 
Great Assembly".  By tradition, the number of these men were 120. The 
Israeli Knesset today numbers 120 members based upon the number of 
people who were recognized as the "Men of the Great Assembly". 

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