We set out for Yerushalayim from the Ahava River on the twelfth of the first month. We enjoyed the care of our God, who saved us from enemy ambush on the journeyEzra 8:31 (The Israel Bible™)וַנִּסְעָה מִנְּהַר אַהֲוָא בִּשְׁנֵים עָשָׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן לָלֶכֶת יְרוּשָׁלָ ִם וְיַד־אֱלֹהֵינוּ הָיְתָה עָלֵינוּ וַיַּצִּילֵנוּ מִכַּף אוֹיֵב וְאוֹרֵב עַל־הַדָּרֶךְHear the verse in Hebrewva-nis-AH mi-n’-HAR a-ha-VA bish-NAYM a-SAR la-KHO-desh ha-ri-SHON la-LE-khet y’-ru-sha-LA-im v’-YAD e-lo-HAY-nu ha-y’-TAH a-LAY-nu va-ya-tzee-LAY-nu mi-KAF o-YAYV v’-o-RAYV al ha-DA-rekh
Repetitive Redemptions
For the People of Israel, the past and present fuse together to create the most extraordinary future. Through Ezra's actions, it is clear that a carefully choreographed event was planned and designed to reflect the Exodus from Egypt. Just as the Jews left Egypt in the first month, the Hebrew month of Nissan, and crossed the Sea of Reeds, Ezra's exodus departed from a river in the first month. Certainly, the symbolism of re-creating such a formative occurrence wasn't lost on the members of the entourage, giving them great courage, and hope in returning to their ancestral homeland.
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