The thing that stands out in the traditions is that singing in the temple was an inseparable part of the work itself, from the work of the temple to the point of distinguishing that even "singing" is "work". This work, it should be noted, is based on the establishment of music in the Temple throughout the days of the Second Temple.
This topic was the main point of our discussion in the previous chapters, and it seems that it is better to emphasize here the interesting points that belong to the new era, the era that this chapter revolves around. Some of them, an examination of a summary and final formulation of the phenomena that existed before, and some of them - an examination of significant innovations.
- The age at which the Levites entered their position
The thing that stands out in the traditions is that singing in the temple was an inseparable part of the work itself, from the work of the temple to the point of distinguishing that even "singing" is "work". This work, it should be noted, is based on the establishment of music in the Temple throughout the days of the Second Temple.
We find that the scripture seeks to examine the problem, how it is said in one place in the Bible that the age of entry is twenty-five, and in another place it is said to be thirty. "Huh how?" The Gemara asked and answered: "Twenty-five - to learn (the work), and thirty to work." Hence a student who has not seen a beautiful sign in his mishna for five years, does not see again" (Talmud Babylon XNUMX p. XNUMX),
We were in our thirties as the student minister for "work", and "work" is poetry after all.
The knowledge suggests that the acquisition of the skill of singing and the ways of performing it was conducted in a sort of Beit Olfna in the Temple, and the Midrash indeed alluded to this, because a Midrash that compares the Levites who are "planted in the house of Jehovah" (Psalms 14:XNUMX) to "babies who are in school" and called for the continuation of the verse The above - - "In the courts of our God they will flourish" - "These are the service" (Bamadbar Rabbah XNUMX). And how interesting it is, that at the beginning of the psalm it is about violins and harps.
Another allusion is implied in the reference to the "song of the sea", which was one of the Levites' service. Sages differed as to its performance, with some of them saying that it was sung "in a child who is reciting the praise in the scribe's house" (Tosefta Sutta 2:XNUMX), and in another version: "in the school" (Talmud Yerushalmi Sutta chapter XNUMX XNUMX p. XNUMX). There is no absolute certainty that here they were engaged in the ancient schoolhouse in the Temple, but in the local schools. However, even so, it is clear that the connection between the Leviticus' song and the school is quite interesting.
Either way, the sources do not dispute the fact that the period of five years was dedicated to learning poetry, learning to play music, that is, learning music.
Another source stated that the Levites could not officially enter their position, except after they had passed a careful and rigorous examination by God (in Midbar Rabbah 16), after all, they were the ones who sang in His honor. This passage has, without a doubt, a legendary touch, but it is based, it seems, on an existing reality, a common reality, like the same source we cited above - "From here to a student who has not seen a beautiful sign in his mishna for five years, he does not see again" Talmud Babylon XNUMX p. a). This examination, or examination, if it was conducted before the student was admitted to the five-year study period, the marginal, or at the end of it, or if after Levy had served in his position for a number of years, after he turned thirty, was it based on musical competence and skill, or according to the sources: "There is no The Levites were disqualified except for the voice" (Tosefta Chulin XNUMX:XNUMX), and the Levites "if their voices were loud they would be disqualified immediately from singing on the pulpit" (Talmud Babli Megillah XNUMXb).
Leviathan cadets
We do not know what the singer of the Levites was like. Was it homophonic) or maybe polyphonic (each voice or instrument in itself is independent living the life of its rhythm and melody, but it organically coalesces with other voices or musical instruments). And in fact, there was not a harmony of different tones, but of different voices, a harmony of tones of voices.
With regard to low or high voices that emanated from the throats of the Levites, the Jerusalem Talmud testified that, in this source, the voice of the Levites in torment is a "loud voice", which is "the best of voices" according to Chazal, and even God himself participated and shared his voice with them. Some see the "Leviticus cadets" in the temple as those who replaced the women's voices, and perhaps because of the scripture that "the voice of a pubic woman"?.
