In this chapter I will review the development of temple music from the end of the days of Ezera and Nehemiah until the outbreak of the Maccabean rebellion
In the chapters of the codes, I wanted to highlight the work of Ezra and Nehemiah in terms of laying the foundations for music in the temple. In this chapter and its sequels, I would like to open a window to the development of temple music from the days of King Herod to the destruction of the Second Temple. This long period embraces the years of the Persian kingdom's rule over Judea and the entire Hellenistic period until the Roman occupation (63-67 BC), and it is the most important stage for the organization of temple music and its establishment as a significant stage facing and in its own right.
I have chosen to split the above-mentioned period into two for obvious reasons - from the end of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah until the outbreak of the Maccabean rebellion (167/431 BCE) when the next part will encompass the days of the Maccabean-Hasmonean kingdom.
A. - First part - (167/431 BC)
The main and most important source at our disposal is the Book of Chronicles whose chronological arc stretches from the end of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah to the third century BC in the Land of Israel. Most scholars agree that the author of the Chronicles brings us a picture of the situation as he saw it in his day, that is, in the aforementioned period. In this book, music is the property of the Levites and priests. The former in harps, violins and cymbals and the latter in trumpets. The Levites were entrusted with the "thanks" and the "hallel", and the connection between the music, the holidays and the temple was prominent. These phenomena had no counterpart in the parallels of the books of Samuel and Kings, where the music carried a folk-mass character and was influenced by various percussion instruments.
1. The music of the Levites
It can be said with almost full confidence that in the period in question the status of the Levites-poets rose in relation to the trumpeter-musician-priests.
During this period, the relationship between music and the sacred work in the temple was strengthened, when it was characterized more as accompanying music in the temple work and as such it required not only a special combination of musical instruments, but also the musical specialties of poets and musicians, such that they could extract from the music its full meaning. Due to this, Leviticus orchestras and choirs were formed and organized, directly or indirectly related to the sacred service.
One orchestra consisted of three cymbal players, eight harpists and six violinists. And it seems that the number of names of the Levites who play each instrument may indicate the extent of their specialization, considering poets who have been playing for many years on this or that instrument.
Next to them is "Cananiah, the Levite's minister of the burden, He will carry the burden because he understands" (21 Chronicles 19:XNUMX-XNUMX). It is possible that this is the head of the orchestra and its conductor. Or one who headed the choir of poets followed by seven trumpeter priests.
Another musical group included one cymbal player as the head of the group, and next to him nine players on harps and violins and two priests who cheered with trumpets. Even here, the mention of their names is probably intended to indicate the extent of their experience and expertise, and perhaps it is even a composition of a different nature related to a different event, since it was more limited.
Either way, these testimonies clearly point to the organization of music in the temple.
Another testimony reveals another point of light regarding the aforementioned organization. It is about the Levites-poets on cymbals, harps and violins who "stand east of the altar" (12 Chronicles 70:XNUMX). The permanent location of the poets "to the east of the altar" would become an institution in the music of the Second Temple days in the form of the "stand" or "the steps", where the Levites-poets would stand and perform the musical rituals involved in the sacrificial work and this installation was "to the east of the altar". Before us, then, is the birth of an important accessory that will serve in the sanctuary until the destruction of the Second Temple (XNUMX AD).
Apart from the instrumental ensembles, the Levites were in charge of the "Thanks" and the "Hillel", that is, hymns that were sung by them, by the Levite choirs, with the participation of the people in this musical system, a proper continuation of the important work of Ezra and Nehemiah. This system existed during the "work" in the Temple, and it should be noted that these choirs were led by chief conductors.
This complex system, which operated in full cooperation, was nothing more than the result of a arduous period of training and practice after the performers had specialized in musical instruments and singing. This bore fruit, as can be learned from the following verse: "And let the harpists and the poets be united in sounding one voice to praise and give thanks to Jehovah, and lift up the voice with trumpets and cymbals and singing instruments and praise Jehovah, for he is good, for his grace is forever, and the house is filled with the cloud of Jehovah's house" (Isaiah 13:XNUMX). And especially the ending which is trending expressing the attitude of the author of the chronicles. An approach in which the reality of the contribution of Ezra and Nehemiah is folded in, such that its influence was evident throughout the days of the Second Temple. Namely - the power of the music, in particular the one that was performed in the Temple - especially the skilled and experienced one and in particular the one that called the entire public to take an active part in its performance (in the form of the "mana"). Only this may serve as an important means of strengthening the bond between the people/the crowd and the temple and bringing the Holy Spirit to pour into the temple.
2. The music departments
Another, unprecedented step in the organization of music in the Temple was folded in the establishment of the "music departments" of the Levites in this place. It was preceded by an ancient division, which Baal Debhi described as the distribution of the poets in the cross-section of three ancestral houses - Asaf, Hyman and Yadon. There were four of the sons of Asaf, six of the sons of Yadon and sixteen of the sons of Himan, that is, those skilled and in charge of playing cymbals, violins and harps. And it seems that the phrase "and there were a number of skilled workers for their work" (1 Chronicles 6:XNUMX) should be seen as more than a mere allusion to their function, which was considered an integral part of the holy work, which becomes clear from the verse that concludes the list: "All these by their father in the house song Jehovah with cymbals, harps and violins for the worship of the house of God" (ibid. XNUMX).
Well, these musician Levites, who were skilled in musical instruments, and as mentioned - "And their number with their brothers who learned songs to Jehovah, all who understood two hundred and eighty-eight" (ibid. 7), present an interesting picture - the musicians and singers/singers in the mouth, among whom there were a number of Levites who were especially experts in performing Musical, numbered 228 musicians. Whether it is possible to distinguish between "poem scholars" and "everyone who understands" is unknown and beyond raising interpretations on this matter, one or the other, we will content ourselves with the feeling of the honorable reader.
