Saul Weinreb - Let the Prophets Speak

Joshua sends spies to check out Jericho, which will be the first major military engagement after crossing Jordan.  The spies seek refuge in the home of the harlot Rahab.  Rahab saves the spies from capture and they make her a deal.

The tribes of Reuben, Gad and part of Mennasheh  agree to keep their bargain.  The people swear their allegiance to their new leader, so long as he continues his relationship with God as did his mentor Moses.

God charges Joshua to lead the people into the Land of Israel.

In the concluding chapter of his book, Nehemiah relates how upon return to Jerusalem from Susa he finds all of his reforms unraveling.  He understandably gets angry with the people as he tries to put things back together.

The first Chanukah is celebrated, as the Nehemiah leads a double parade around Jerusalem to rededicate the newly rebuilt and repopulated city.

The people repopulate Jerusalem and the towns of the Judean countryside.  The tribes of Benjamin and Judah, the Levites and the priests spread out across the land.

The "Men of the Great Assembly" set out the constitution which created what is now known as Rabbinic Judaism.  They all agreed to to follow God's Torah, and enacted a wide range of legislation to preserve and protect the sanctity of the relationship between the Jewish people and God.

The people conclude their prayer before God, and the foundation and structure of Jewish prayer is set for generations to come.  

After celebrating the holidays, the people return to their sadness.  They mourn all of the years they and their ancestors ignored the Torah of God.  They study, they learn, and then they turn to God with a new covenant.  They begin by remembering all of God's greatness, and their own shortcomings.

In this beautiful chapter Ezra teaches the people the Torah, and they learn to celebrate Rosh HaShanah and Sukkot together.