It is known that there was a more beautiful form of "unisono", meaning the interval of octaves obtained while singing mixed voices of different quality, of male and female voices, or boys' voices. Women's voices did not emerge from the Levite choir, however, on the other hand, boys were found among the Levites, and they created, in a special composition with the adults, the wonderful "unisono", a phenomenon that was considered a novelty of the period in question.
The Mishnah opened a window for us to an interesting passage such as: "There is no Pohtin than twelve Levites who stand on the pulpit and sing forever. No one enters to help the work except when the Levites are standing in song. (The little ones came in with precise timing to help the older Levites). And they (the little ones) did not say (play) on the harp and the violin, but with the mouth, to give a pleasant flavor (spice as a metaphor), (to the pleasantness of their voice. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov says: (the little ones) do not go up to the minyan (a dozen Levites) and do not stand on the pulpit except in the land They would stand and their heads from among the feet of the Levites and the young men of the Levites (another version - and the young men of the Levites) would be called" (Arakhin 6:XNUMX).
The Tosefta clarifies in this way: "... they would not say with harp and violin but with the mouth. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya'akov says: The Leviathan cadets, the beloved sons of Jerusalem, were (from the aristocracy), with the help of women, their heads between the feet of the Levites, in order to give peace to the earth in a pleasant way" (Arachin 2:XNUMX).
Examining the above two sources raises the following assumptions:
A) An institution, a body, appears, called "The Levites", or "The Levites", among the beloved of Jerusalem.
b) This body was included in the musical system of the Levite Choir in singing only.
c) His poetry, whose pitch, the "soprano", was a spice for the melody of the mature poets to produce the "unisono".
d) The status of this body has not yet been defined, but it was lower than that of the graduates. He was forbidden to pluck the strings of the harp or the violin alongside the skilled adults, since playing the musical instrument required many years of study and experience. And also, this body did not get to stand on the "pulpit", standing like the most senior status of the funeral (as we will see later), but stood on the floor of the temple. The phrase "and their heads are between the feet of the Levites" may be interpreted in a double meaning: first, the practical meaning - the "stand" was high and the "young Levites" were children/boys. The graduates stood on the "stand" and the young - on the floor; Second - the symbolic meaning - the status of the young was less/inferior than that of the adults. They were at the beginning of their musical journey and their musical ability was at the feet of that of the graduates.
The whole affair of "the Levites" may without a doubt support our previous assumption about the musical studios in the temple. The talented young Levites were given a period of experience in the form of assistance to the graduates, and in this way the temple music was able to achieve two goals: on the one hand, opening up an opportunity for young people to experiment, and on the other hand - utilizing in this way the soprano voice of the young people in order to achieve the performance of the "Onisono", thereby improving and perfecting the effect The musical in the temple. And more than that, perhaps, to strengthen the experience experienced by the crowd that gathered in the courtyards of the temple, when they watch the musical and age combination of the colorful choir, with many sounds and diverse voices.
It is appropriate to point out, in my humble opinion, the affinity between the "Leviticus cadets" and the "beloved sons of Jerusalem". Affinity that emerges from reading the scriptures in the aforementioned supplement. "Dear Jerusalem" were nothing but the privileged, affluent families, those who led the city of Jerusalem, the examination of the mayors of the city and its inhabitants, and in a more comprehensive teaching - even the Jewish world in the Land of Israel itself (a phenomenon that was encouraged by the policies of the Roman Empire and its rulers, in the form of a growing tendency to lean On the noble, rich dakba, which was in all the Roman provincial cities, mainly from the days of Octavian/Augustus onwards, and in Palestine from the days of Herod, and especially during the days of the house of Agrippa. This is the orientation towards oligarchization).
boy choirs
This phenomenon of using boys, the beloved sons of Jerusalem, in the temple, not specifically in the musical context, became common in the period in question. This was, as mentioned, a phenomenon that brought about a strike in the general Roman world during this period, and the Land of Israel was not an unusual phenomenon in this regard. It can even be assumed that this was encouraged by the Sanhedrin, the Pharisaic leadership, since the Mishnah is nothing but the fruit of a sermon of the Pharisee stratum, and we are not talking, as a reminder, of the Sadducean, aristocratic stratum.
