The People of Israel sings 10 Part II The musical officials in the Temple are Greek inspired

In the past we pointed to the important family element found in the temple's musical system. This phenomenon was common in neighboring Egypt and Mesopotamia. So much so that it took shape towards the establishment of musical guilds with a family foundation. Turns out there were a lot of musical roles

Am Yisrael Sher 10 Part I: Musical instructions of the period

e) The musical supervisors in the temple

General distinction

In the previous chapters about the second temple we wanted to point out the important family element found in the musical system of the temple. This phenomenon was common in neighboring Egypt and Mesopotamia. To such an extent that it took shape towards the establishment of musical guilds with a family foundation, those that occupied the benches of the secret and closed musical studio located in the temple.

This phenomenon received a stage of organization and institutionalization in the Greek period and especially in the Hellenistic period. These associations were usually associated with the municipal theater. It seems that a general effect was also felt in the Land of Israel, during the period when the House of Herod and Agrippa marveled at the establishment of theaters and their cultivation. A period in which Greek influence penetrated even the temple, at least much more than the period that preceded it, and this was expressed in orders, practices and even in various accessories, and in our case - even in musical signs.

Since the temple was built by Herod in 20 BC, there has been a change in regards to the musical officers in the temple, and in particular - from the time of Agrippa II (63 AD).

Ben Arza

The Mishnah lists among the lists of those appointed in the temple "Ben Arza on the bell" (Shekel 14:XNUMX), and the Tosefta instructs that "which are the officials who were in the temple: Yochanan ben Gudgda for locking the gates... Arza (the version in the Katha'i and Yaan: "Ben Arza") On the pulpit..." (Tosefta Shekelim XNUMX:XNUMX).

Apparently a lack of clarity, but not a question. Ben Arza, whether he was a Levite or a priest, was a sort of conductor of the Levites' choir, giving the signal to the Levites to burst into song and play the musical instruments in the perpetual sacrifice ceremony, and this by ringing the bell while standing on the "pulpit". As mentioned, out of the dozen musical instruments of the Levites, the bell was the only one and the intensity of its sounds was high.

This officer apparently belonged to a musical family, according to Gilda, whose musical skill in operating the bell was probably passed down from generation to generation. And as stated before us, an appointed member of the circumstances of the new period in question.

Hogars ben Levi

In the list of appointees is "Hogars ben Levi - (appointed) for the song" (from Shekelim 5th year 1). A line of sources testified to his musical skill: "He would know a chapter in a song" (from Yoma 31) and also - "Naima Yatira would know. And they said about him, about Hogars ben Levi, that he used to move his voice as a singer, and when he would put (a) his size into his mouth, He would bring out several kinds of singers, and his priestly brothers (we should say - the Levites) would call him a bat-rush; "and put his fingers between the hairs And from above his voice was pleasant and he would bring out all kinds of singers..." (Shirim Raba 39)

Before us is therefore an appointee from the Levite family, who was head and first of the Levite choir. This supervisor was skilled in musical ability. The Levites in the temple would distinguish the "song of the day" from chapter to chapter, or between pleasant and pleasant by changing the orchestral accompaniment - with each ending one of the flutists would "slide" on a single oboe, or by other agreed signs, which only a few among the musical Levites would find. One of them, the most senior of them, was Hogers (or Hogdes) ben Levi.

The musical knowledge and performance ability possessed by the above-mentioned supervisor were considered a professional secret, a secret that was passed down in the family, one that only a few were privileged to share in. This secrecy, which radiated family pride, was involved in the sources of the time in a very interesting case, the basis of which lay an important kernel for the subject of our discussion. Well , with the exception of Hogars, the Mishnah enumerated "Beit Garmo (the person in charge) of the bread of the face" (5 Shekels 1), Inhaling and releasing it from the oven so that it would not break was a secret art that had been passed down in the family for generations. The Mishnah also continued to present the "Beit Abtins (probably from the Greek) about the act of incense" (ibid.), which through fatuma and the use of special symbols to raise a cloud of smoke that rose and did not turn. On the side, it was also a professional secret exam in the temple. Also included was Ben Kamtzer (again from Greek), which was his art And his art excels in the special craft of writing in the temple.

It seems that within the framework of the changes of the last decade to the Minyan of the Second Temple, sages asked to appoint new mentors in the four aforementioned fields: singing, face bread, incense burning and the craft of writing. However, the previous mentors refused to instruct the new ones in the secrets of the profession. The sages therefore sought to condemn them, but to no avail. Ask to bring experts from Alexandria, ask to double, triple and even quarter their salary, but to no avail. All of them, with the exception of Ben Kamtzer, explained their refusal in a convincing way.

