Bereshith
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ:
B’re-shit ba-ra E-lo-him et ha-sha-ma-yim v’et ha-a-retz.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ~ Genesis 1:1
This week we begin anew, YHWH's yearly cycle of Building Character through the Themes of the Weekly Torah Portion.
Ezra’s first clearly recorded public teaching of the Torah to the assembled people occurs in Nehemiah 8, not immediately when he first arrived in Jerusalem.
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. Ezra 7:8–10 says he came specifically because he had:
“prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” — Ezra 7:10 NKJV
That was approximately 458–457 BC under the usual chronology. He was authorized to teach and enforce Torah among the returned exiles (Ezra 7:25–26), and Ezra 9–10 shows him already functioning as a Torah teacher and reformer.
But the great, unmistakably public Torah teaching event happens later, after Nehemiah rebuilt Jerusalem’s wall.
The wall was completed on the 25th of Elul (Nehemiah 6:15). Then, only days later:
“Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses.” — Nehemiah 8:1
This occurred on the first day of the seventh month — Tishri 1, the day associated with Yom Teruah:
“So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.” — Nehemiah 8:2
Ezra stood on a wooden platform, opened the Torah before everyone, blessed YHWH, and then Ezra and the Levites explained the meaning of the text:
“So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” — Nehemiah 8:8.
Under the standard chronology, this was around 445/444 BC, roughly 13 years after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem.
The Significance:
Ezra 7 — Ezra prepares himself:
Seek Torah → Do Torah → Teach Torah.
Ezra 9–10 — Ezra confronts covenant unfaithfulness.
Nehemiah 1–6 — Jerusalem’s defenses and order are restored.
Nehemiah 8 — Torah returns to the center of public life.
And notice something important: the people asked for it.
“They told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses. (Torah)”
Ezra did not simply announce a lecture. After years of restoration, rebuilding, discipline, and covenant correction, the congregation itself developed a hunger to hear Torah.
That makes Nehemiah 8:1–8 one of Scripture’s clearest pictures of what we would now call expository teaching: the text is read, its meaning is explained, and the people are helped to understand what God has said.
This Week's Readings
DAY 1: Matthew 24:29-36 Genesis 1:1-2:3
DAY 2: Genesis 2:4-2:19
DAY 3: Genesis 2:20-3:21
DAY 4: Genesis 3:22-4:22
DAY 5: Genesis 4:23-5:24
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