The Men of the Great Assembly אנשי כנסת הגדולה
The assembly of a hundred and twenty sages and prophets that fixed the prayers, the canon and the boundaries of tradition.
After the return from Babylon, around 3413, an assembly of a hundred and twenty sages gathered under Ezra—among them the last prophets, Chaggai, Zecharia and Malachi. It was a transitional generation: prophecy ceased and authority passed to teaching.
Their decisions shaped Judaism. They fixed the text of the prayers, including the Amidah and kiddush; ordered the public reading of the Torah; determined the books of the Tanakh and closed the canon; introduced the square script for scrolls; and established Purim for all generations. The Talmud says they "restored the crown to its former place".
To them belongs the maxim that became the programme of the rabbinic age: "be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah". Shimon haTzaddik is counted as the last of them.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Mishnah Avot 1:1–2 — a link in the chain of transmission: “be deliberate in judgement…”
- Yoma 69b — they restored the crown: “the great, the mighty and the awesome”
- Megillah 17b — they instituted the Shemoneh Esreh
- Bava Batra 15a — they wrote down Yechezkel, the twelve prophets, Daniel and Esther
- Sanhedrin 21b — Ezra and the Ashurit script
Basis: Talmud and midrash.