Welcome back to another episode of NachDaily with Nechemiah, chapter 11.

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

Before we begin, it should be mentioned that we are 3 chapters away from completely finishing the entire Tanach and the very first cycle of NachDaily. We will not be learning the sefer Divrei Hayomim as per my Rebbe’s guidance, because we covered it when we learnt all the other seforim of Navi.

This is a huge accomplishment. I know there will be many people finishing Nach for the very first time with NachDaily. Incredible! Iy”H we will be making a siyum, most likely virtually as we have subscribers throughout the globe and want everyone to be able to join together. Details to follow.

This chapter is a complete register of the names of the people who lived in Yerushalayim at that time. The names of the few brave members of our nation who came back to our land when even the Talmidey Chochamim didn’t, are immortalized forever. People were afraid to live in Yerushalayim at that time due to the constant fear of being attacked. Nechemiah therefore had to devise a method to populate the city.

The method chosen was a gorel, lottery. Lots would be cast where 10 percent of the people would be designated to live in Yerushalayim Ir Hakodesh. This is similar to ma’aser when a person gives 10 percent of his crops.

The Ramad Walli explains, on a deeper level, that these weren’t ordinary souls as one might think but among the highest, as they were chosen by Hashem to live in Yerushalayim at that time.

Yerushalayim is considered the Penimyus HaKedusha, the innermost holiness of Eretz Yisrael. Nechemiah therefore understood very well that it needed to be filled with the holiest souls of the Jewish nation.

The Ramad Walli explains that as Yerushalayim is the place of the revelation of Hashem’s Malchus, Kingship, in the world, 1/10th of the people, representing the 10th sefira of Malchus, were chosen to live there. This was all orchestrated with deep intentions by Nechemiah.

It should also be noted that a lottery was used in order to determine the outcome of a particular event to seem “random,” but this is the way it is chosen by God. We find this method used by the goats for Hashem and Azazel on Yom Kippur, by the division of the land in the times of Yehoshua and now determining who will live in Yerushalayim.

It’s really awesome to be learning this because in contrast to that time, the real estate market in Yerushalayim is booming! Who doesn’t want to live there? B’H many of us also have the ability to. I can’t even begin to imagine what Nechemiah’s reaction would be to what is happening now in Eretz Yisrael in general and Yerushalayim specifically.

Nechemiah did his holy work under extreme poverty and conditions, yet persevered, building the 2nd Beis Hamikdash and attempting to bring back our holy nation.

Stay tuned to the next episode of NachDaily. We’re just 2 perakim

away from finishing the entire Tanach!

Thank you for listening and have a wonderful day.