Let’s Talk About Ezra the Scribe
The Jewish people may not have survived had it not been for Ezra.
Ezra the Scribe is one of the most important Biblical figures, indeed a crucial personality in Jewish history. Yet his biography is mostly obscure. This is unfortunate, because his efforts on behalf of his people proved seminal in the long run to the development of Judaism.
The Jewish people may not have survived had it not been for Ezra. Born in Babylonia in the late sixth, or early fifth, century BCE, he was commissioned by Persian king, Artaxerxes, to go to Judea and help the Jews there flourish. At that time (the fifth century BCE), Judea had been part of the Persian Empire for many decades, and the Jerusalem Temple had been rebuilt. Artaxerxes had also sent his Jewish servant, Nehemiah, to be the governor of Judea at about the same time. Ezra was a Cohen, a priest.
We read the story of Ezra in the book which is named for him. We also read about him in the book named for the governor, Nehemiah. In Jewish tradition, Ezra-Nehemiah is often considered one book, rather that two.
It is in chapter eight of the Book of Nehemiah that we read about Ezra, reciting the Torah of Moses in the public square in Jerusalem; traditionally, the year given for that reading is 444 BCE. My thesis advisor, mentor and friend, Dr. Martin A. Cohen (z’l) said that it was Ezra who made the Torah the “constitution” of the Judean state. As a result of Ezra’s vision and efforts, the Five Books of Moses in scroll form, that is the Sefer Torah, gained a centrality in the religious and community life of the Jewish people which has persisted for more than 24 centuries.
In fact, it is said that Ezra introduced the “Assyrian” or square script to replace the older alphabet of Paleo-Hebrew. It is this square alphabet, borrowed from the Aramaic language, which is still used in Torahs, Bibles, prayerbooks, and Israeli newspapers. It is interesting to observe that much of the Book of Ezra (like the preceding Book of Daniel) is written not in Hebrew but in Aramaic. Aramaic, a sister language to Hebrew, was spoken by the Jews in the Babylonian Captivity of the 500s BCE and used by the Achaemenid Persian Empire to follow.
Rabbinic tradition also maintains that it is Ezra who insisted that the Torah scroll be read not only on Shabbat but also on Mondays and Thursdays. Among traditional Jews, this public synagogal reading three days a week is still in force. For all practicing Jews, the Sabbath reading of the Torah is central to Judaism.
There is more. Our sages also suggested that it was Ezra the Scribe who instituted the Men of the Great Assembly who began the process of canonization of the entire Bible — the Hebrew Scriptures, or Tanakh. Canonization is the process by which books are accepted, or not, as part of Holy Scripture.
Finally, the Bible itself maintains that Ezra “interpreted” the Torah. The Hebrew term used is related to the word Midrash. Midrash, whether legal or folkloristic, is crucial to the spirit of rabbinic Judaism. The first leader to do this, according to the Biblical text, is Ezra himself.
The rabbis clearly saw Ezra the Scribe as a giant. Indeed, the name Ezra itself means, “help.” He is at least partially responsible for the public reading of the Torah, the Hebrew alphabet we use, the idea that the Torah should be part of a larger Bible, and the method of interpretation we call Midrash.
It is fascinating that, as long ago as Ezra’s world was, there is so much continuity with our own situation today. Through dealing with life’s problems, we, like him, can make great spiritual progress, building a lasting legacy.