The Great Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGedolah in Hebrew: "men of the great assembly/gathering") (also known as the Great Synagogue) was an assembly of 120 rabbis that ruled in Israel in the period after the time of the prophets up to the time of the development of rabbinic Judaism in 70. They bridge a period of about two centuries. Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished,. In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi or Rebbi... For other uses, see number 70. ...

They were a council of rabbis at Jerusalem, consisting of 120 members, that assembled there about the year 410 BCE to give final form to the service and worship in Judaism. A Jewish tradition (at the outset of the Mishnah's Ethics of the Fathers) says that Moses received the law from Sinai; he transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, the elders to the prophets, to the men of the Great Assembly, who added thereto these words: "Be circumspect in judgment, make many disciples, and set a hedge about the law." they made the final settlement and arrangement of the Jewish scriptures, the introduction of a new alphabet, the regulation of the synagogue worship, and the adoption of sundry liturgical forms, as well as the establishment of the feast of Purim, and probably the "schools" of the Scribes. Jerusalem (31°46′ N 35°14′ E; Hebrew:   יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ?; Yerushalayim; Arabic:   القُدس? al-Quds; see also names of Jerusalem) is an ancient Middle Eastern city of key importance to the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC - 410s BC - 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 415 BC 414 BC 413 BC 412 BC 411 BC - 410 BC - 409 BC 408 BC 407... Jewish services are the prayers recited as part of observance of Judaism. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Pirkei Avoth (Hebrew: Chapters of the Fathers, פרקי אבות ) or simply Avoth is a tractate of the Mishna composed of ethical maxims of the Rabbis of the Mishnaic period. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew Móše, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Musa), son of Amram and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... Joshua or Yehoshúa (יְהוֹשֻׁעַ The LORD of/is help/court, Standard Hebrew YÉ™hošúaÊ¿, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hôšuªʿ) is a Biblical character, much of whose life is described in the Book of Joshua. ... 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum Hebrew Bible refers to the common portions of the Jewish and Christian canons. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... A synagogue or synagog (from Greek συναγωγη, transliterated sunagoge, place of assembly literally meeting, assembly) is a Jewish house of prayer and study. ... Purim (פּוּרִים Lots, Standard Hebrew Purim, Tiberian Hebrew Pûrîm: plural of פּוּר pûr Lot, from Akkadian pÅ«ru) is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of the Persian Jews from the plot of the evil Haman to exterminate them, as recorded in the biblical Book of Esther. ...

The term is first used in Nehemiah 8-:10 to describe the public assembly of Jews who returned to Israel after the exile in Babylonia. In this gathering the leaders and people of Israel rededicated themselves to the Torah as their inheritance and code of law. The Book of Nehemiah is a book of the Hebrew Bible, known to Jews as the Tanakh and to Christians as the Old Testament. ... Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh–the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the Written...

According to Jewish tradition they redacted the books of Ezekiel, the twelve minor prophets (The Trei Asar), and the books of Daniel and Esther. They also composed the Shemonah Esreh, the standing prayer (Amidah) of 18, later 19, prayers that are still recited by Jews today. They canonized the Tanakh. Most important, they enacted a democratization of Jewish education, making the Torah the possession of all, instead of just the priestly class. This article is about the Book of Ezekiel. ... This article is about the Biblical book. ... The Book of Esther is a book of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and of the Old Testament. ... This entry is concerned with a prayer in the Jewish liturgy known as the Amidah (Standing) or the Shemoneh Esreh (The Eighteen.) Prayers in the weekday Amidah The prayers of the weekday Amidah are: Known as Avot (Ancestors) this prayer offers praise of God as the God of the Biblical... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...

Modern Israel adopts the notion

Upon the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the leadership of the first independent Jewish state in almost 2000 years was aware of Jewish history's once Great Assembly that consisted of 120 members, and thereupon decided to call it's newly-established modern parliament the Knesset i.e. "Assembly" or "Gathering", which would also have 120 elected members sitting in it as the democratic representatives of the people of modern Israel. However, the modern Knesset is dominantly an instititution of secular Jews, unlike the original Great Assembly which was composed exclusively of the most learned rabbis of that age. David Ben Gurion (First Prime Minister of Israel) publicly pronouncing the Declaration of the State of Israel, May 14, 1948. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... An aerial view of Parliament of India at New Delhi. ... The Knesset (כנסת, Hebrew for assembly) is the Parliament of Israel. ...

External link

• Jewish Virtual Library: the Great Assembly (Anshe Knesset HaGedolah), source for this article