How many laws did Ezra restore? Was it 613 laws?
My answer is going to be complex, so I ask for your patience.
1. In the account given in our sacred texts, yes, Ezra united the Jews who returned to the Land under the Torah. Indeed, even when the Temple was rebuilt, the priority of the law and necessary obedience of every Jew was established in a way it had never been before. That's the Biblical account.
2. However, modern scholarship takes a slightly different view. With all respect due to Ezra, the archaeology seems to indicate that widespread obedience to the Torah didn't really begin until the Maccabean era. Ezra may have urged obedience to the Torah, but it didn't "take" until later in history.
It is the rabbinical tradition that the Torah has 613 commandments, but truth be told, this has less to do with actually counting them, than with 613 simply being a "special" number. Jews have a long tradition of looking for meaning in numbers called "gematria." For example, it is often stated that there are 248 positive commandments corresponding to the 248 bones in the human body and 365 negative commandments corresponding to the 365 sinews (or tendons).
It is AFTER deciding there are 613 that THEN the rabbis go looking for what those 613 are, and that these lists weren't always the same. For example, Maimonides had a very different approach than ibn Ezra.
The other thing that many non-Jews are unaware of is that there is no Torah without Oral Torah (aka the Talmud). Jewish law is not determined entirely by the five books of law, but is completely dependent on the interpretations of the Rabbis.
Do Jews nowadays know about Ezra restoring these laws?
It depends on how educated they are in Judaism. The Jews I hang with certainly do know.
What happened to the laws before Ezra restored these laws?
Before I answer, tell me which view you want to me to discuss: the one from the sacred texts, or what historians and archeologists say?
Did the Jews "in lieu" of and "substituting for" before the restoring that Ezra did with the laws?
Yes. The idea is best articulated by Hosea in verse 14:3, "so will we render as bullocks [sacrifices] the words of our lips [prayers]." He wrote this as the northern kingdom of Israel was in a chaotic state and soon to fall to the Assyrians. That's a long time before Ezra. However, we have stories that indicate that this principle was followed in Babylon when there was no temple. For example, Daniel prayed three times a day -- these three prayers are given the same names as the three daily sacrifices that had been done in the temple.
Similar to what's happening now, as who'll be the next Ezra?
There will not be another Ezra. Ezra was a prophet. Malachi was the final prophet, and the age of the prophets is now closed.
Is Ezra in the Talmud even if not in the Talmud but should be in the Talmud due to all that Ezra did in restoring the laws? What are Sages and contemporary thought?
The Talmud is basically a book that contains the ORAL traditions. Some of these would have been around in Ezra's day, and some came later. The Talmud certainly discusses Ezra, and how he led the Jews back to Jerusalem, and placed the Law at the core of Judaism.
What do Flowers mean in Synagogues? Did Ezra ever use flowers in any way?
Flowers? They were kind of used the same way they are used in most houses of worship for most religions. They decorate the place, and they make things more celebratory during festivals, particularly Sukkot (although that's more for the booths than the temple).
This is the second time you have asked me about flowers, which are pretty insignificant. Is there a reason this is important to you?
