נחמיה

Nehemiah is the builder of the walls, the man who took leave of the king's palace to build a city. He was the king's cupbearer in Shushan, in a high and secure position, and when he heard that Jerusalem lay breached and its walls ruined, 'I sat and wept and mourned for days' (Nehemiah 1:4). He did not settle for weeping; he asked leave of the king and traveled to build.

In just fifty-two days he raised the walls of Jerusalem, despite the mockery and threats of enemies. The workers built with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 'those who built the wall and those who bore burdens, each with one hand doing the work and one holding the weapon' (Nehemiah 4:11). He showed that national rebuilding requires both vision and vigilance.

But Nehemiah built more than stones. He fought social oppression, canceled the interest the wealthy extracted from the poor, 'let us abandon this burden,' and saw to the keeping of the Sabbath and the sanctity of the family. The Sages relate that he was humble and sought no honor for himself, 'remember me, my God, for good.'

What do we learn from him? That love of the place is not a feeling but a deed, and that one who has everything in a palace can give it up for his people. Nehemiah teaches that true building joins an outer wall and inner purity, and that a leader who fights social oppression builds a strong people no less than a wall of stone.