עזרא, פרק ו׳, פסוק כ״א

The returnees from exile gather in unity to partake in a shared, sacred meal. This gathering centers specifically around the offering and eating of the Passover sacrifice, marking a profound moment of national and spiritual renewal [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

As the Israelites celebrate, they are joined by another distinct group of people who have actively distanced themselves from the impure practices of the surrounding nations. The identity of this joining group is a subject of varied interpretation. The primary approach among commentators is that these individuals are converts. They are people who abandoned idolatry, separated themselves from local impurities, and chose to unite with the Israelites in order to seek God.

Conversely, another perspective suggests that this group consists of born Jews rather than converts. According to this view, these are Israelites who took deliberate steps to distance themselves from the corrupting influences of the neighboring peoples [אבן עזרא]. This gathering includes many exiles from the Ten Tribes and from Judah who resolved to leave behind the impurity of the foreign nations and journey to Jerusalem. Their return was made possible because God influenced the heart of Darius, who ruled over the Assyrian empire, turning his favor toward the Jewish people [רלב"ג].

A further interpretation views this separation from impurity as a very specific act of repentance rather than a general distancing from foreign cultures. In this understanding, the group consists of Jewish men who actively purified their lives by divorcing and sending away the foreign women they had previously married [ר' סעדיה גאון].