In the Second Temple period, the Jews were prevented from re-establishing the kingship in Jerusalem. In its place, Ezra and Nechemia created the Great Assembly, a legal body of 120 righteous men. Rabbi Wein details their many great accomplishments, from compiling the Tanach and siddur to fighting a war against the Samaritans. The spiritual and political achievements of the Great Assembly were responsible for preserving Jewish life not only in the glorious past but for the distant future.

• The Men of the Great Assembly; spiritual checks and balances in Jewish government
• The origins of the Jewish calendar and prayer book
• What was and what wasn't included in the canon of the Bible and why
• The history of the Hebrew Apocrypha and the ban against it