Compared to the countless sources concerning the music in the temple, there is little information about the sand music, and yet the research brings up interesting things
The core of my research, one that folded around the music of the temple in the days of the Second Temple and the music of the synagogue, the one that stood out very much from the destruction of the Second Temple onwards, brought up two important social aspects. The first one was actually the gathering of multitudes as participants, or as spectators of the holy service, in the temple or in the synagogue, when these gatherings, as I wanted to emphasize, were connected quite a bit with the music that was expressed in the work itself. The second is rooted in the struggle between the status of the priesthood and the status of the funeral, one of the results of which is reflected in the rise of the status of the funeral poets in the Temple towards the end of the days of the Second Temple. And next to it, in the course of events in the Temple throughout the days of the Temple, the class peak in the social stratification of the Levite family was determined, a peak on which were placed those few who were privileged to be counted among those who ministered and played on the pulpit in the Temple.
Also, I wanted to highlight in one of the chapters a social aspect in the form of the Essene sect, whose well-known difference from the rest of the classes was also expressed in a certain and special attitude towards music. This attitude also fueled the fighters of Ben Kusva to a certain extent.
The current chapter and the ones that follow it, are completely different from their predecessors. Not only that there we dealt with the poetry of the holy, and here with the poetry of the profane, with all that implies, but even the examination of this subject takes on a different face than its predecessors. And in one of these respects, the main essence of it lies in the fact that in sacred poetry all the pearls of music were woven into one thread - the temple or the synagogue, when a center like this made it easier for any researcher from the very beginning when he came to address the issue. This is not the case with regard to the poetry of the sand, since it was spread over many fields, which raises many difficulties for any theoretical-research engagement in the whole affair.
More than that, the number of evidence available to us when we come to look at the music of the temple is in terms of a treasure trove, and this compared to the few references, naturally, concerning the sand song.
And yet, while the special sacred music was associated only in the Second Temple period, the sand music in its general direction is not a new face in the post-biblical era, and hence it is important that we exercise caution when we come to find the particular uniqueness, the fruit of the post-biblical days in which the sand music was blessed.
However, even though there are many stumbling blocks in the field of our research regarding sand music, I will still try to find the uniqueness of the music, its origins and essence in the period in question.
It seems that two new, prominent foundations, immersed in the period in question. The first lies in the degree of influence of Greek-Hellenistic music on the one hand and Roman music on the other hand on sand poetry. The second element revolves around the recognition by the leaders of Judaism, the sages, of the importance of certain musical phenomena and their planting in the social landscape of the Jewish people, or at least giving legitimacy to existing phenomena.
However, there are quite a few points of departure between the two aforementioned elements that make it difficult to divide them into a program-thematic division. Therefore, I will divide the present chapter into three parts: the first will deal with a more general diagnosis of the very phenomenon of Hellenism in the Jewish world in general and the Land of Israel in particular; the second will deal with in the poetry of Diaspora Jews and the third will deal with the musical fruits of special social phenomena.
- First part - Hellenism
In the Talmud, from the mouth of Rabbi Yonatan Davit Govrin (and another version appears Rabbi Natan Davit Govrin), which as we know was a central Hellenistic-Roman city of Polis (Elautropolis), we hear that: - Goat for singing, Rumi for battle, Sorsi for Elijah, Hebrew for speech, and some say - even Assyrian for writing" (Talmud Yerushalmi Megillah, chapter 1 12 p. 2).
The "goat" box has no instruction but the Greek language. It is appropriate to dwell here on the reasons for the aforementioned interesting statement, one that has much more than an informative teaching because behind it was hidden an approach from the sages' approaches that recognized the importance of Greek poetry. And in it, along with other evidence, there is an allusion to the influence of this one on Judaism.
Hellenism found its expression in the Land of Israel, whether as a result of an external, non-Jewish influence, originating from the trends of the Hellenistic kings and foreign residents of the land, or from internal Jewish tendencies.
One of the most important tools through which Hellenism entered the country was linked to the Greek-Hellenistic cities that were founded in the country. During the Hellenistic period, about thirty cities were founded in Israel, or those that changed the image of the eastern cities to the Hellenistic image. Especially in areas outside the Land of Israel, to such an extent that it can be said that the East became, by the first century CE, a mosaic of "Greek" cities.
