Welcome back to another episode of NachDaily with Ezra, Chapter 6.

In the previous perek we learned how the Jews began reconstruction of the 2nd Beis Hamikdash during the reign of King Darius. A governor named Tattinei wrote to Darius encouraging him to stop the Jews from building.

The chapter opens with King Darius searching the royal archives to see if there was an historic precedence for the Jews to build their holy Temple. He found a letter from King Cyrus, written 18 years earlier, giving the Jews permission to rebuild.

It should be noted that the pesukim say King Darius found this letter in the royal archives of Media and not the Babylonian archives where it should have been. The Meforshim point out that someone must have tried to hide the letter from Darius to make sure he wouldn’t give the permission.

The Ramad Walli adds that the very fact that Darius found this letter was a nes.

The content of the letter is recorded in the perek. It essentially says what we’ve been learning about throughout Sefer Ezra. Koresh gave permission and a stipend for the Jews to rebuild the 2nd Temple, even returning the vessels stolen by Nevuchadnetzer.

Darius sent out a memorandum addressing Tattinei’s claim. He commanded Tattinei and the detractors of the Jews to do everything in their power to help with construction and give them whatever they need in supplies and korbanos.

Darius also issued a decree that anyone found trying to interfere with the Jews’ plans or altering his words would be killed and the God of the Jewish people would punish them.

Darius was the son of Queen Esther. This again was none other than Hashem guiding world history to bring about a redemption. Today too, we need to know that although things look bleak at times,

Hashem is setting the stage for His goodness to shine with the rebuilding of the 3rd Beis Hamikdash. When this happens it will be clear to all why these world events were a necessary stepping stone in the redemptive and Messianic process.

The king’s orders were swiftly carried out. The Elders in Yerushalayim proceeded with construction. 4 and a half years later the 2nd Beis Hamikdash was finally completed.

This was a time of celebration. They sacrificed 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs and 12 goats on behalf of the entire Jewish nation, including those still in galus.

Rav Shwab points out that it was not yet the Messianic era because they were still largely under the governing rule of Persia. In the later stages of the redemptive process, in the times of Mashiach, we will no longer be reliant on other rulers.

The end of the chapter describes how for the first time since the 1st Beis Hamkikdash was destroyed the Jews in Eretz Yisrael brought a Korban Pesach for the entire Am Yisrael, even those still in Bavel. They ate matza for 7 days and purified themselves.

How were the Jews able to bring a korban Pesach without being properly m’taher, spiritually purifying themselves, with the ashes of the parah aduma, a red heifer? There are several answers given to this question.

1) The Jews had saved some ashes from the 1st Beis Hamikdash

which had been destroyed approximately 70 years earlier.

2) The Mishna in Parah 3:5 brings that there had only ever been 7 or 8 paras aduma. One of them was made by Ezra. Although Ezra hadn’t yet gone up with the first group to Eretz Yisrael, he sent ashes to them.

3) Generally speaking, just immersing in a mikva is not enough to get rid of tumas meis – the strongest impurity. However, the rule is that “Yuma hutra b’tzibbur,” if everyone is impure, mikva immersion is sufficient.

May we merit the restoration of the 3rd Beis Hamikdash in our days, when once again we will sing songs to Hashem, when we’ll have the ashes of the parah aduma to become totally pure in front of Him once more.

In the next perek we will iy”H learn about Ezra’s return to Eretz Yisrael.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.