Am Yisrael sings 18: The special role of music in the circle of Ben Khosva fighters

One of the important pieces of evidence that broke a window into the image of the rebellion and its nature, was folded, as mentioned in the treasure trove of the bloom of coins that was discovered in the sector of the battles, including those depicting musical instruments

Between the years 132 and 135 CE, a rebellion against Roman rule took place in Judea, and perhaps even in the Galilee and the coastal plain, mainly in the south. At the head of the rebellion was a warrior named Ben Khosba, also known by his late name "Bar Kochba".

Although this rebellion stemmed, in no small part, from socio-economic factors, it had a definite religious undertone to a certain extent and its leader sought, among other things, to raise the temple from its ruins and renew the work of sacrifices in it. In this regard, the leader of the rebellion strove not only to be a good demander, but also a good maintainer. And in this spirit, he was very careful regarding the meticulous observance of the instructions of the worship and its practices, and this despite the days of calamity that this period was full of. This strictness testified to the brave bond between the fighters and the observance of the mitzvot.

Before I continue, I would like to make two important comments, at least as far as I'm concerned: First - and I've expressed this more than once, I'm not at all convinced that some kind of rebellion broke out in Judea that endangered the peace and unity of the Roman Empire, which was then at its peak in many respects, not even the presence Roman in Judea/Israel.

Secondly - I am not at all sure that any organized, orderly and armed military rebellion broke out under the leadership of Ben Kussaba or even of any of his group. I gave many reasons for this, and above all the fact that in his letters, signed, literally, by him, there is not even the slightest hint of conducting such and such battles. And on the other hand, the aforementioned documents contain many testimonies regarding financial businesses in which the leader of the rebellion was involved, in the midst of the "rebellion".

Thirdly - it seems, at least on the face of it, that the coins of Ben Kusava were enshrined with symbols such as lulav and etrog, which may indicate some connection to the events of the rebellion led by Yehuda the Maccabee who strove to resume work on the temple "specifically" in connection with the Sukkot holiday. Was or wasn't, you can't know for sure.

One of the important pieces of evidence that broke a window into the image of the rebellion and its nature, was folded, as mentioned in the treasure trove of the bloom of coins that was discovered in the battles sector. These coins were adorned with typical Jewish symbols such as: lulav, etrog, the front of the Temple, but for our purposes, the coins on which they appeared in legislation, with the imprint of musical instruments, were especially important.

A number of researchers such as Y. Yedin, M. Avi-Yona, S. Appelbaum (Murray and Rabbi), S. Safrai (he is also one of my teachers and gentlemen), b. Bayer and more, dealt with this issue, and it seems to me that they did not go down, with forgiveness and personal condescension, to the depth of things, to the musical-historical depth. And he says, for emphasis, one inclusive sentence: Anyone who claims that Ben Khosva wished to renew the work of sacrifices, he must understand that this act had to be accompanied by a revival, a renaissance, either in whole or in part, of the musical instruments used in the second temple, in consideration of being killed And let him not pass. But before we examine the things, we will immediately present the data, the following supporting data.

A) trumpets

Five silver coins were discovered, all of which have the inscription "Shimon" or "Shema" on the front, and the reverse - trumpets.

It should be noted that on pottery candles dated between 135-70 CE, we find, as mentioned above, many Jewish motifs such as a menorah, a candlestick and the front of the temple. Between them is an imprint of a pair of intersecting trumpets. And it is interesting that two intersecting trumpets were engraved on top of the Titus Gate and in a clear connection to the temple, since part of the temple vessels appeared on the same arch. Moreover, later on we will try to connect the "Kosbian" trumpets with the idea of ​​establishing the temple. And in the meantime, we assume that assuming that the trumpets on top of the clay candles are from the time of the destruction of the house and onward, the above-mentioned idea began to strike a chord in the hearts of the Jews even before the outbreak of the Kosavi rebellion. And it is known that a number of years before the outbreak of the rebellion, the country was plagued by unrest that drew its strength, among other things, from messianic and eschatological foundations.