A city that was founded, or a city that changed its character, were nothing but Greek "polis" cities, so that every incarnation of an oriental city in a "polis" also entailed the Hellenization of the fabric of its social life. The Polis, as a political, public and cultural institution, served as a center of imitation for other cities, for the various villages in the territorial periphery of the city and for its residents who came to it on the occasion of commercial business and more.
The gymnasium and the theater
Two institutions that were considered a condition for the establishment of the city of Polis, or for changing its eastern character to Polis, were the gymnasium and the theater.
The gymnasium served as a central element in the education of citizens in the Greek and Hellenistic polis. This education included two main areas: the gymnastic area of body culture and the musical area and was in the examination of the goldsmiths of Hellenism.
The high school students took part in colorful religious processions and they were required to sing in the choir in honor of the gods. In addition to that, and excluding the gymnasium sports training, his students, or the graduates of the "Efbion", which was an institution designed for a similar education for young people who finished their studies in the gymnasium at the age of 18/17 or so, or for older citizens (a kind of "country club") took an active part in city competitions local and intercity competitions, which included the branches of body culture and music. These competitions were closely related to religion and worship such as in the local worship ceremonies.
It should be noted that in connection with those urban competitions and processions, the image of a professional association involving music and musical competitions in general and theatrical performances arose which was called "Artists in the service of (the god) Dionysus", and which already in the Hellenistic period bore the character of an international association. In the days of the Roman emperor Trianus, these associations were incorporated into a body called "holy ecumenical (universal) organization (synod)", which included not only singers, musicians and actors, but also poets and theater actors. These testimonies reviewed here will serve us later, in the following, and in the meantime we will return to the case of the gymnasium.
In 174/175 BC Yason (Jesus), the high priest on behalf of the Syrian Seleucid-Hellenistic government, established a gymnasium and an epibion in Jerusalem, as institutions designed to serve the Greek population and the Jewish aristocracy whose way of life was Hellenistic. It does not make or break whether Jerusalem, as a whole, became Or part of it, to a Greek/Hellenistic polis, or that a kind of Greek society developed there which centered Either way, the fact of the establishment of the gymnasium in Jerusalem is indisputable.
There is no doubt that in addition to the physical training, the trainees of the Jerusalem gymnasium went through musical training/studies, because it is inconceivable to have a gymnasium life without music. And the Greek box will even testify to this - "Horgion" in the original Greek text (15 Maccabees XNUMX:XNUMX). That is, the gymnasium choir. Moreover, even the spectators of the gymnasium trainings who were among the stratum of the Jewish priesthood, especially the higher ones, and especially other Jews who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time, must have been absorbed by the experience of the trainees' training, when the gymnasium did not consist of rooms and halls closed to the public.
Yason's enterprises were not hanging in the air. The Book of Kohlat written in the third century BC highlighted the socio-cultural climate that prevailed among the affluent circles of the Jerusalem aristocracy, i.e. a climate of Hellenistic culture.
Jason's predecessors - the Tobiah family who lived a letter in 257 BC to Apollonius, the finance minister of Ptolemy II "Philadelphus", in which it was emphasized that four "well-educated" slaves were being sent to him, who were intended to amuse him by playing musical instruments, dancing and more. Tovia's grandson, Hyrcanus, was depicted as a kind of Jewish "king" whose deeds were imbued with the hallmarks of Hellenistic aristocracy.
A similar feature to the book of kohelet also appeared in the writings of Ben Sira (180-200 BC) and even after the days of Yason the picture did not change. The macabes themselves were influenced quite a bit by Platonic theories and it should be noted that Plato attached great importance and value to both physical and musical education.
The Hasmoneans also looked for ways to adapt Hellenism to Judaism and under their rule Judah became a Hellenistic kingdom. The signs were indeed external, such as the signs of a royal coronation, the adoption of Greek names (such as Aristobulus, Hyrcanus, Alexander, etc.), the establishment of an army in the Hellenistic format, the existence of Hellenistic court life, and more. However, behind this outer garment was a foreign essence that was legitimized and a Hellenistic way of life that was widespread among the circles of the Jewish aristocracy. The contribution of the kings of the Hasmonean house to sports, to the adoption of the Hellenistic body culture, brings us closer and closer to the assumption that even in the field of music they were killers of canes and did not bury their hands in the plate.
