Welcome back to another episode of NachDaily with the 6th chapter of Nechemiah.

[May this segment be a merit for the aliyas neshamos of Raizel bas Moshe, Avraham Aharon ben Yisroel Yitzchok, and Refael ben Yehoshua Falek.]

Nechemiah and the Jews in Eretz Yisrael were forced to defend themselves as they rebuilt the Jerusalem walls at great risk to their lives. In this perek we will learn about the continued opposition to Nechemiah, his strong personality, and the way he directly handled confrontation.

When Sanballat, Toviah, and Geshem the Arab, heard that Nechemiah had completed all the parts of the walls except for the entrance doorways, they began to ramp up the intimidation.

Sanballat and Geshem sent 4 letters asking for a private meeting. They wanted to isolate Nechemiah in order to murder him.

Nechemiah responded to their letters, essentially saying, “I am busy and in the middle of building a great enterprise. I cannot and will not come down to meet you!”

On the 5th time Sanballat sent a young child with a message saying that word had reached the King that you are planning a rebellion against him and you are planning to anoint yourself as the King over Yehudah. Surely he will stop you!

Nechemiah said, “Nothing you’re saying is true! You continually try to intimidate me in order to put a stop to our holy work!”

After this episode Nechemiah went to visit a man named Shemiah ben Daliyah. As we will see, and the Meforshim explain, this man was a false prophet. He would spend his days in a room seemingly praying and meditating so people would think he was a holy prophet.

Nechemiah suspected that his enemies Sanballat and Toviah were conspiring with Shemiah to do harm to him. By this visit, Nechemiah would be able to garner more information about their evil plot.

Shemiah told Nechemiah that they should meet in the Heichel, Sanctuary, of the Beis Hamikdash, because “indeed your enemies want to kill you and you’ll be safe there.” This confirmed that Shemiah was a false prophet because going into the Heichel is a direct violation of the Torah.

Nechemiah immediately perceived this was a set up, making him more vulnerable to attacks as well as delay the building of the final areas of the walls.

Nechemiah’s response was two-fold. One, why do I need to be isolated? Do you think a man like me is going to run away? Two, how can we go into the Heichel and actually live?

Nechemiah prayed to Hashem to punish Toviah, Sanballat, and Noadiah, a false prophetess, and anyone else who tried to humiliate, shame, and disgrace him.

The walls of Yerushalayim were completed on the 25th of Elul. When the surrounding nations heard about the completion, they were immediately shaken and terrified. They understood this was the hand of God. The very fact they were able to finish in such a quick manner under the conditions they were in both physically and with all the pressure and intimidation could have only been accomplished through Divine assistance.

Even with everything that had happened, some of the Jews in Yehudah were still aligned with Sanballat and Toviah. They were constantly trying to infiltrate Nechemiah’s inner circle to gather information. It seems that in many cases they were successful in divulging Nechemiah’s affairs, while Toviah persisted in sending him threatening letters.

Stay tuned to the next episode of NachDaily. Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.