It should be noted by the way that, unlike Beit Abtins or Beit Garmo, the Sages did not send to call and summon experts from Alexandria, when it has always been known for its musical flourishing, in relation to Hogars ben Levi (although, as we will see later, when certain musical instruments in the temple broke down, they sometimes turned to the Alexandrian musicians And this is to teach us that his professional musical secret was, in terms of Hada Badra, without equal.

The reasoning of the old/new appointees was interesting: "Beit Abba knew that the Temple was going to be destroyed and they did not want to teach, that they should not do this to foreign work as they did before (the destruction of the Temple)..." . In other words, the fear of the above-mentioned families, that the secret of the profession was passed down to them by inheritance, was rooted in the anxiety that sharing the secret with other families could spell disaster in this regard, since the secret could be revealed to the Romans (after all, we are, finally, in the last years of the house and serve the The pagan worship "in this matter", as the Tosefta emphasized: "We mention them (the above-mentioned families, excluding Ben Kamtzer) in praise..." (Yuma II 6-5).

This is to teach us, among other things, about the importance they attributed to significant secrets, those that included techniques of performing crafts and arts that went with the holy service, including musical secrets, which were worthy of being guarded at all times.

It is interesting, by the way, that in later traditions Hogars ben Levi appeared as the only figure among all the families listed above, who was not punished. It seems that this aspect is based on the special importance attributed to singing in the Temple and that it became very strong mainly from the third century CE onwards (which we will discuss in one of the following chapters) and this is due to the special circumstances of that period.

It is possible that the families' chapter may lead to an assumption about a certain degree of Greek-Hellenistic influence in the Temple. Except for the house of Ebatins, which is of Greek origin, there are hands to shred because the name "Hogers" was nothing more than a nickname that stuck to him due to his professional skill. Whether "Cruso" as having an adoring voice, or "Agreso" as vigilant, standing on guard, is more suitable for the role and skill of Hogars ben Levi, we cannot decide. Either way, a study of the Greek terminology might be interesting.

At the end of this section, it is appropriate to raise an assumption that is based on consideration, although there is no conclusive evidence on the matter: in the Jerusalem Talmud, the craft of preparing perfumes for the worship ceremonies in the temple is included. This craft was both art and craft. The degree of strictness required by the Sages was emphasized in the tradition, where "if she (the expert) lacked one of her qualities... we shall be obliged to die", and this passage is taken from the same source in the Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma chapter 4, MA, p. 4).

Near the enumeration of the necessary sequence of actions of the perfumer, the expert, the taster, the Jerusalem Talmud says this: "He (the expert) said: tighten well, that the sound is beautiful for perfumes." Would it be far from assuming, because the order of operations of the expert perfume, which was secret, was laid out in lines of poetry, which made the order of work easier so that, God forbid, one or the other would not be forgotten. And by the way, this phenomenon of mobilizing the music, the rhymed, somewhat rhyming song, for the purposes of remembrance is found in the traditions of the period, even in other interesting topics, such as "Who is a fourth to the hands / for one even for two / from half a log to three or four / from a log to five and ten and a hundred" (From the Year of the Hands 1.1), such as, for example, anthropologically, in Africa or Latin America. And if the Jerusalem Talmud enumerates, immediately after Parshat Bash'im, the Parshat of burning incense, then the musical connection, and in particular in light of the whole discussed section, may take on a special dimension.

Proclamation cheeses

Next to Ben Arza and Hogars Ben Levi, the Mishna counted "Kroz cheeses" (shekels 5,1). Gabini's role was to announce every morning: "The priests to work and the Levites to the pulpit and Israel to the stand" (Yerushalmi Shekelim chapter 5 MH8 p. 4), and this before the beginning of the perpetual sacrifice ceremony.

Although this is obviously not a musical task, and the reason for mentioning Gebini lies in the fact that he was endowed with a tremendous voice, one that could be heard as far as Jericho, as the "testimony" of the source, to teach us about the importance they attributed to the special qualities of sounds, which comes up in the tradition regarding the unusual admiration of King Agrippa II regarding his voice of cheese And it is possible that the nickname "Kroz cheese" is rooted in the Greek language - kyroso which means having a mighty voice.

Who were the "flutes before the altar"?

This question sparked a debate among the sages of the Mishnah. Rabbi Meir believed that these were the servants of the priests, according to Rabbi Yossi they were privileged families from Judah and according to Rabbi Hanina they were Levites.

In any case, the flute played before the altar was considered a novelty following the privilege of King Agrippa II and the victory of the Pharisees in the last decade of the Temple.

It seems that the sources referred to the period when the temple music reached its peak and underwent certain changes, the main ones being organization and institutionalization in the form of special appointments, in the form of binding musical instructions, when the Hill flute took an important place in the temple music, to the point of introducing this instrument into the family of the Levites' musical instruments on the "pulpit". And following this innovation, tradition included it among those important musical instruments whose sound emanated in Jerusalem and echoed as far as Jericho.

All the episodes of the series are under the tag: Israel sings