It is worth noting that in such an ancient, sort of "primitive" era, the coins were a source of "advertisement", circulation, and in our case - the promoter of military/psychological unity and precisely the visual crossing of the two trumpets that we find in the numismatic evidence, considering a sort of "coin passing to the merchant" from this and the legislation on The Titus Gate may certainly present a characteristic, somewhat rebellious line, which has a communicable propaganda effect for the aspiration to establish the "third" temple.

There is a possibility that the origin of the trumpets in connection with the building of the temple is rooted in the Bible when Moses was commanded to make two silver trumpets in the desert for the purpose of worshiping the Tabernacle, and according to the scripture: "And the Lord spoke to Moses saying: Make for yourself two silver trumpets of hard rock. Make them and have them for the reading of the congregation and for traveling the camps" (in the wilderness) J. 2-1). Of course, it is impossible to know whether the historical source of this lies in the Hebrews' stay in Egypt in terms of being or tradition, and in any case it is known that in ancient Egypt musical instruments similar to the trumpet were created. Further on in the biblical source, the process of using the trumpet is detailed, i.e. the gathering of the heads of the camps/families/tribes to Moses "to open the tent of meeting" and even an allusion, somewhat obscure, that separates the blowing of a "blast" from the blowing of a "cheer". And further on, it is explicitly written that "And the sons of Aaron the priests shall sound the trumpets, and they shall be for you an eternal law throughout your generations" (Ibid. 8) and further that "And that war shall come in your land for the trouble that afflicts you, and your shepherds shall sound the trumpets, and you shall be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies. And on the day of your rejoicing, and on your feasts, and on the first day of your new year, and you shall blow the trumpets on your altars and on the sacrifices of your peace, and they shall be a memorial for you before your God, I am the Lord your God" (10-9).

Here we have before us the religious-ritual-historical reinforcement for the use of the trumpets and their connection to the temple in terms of a binding order, and hence the connection between the wanderers in the desert, the war, the rebellion and the hope for the renewal of the temple and the work in it.

It is possible that the practices of the Essene sect were known to Ben Khosva and the warriors, since the area of ​​Ben Khosva's rebellious activity coincided to a large extent with the place of residence of the Essenes, considering a sect that singled out an important chapter in its rituals for the trumpet and its use, both from the religious and the military aspect.

It is worth noting that the issue of the pair of trumpets was anchored and deeply immersed in the traditions of the Sages, when the Sages demanded and preferred to sail on this issue, as if the Temple had not yet been destroyed, and this is an examination of instructions and commandments that refer to the very production/making of the trumpets and the choice of the material from which the instruments were made. The recognition of the importance of the trumpet, for all the symbolic load it carried, was carried by sages after the destruction. And it seems that it was absorbed among the people and within it - in the circle of Mordi Ben Kob/Saba. And here is the place to repeat and emphasize the appearance of the trumpet on the clay candles from after the Holocaust onwards.

Moreover, there was a tradition in the people after the destruction of the Second Temple, about the two silver trumpets that Moses prepared in the desert following the heavenly command, and to most of the wonder and astonishment, they were put away/disappeared/hidden. It is possible that there was a deep idea in it that the trumpets were "precisely" minted on the coins of Ben Kusava and not on those of the great rebellion before him (73-66 CE). This matter might have been examined by uncovering the lot above the buried vessels, examining the Shabbat crown for its age. Furthermore, the rebellion is interpreted and clarified in several traditions as having a messianic character, which may align and coincide with the "removal of the trumpets from the genizah", as if the fighters of the rebellion were blessed with the nobility and holiness of taking the trumpets and using them when the time came.

And from another angle - the typeface of the inscription "Shimon" or "Shema", is Shimon the president of Israel who appeared on the "trumpet coins". And he symbolized one of the authorities of the rebellion. And this is to teach us, perhaps, about a desire to renew a biblical tradition of the queen of leaders in ceremonies in which the trumpet plays an important role.

