Welcome back to NachDaily. With great excitement we begin Sefer

Nechemiah, which is the last of all the books of Tanach.

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

Over the last 6 years since NachDaily began we have covered every perek in the entire Nach beginning with Sefer Yehoshua in Neviim straight through to the end of Melachi. We have also learned every sefer in in Kesuvim, Mishlei, Tehilim, Iyov, the 5 Megilos, Doniel, Ezra, and now the last one, Nechemia. We even did a mini-series on the secrets of the Aleph Beis, covering every one of the precious Hebrew letters.

Whether you are a beginner and are familiarizing yourself with the stories of Nach or are an expert and want to refresh your mind with these important Books, through NachDaily Nach it is now easy for everyone to understand them.

B’H NachDaily has grown to thousands of regular listeners and readers throughout the world. Little by little, minute by minute, it all adds up to hundreds, if not more hours of Torah learning with close to 1,000 classes! We have connected to the great Nach personalities, Neviim, Tzaddkim and Kedoshai Olam through learning about them and the seforim they wrote.

I am humbled by all the positive feedback and dedication from everyone who has been a part of it since the beginning. B”H many of you are going to be finishing Nach with us, something you should be very proud of. Even if you are not a regular listener or reader, just learning a bit at a time or casually checking in is also amazing in the eyes of Hashem. I’d like to thank you all!

Now let’s begin the introduction to Nechemiah.

The book primarily focuses on Nechemiah’s effort to rebuild the wall of Yerushalayim while creating an infrastructure for the Jewish people to defend itself.

Nechemiah’s role and personality were very different than Ezra’s. Ezra was the supreme religious leader while Nechemiah was extremely pragmatic, diplomatic, and resourceful in “getting the job done.” He was what we would call today an “askan,” one who deeply cares and works for the community to ensure that its practical and logistical needs are cared for.

Nechemiah was able to use his political savvy to influence the Persian court to grant the Jews political autonomy in Yerushalayim. This was huge, as it essentially gave the Jews in Israel the ability to rule themselves. Obviously, this aroused hatred in the hearts in our powerful non-Jewish neighbors who were living in Eretz Yisrael, creating deep seated conflict. Nechemiah skillfully created policies which softened the conflict while simultaneously allowing the Jews of Yerushalayim to arm themselves.

Nechemiah’s involvement was not for self-promotion. As we will learn, he deeply cared about Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and especially about Hashem. Nechemiah did not take a penny for all his services, but contributed large sums of his personal money to communal projects. Nechemiah enforced strict halacha, raised the level of Shabbos observance, and spearheaded the fight against intermarriage.

Sanhedrin 38a positively identifies Nechemiah as Zerubavel who led the first aliyah back to Eretz Yisrael when Koresh had given permission.

The sefer is a first-person narrative written by Nechemiah himself and was originally included in Sefer Ezra but split into two books in later years.

Sanhedrin 93b asks why it was incorporated into sefer Ezra. Two answers are given. 1) Nechemiah took credit for what he did. 2) Nechemiah spoke badly about the governors who preceded him.

From a historical perspective, Nechemiah marks the end of the period known as “Shevas Tzion – The Return to Zion.” It’s interesting to

note that Yerushlayim in the times of Nechemiah was essentially what we now call the old city. B”H we already see how the boundaries of Yerushalayim have grown and expanded so much since then.

May we merit continuing to see the return of our nation back to Eretz Yisrael with the continued rebuilding of the ancient ruins. We will continue Nechemiah’s deep longing for the geulah with the restoration of the 3rd Beis Hamikdash speedily in our days.

Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful day.