Moreover, the musical aspect was not harmed or damaged either. On the contrary, the members of these families were close, for many years, to the Greek-Hellenistic-Roman world, a world where music played a decisive role in the education of the children/boys and in shaping the Hellenic "Eidos" value of balance between strength and spirit, between body and mind. Hence, the Levite "cadets" were educated in the musical field, which undoubtedly contributed to the temple music itself.
But let's not forget, even though we are talking about families that were close to the foreign world, Livan was subject to Judaism. And let's slightly expand the size of the special canvas for clarification. Well, in every Greek or Hellenistic city, religious ceremonies were held several times a year, in which music played an important role. These were managed by a group of "holy men" and "holy women" (as defined). This group took care of all the ceremonial aspects of the worship, and how interesting it is, by the way, the closeness of the affairs between the Beloved of Jerusalem and "beloved women of Jerusalem" (Babylonian Talmud, Ketubut KV p. XNUMX). These ceremonies included, among other things, competitions of children's and boys' choirs and performances by children's, boys' and adult choirs. There is no doubt that this phenomenon reflected certain practices and certain arrangements that prevailed in the Temple, since the Greek Jerusalem was from the days of Jason and especially during the times of Herod and Agrippa, and at least in the external signs. However, when the Hellenistic cities sought for many years to preserve their practices, the Roman reality came and changed the face of things. With the decline of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire, a threat to Greek-Hellenistic music emerged, a threat that arose from the professionalization of music and its transformation, at least in part, into the domain of slaves. Music flourished mainly in theaters and private homes, and in its old, classical form, was still present in the tripartite urban gymnastic competitions of music, labor and riding. This subject was encouraged by Caesar in our time (the days of Nero Caesar) and by the House of Herod and Agrippa, as we will see in one of the following chapters. And it is not impossible to conclude that the spirit of this period had a certain influence on the families of the Jewish aristocracy in question.
Be that as it may, a new body arose and established itself in the Temple - "the Levite cadets" as a framework that helped the temple singing, for the graduates, or as defined by one of the sources who called them "the Levite diners" (Talmud Babylon, 6 p. XNUMX). And not only for the singing of the temple, but also for himself, as a kind of "internship" (initiation period) of experience. This body, in the format of the musical array, prominently indicated an important degree of the organization of music in the Temple, and this in an interesting combination with the reforms of the Sanhedrin and of Agrippa II. This body specialized for years in singing and then in playing some kind of instrument (and perhaps in this context the secondary examination between "Neveli Sara" (of the poets) and "Neveli Bnei Levi" (Mishnath Kelim XNUMX XNUMX) in his maturity. And served as an important reservoir, a healthy reserve, for the continuation The existence of temple music There is no doubt that we have a significant phenomenon in the subject of our discussion, if only in terms of the musical effect and the degree of organization and institutionalization.
- Kidney skill of the Levites
We will give here only one example, one of many, which is in terms of the few holding the many. In the Mishnah we read as follows: "Kosherin (on Shabbat) sings (a string cut on a violin) in the temple, but not in the country (outside the temple). If at first, here and here it is forbidden" (Irobin 13:XNUMX). That is to say - if a violin string breaks while playing it during the offering of the sacrifices, the Levite, who plays the instrument, is allowed to tie it, but if it happened before the beginning of Shabbat and he was preparing to tie it on Shabbat, it is not allowed.
The Tosefta also explained how they would tie the string that was broken during the playing - "it is untied from above and tied from below" (Tosefta Ibid, 9 (XNUMX) XNUMX). That is, it seems that in order to achieve a sophisticated learning of performance so as not to harm during the ceremony, the Levites were supposed to be skilled in the method of tying, in the correct performance, and in the speed of examining a performance that is considered art and craft among the violinist family.
The Jerusalem Talmud, as a matter of fact, establishes the aforementioned special permission against the background of the fact that "the priests and Levites and Israel and musical instruments hinder the sacrifice" (Irovin, Chapter XNUMX, XNUMX, p. XNUMX). In other words, this permission was born on the basis of the multiple importance placed on the necessity of music, that without instruments the work of the sacrifices should not be carried out under any circumstances.