And also, the "trumpets of the coins", which are two and equal in size, were well planted in the landscape of the Torah of the sacrifices offered in the Temple. That is, this picture goes well with the principle of equality and the principle of couplehood of the victims. It also touches on the tradition of the Sages, who demanded a lot about the pairing of the trumpets and their equality. And after all, Ben Kosba asked to restore the work of the sacrifices, the one that stopped with the destruction of the house.

And I will end my reference to the drowning of the trumpets with a hypothesis that may also clarify the rest of my words about the "shooting". Among the instruments of temple music, the trumpet stood out as an instrument that characterized the priests, while the Levites were satisfied/characterized by their attachment to the string instruments, the violin and the harp, we were from the Greek/Latin "lyre" family. And if we are talking about the restoration of the sacrificial work, and with it the temple music, it would only be logical to place, side by side, the symbols of the priesthood and the funeral - the wind instruments and the string instruments.

b) shoot

Of these stringed instruments, two variants were discovered in the Kosovian coin hoard: one - the body of a "shek" - "nad" figure, with the arms symbolizing the horns of an animal. The number of strings was 3 or 4 (5?) and 6. This type appeared in the first and second year of the outbreak of the Khusubi rebellion. We were - 133/132 per cent - 135/134 per cent. There were ten such examples - 8 of bronze and 2 of silver.

The second - a "bucket" type body, with linear arms, bent in and out. Most of the examples have 3 strings and in a single case - 4 strings. This type appears in the second and third year of the Kosbi revolt (134/133 AD - 135/134 AD). In this regard, 16 examples were revealed, all of silver.

It should be noted that on top of the aforementioned clay candles were found forms of a harp or a violin, the outer part of which is similar to the harp on top of the coins, except that it does not have a resonance cavity at the bottom as required for a harp.

As for the trumpets, a claim was heard that the symbols were supposed to enthuse the rebels in their struggle to restore the temple, that is, for propaganda purposes (Kindler, Coins of the Bar Kochva War, in A. Oppenheimer, ed., Mared Bar Kochva, 163, p. XNUMX). Well, but what about stringed instruments and the ardor of spirits and hearts?

In any case, it seems that the Maccabean rebellion had quite an impact on the Kosbi rebellion, as the former used trumpets a lot, and all this is good for the military aspect. But as for the religious-ritual-ritual meaning.

In relation to the "lira" there is a significant noticeable change between the form of the "lira" on the coins of Ben Kusava and the form of the "lira" accepted in the Greco-Roman world. Does this prove that the Kosbian drawings are an exact copy, or nearly so, of the musical instruments that were used in the Second Temple?! Or with the Essene sect?! We cannot decide that.

In any case, similarities arise and stretch between the types of Phoenician, Syrian, or Israelite "lyre" and the Greco-Roman "lyre". And one of the researchers, Kinkadely, even wondered if the coins were actually realistic musical instruments, or if they were a figment of the imagination. Another scholar by the name of Kindler sought to clarify the phenomenon of the proliferation of "lire" drawings, which are crude and have distortions, in the fact that the minting in the rebellion was done in a hurry and also that the Kosovar coins were re-minted on existing Roman coins, in order to erase, as much as possible, the traces of Roman rule, foreign to their argument .

Either way, the very fact that the "liras" occupied a prominent place among the coin finds, and these are silver dinars and medium-sized coins, while the small bronze coins were not struck with musical instruments, may help us to confirm the assumption that music occupied an important place in the knowledge of Ben Kusava and his warriors. And the fact that they sought to restore the Temple of the Sword, may, certainly, be consistent with the above-mentioned musical element, since the coins were not intended solely for monetary use, but when they were minted, there was a trend element in them, both in relation to distribution in every Jewish settlement and as symbols of the future to come.

At the end of the discussed chapter, I would like to shed some light on the issue of Kosbish drowning, and this from a different angle, from the point of view of the Sages.

