NO OF PAGES: 207 SUB CAT I: Commentary SUB CAT II: Writings SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: The Book of Ezra begins the story of the Second Commonwealth. It tells the tale of the laborious, frustrating struggle to break free from the shackles of exile, set up defenses against deceitful and dangerous enemies, root out the new scourge of intermarriage. Most important, the leaders of the nation - Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubabel, Joshua, and their comrades - formed the Anshei Knesses Haggedolah, the Men of the Great Assembly, who laid the foundations of nationhood: the Mishnah and Talmud, the order of prayers, the regulation of daily life. The Book of Ezra ushers in a new epoch in Jewish history. The era of prophecy was ending and the sun of Torah scholarship was rising. The Talmud teaches that if there had never been a Moses, Ezra the Scribe was great enough to be the transmitter of the Torah. Once again, G-d's providence had given Israel the leader it needed in a time of turbulence and travail. This new ArtScroll book is penetrating and panoramic. It makes the difficult verses live with the millennia of Rabbinic commentary and blends in the history of the period as it is found in classic Jewish sources.NOTES: Purchased from Mesorah Publications, Ltd. SUBTITLE: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from talmudic, midrashic and rabbinic sources.