It seems that the fact that sages in the first and second generation before the destruction were the most engaged in the music of the Temple, to such an extent that it seems as if the Temple had not yet been destroyed. This fact may help us to assume that secretly in their hearts the sages believed that the temple would be built and with it - the revival of the sacrificial work, and with it the revival of temple music. This recognition was instilled, whether directly or indirectly, into the hearts of the masses of the people.

The family of these sages also included the Levites, whose family knew great and good days serving in the Temple, among other things in musical roles. There is no doubt that this family continued to educate its sons, openly or secretly, on the merits of temple music, on the assumption that if the temple is built, it will be able to continue to serve it with faith and professionalism in its important and honorable role, i.e. in music.

As an example of this, we will cite Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah, who the sources tell about, emphasizing that even after the destruction they knew everyone because he was a member of a family of poets. This sage gave many testimonies, whether the result of family tradition, or the result of personal knowledge, about music. This figure was in a fierce rivalry with the presidency, with Rabbi Gamliel, and in relation to the topic under discussion, one can even speculate about nothing.

Even his brother, Hanania, came to a confrontation with the Palestinian leadership, they went down to Babylon to spend the year there. The tradition that discussed this issue brought up the charge as if he wanted to found a new temple in Babylon and linked it with Hananiah's expertise in playing the violin, an expertise that was reserved for the Levites, since the second temple was being built.

Even about him, about Hananiah, the sources said that he spoke in praise of the song, and did more than that, but they alluded to his attempt to return the public prayer of "Blessed be the glory of His Majesty forever and ever" even after the destruction, answered which, as mentioned, was reserved for the temple only.

It is therefore possible that sporadic attempts were made, here and there, to adopt customs that were reserved exclusively for the temple, even after the destruction.

This issue leads and leads us to another parashaya, to an episode that was folded in the experience of two sages: Rabbi Halfta in Tzipori and Rabbi Hanania ben Theridion in Sikhni. These, according to the sources, specifically asked to adopt the response "Blessed be the name of the glory of His Majesty forever and ever" in their aforementioned places of residence, even after the destruction.

There is no doubt that between the destruction of the Second Temple and the revolt of Ben Kuseva, the Jewish public was aware and perhaps even sensitive to the importance of the music that was practiced and used in the Second Temple. And this is not only through the instructions and traditions of the Sages regarding that music and through the attempts of the sages to preserve some practices that were accepted in the Second Temple, but within the people the temple music still resounded and throbbed, for without forgetting that the condemned generations still had enough of their blackness, being young, Taste the musical experience of the temple ceremonies. And some of them, so the evidence suggests, even refused to believe that the temple was destroyed and the music seemed. And in this way, and perhaps only in this way, we will be able to become educated and understand that the works of the Sages listed above fell on attentive and attentive ears, on a beating heart, on a hoard whose wounds of destruction have not yet chilled his body.

It is possible that this atmosphere was there to influence, if only to a certain extent, the warriors of Ben Khosva, those who miraculously brought up the significant symbolism of the musical instruments, and were convinced that these signs and symbols would find paths and level rails to the hearts of the people.

In the current chapter, I wanted to highlight musical aspects that were firmly rooted in the landscape of sacred music, but did not form part of the temple music. These aspects were saturated and steeped in interesting symbolism, both among the Essenes and among Ben Kusva's warriors. The said musical signs align and are in line with the world view of the two groups in question, and as of late, the musical symbolism is well rooted both in the knowledge of Chazal and his works and among the Jewish public at the time.

More of the topic in Hayadan:

• A rare half shekel silver coin from the days of the Great Revolt was discovered in the Ofel excavations in Jerusalem
• Am Yisrael Sher 17: The special role of music in the circle of the Essenes
• Am Yisrael Sing II: vocal and holistic music
• Ancient Jews Music 12: Those who blow the trumpet and the shofar
• For the first time: evidence of the Maccabean rebellion against the Greeks was uncovered in the Judean desert