This quorum of 228 musicians was divided into 24 shifts, departments, each of which had 12 musicians, headed by the head of the department. In this way, each shift served the Torah for a week in the temple, twice a year. The distribution of shifts throughout the year fell/was determined by fate, and each shift that was basically family (a phenomenon that was accepted in the temple music of the surrounding peoples) contained "intelligents", they are the musical experts, and marginal exam "students" who trained themselves. Some argue that the word "understanding" is a technical term for a Levite who sings liturgical poetry and this is a typical title for a Levite who "reads" the Holy Scriptures in poetry before the people (such as Cody - A. Cody. A history of theOld-Testament priesthood, Rome, 1969, pp 187-188).
If indeed it is about 12 Levites who served in each shift, and not about a group of a dozen who headed all the poets attached to that shift. It seems then that the distribution of the musical instruments among them was as follows: 1- cymbals, 9 violins and 2 harps, and so even in light of later testimonies that seek to emphasize that the minimum number of musical Levites was 24.
In any case, it is difficult to resist and not associate this with the later phenomenon in question - the XNUMX priestly shifts that served in the Temple during the Second Temple period (each shift=a family served a week in the Temple in multiples of two in turn). According to the Midrash, this is about a work of Moshe Rabbinu which is far from any chronological aspect, and perhaps-perhaps its beginning was at the end of the first temple as indicated in the Book of Chronicles.
And back to our subject - a question arises embodied in the question of whether those 12 musicians both played and sang, or were additional appointees added to the singing role? I do believe that this is how things were, that is, the addition of poets from a fixed quota for singing roles, since during the Second Temple period "the main part was singing on the instrument". Either way, there is no doubt that the phenomenon of division into musical departments was a very important step in the organization and gradual establishment of music in the temple.
There are researchers who believe that these departments were established at the initiative of King David, and others, whose opinion I am inclined to accept is well based on scientific research methods, claim that the aforementioned departmental organization was born and practiced in the period between the end of the Persian rule (first half and part of the second in the fourth century BC) and the beginning of the Hasmonean days (half of the second century BC) and that the order of the musical departments should be based on the status of the Levites in the days of the second house. And also that it is known that in the days of the Chronicler those Levites had permanent positions in the worship of God in the Temple and the positions of a servant in the Temple were generally considered to be the poets and the gatekeepers. And this is similar to the result of a development that took place during the Second Temple period that led to the inclusion of all poets and porters within the Levites, and later in time to a strict demarcation between the roles of different Levite families.
It can be assumed that the shift arrangements in the work of the poets were not fundamentally different from those of the priests. However, compared to the arrangements for the priesthood shifts that were formulated as a result of the large number of priests and their unwillingness to give up the right to serve in the sanctuary, it is doubtful whether there was any room for such claims among the Levites - their number was small and their status in the service of the sanctuary was inferior and less than that of the priests. If so, the above problem remains the same.
The researcher Y. Livor (Chapters in the History of the Priesthood and the Levites 22, p. XNUMX ff.), who despite the "antiquity" of his research is accepted among the modern research community, assumed that the problem was solved because they sought to raise the status of the Levites and equate them to the status of the priests, the real claim hidden among the blasphemy in the book The Chronicles state that when King David regulated the work of the temple and established the priestly shifts, he also regulated the shifts of the Levites-the poets. In other words, we have before us a claim that was written in a late period, the days of the Second Temple, which is the date of the writing of the books of Chronicles, which sought to attribute historical enterprises to King David, in terms of identifying a type of "proven" legitimacy, and this despite the fact that they explicitly knew that King David did not found the music departments.
Even so, I think that the historical aspect inherent in the above case should be examined. The days of the Second Temple were continuous with power struggles, hidden and open, between the Levites and the priests. The raising of the status of the Levites-poets in the context of the musical departments of the Levites is already rooted in the works of Nehemiah. Hela attached great importance to the musical activity of the Levites in the temple. Hence, the elevation of the Levites-poets in the days of the Second Temple derives from the importance they attributed to their musical work in the Beit HaMesh.
Moreover, many positions that belonged to the Levites in the Temple of the First Temple were no longer in their possession during the Second Temple. The Levites in this period defined themselves in two roles that they sought to cultivate and glorify: the role of poets and gatekeepers. The rise of their status in this or another period served as a reflection and expression of the same struggle between them and the families of the priesthood. Indeed, later on we will also look at the trail of the results of these struggles. Ups and downs were intertwined in this interesting case. For example, from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the status of the Levites rose. During the Hasmonean period, there was a slight decline in their status, and from the time of Herod, and especially from the time of Agrippa II, their status soared and rose. Those struggles also served as an expression of social phenomena of his interest that were deeply embedded in the Jewish society at the time. It seems that the Levites, much more than the priests, were closer to the people, to the "sheep of his shepherd", so that social upheavals definitely had something to say about the status of the Levites.
Another stage in the organization of the poets folded into the innovation that was introduced and presented for the first time in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah and became a breakthrough vision in the days of the Second Temple. In other words, the age at which the Levites entered their position was 20 and not 30 as was customary in the days of the First Temple. This can be understood on the basis of the assumption that the acquisition of the use of musical instruments and the training in oral singing lasted a long time, despite the fact that the training of the Levites in these professions began, one must assume, quite a few years before they entered their official position in the Temple, for the shift work.
It seems that until the age of twenty the boys were given musical education by their parents, as is the case with any family profession, and would it be far from supposing that from the age of twenty onwards the boys were educated in a musical studio near the temple, considering a phenomenon that was accepted in the temples of the surrounding nations, and perhaps something is hinted at at the beginning of the parshat The divisions such as - "And they will cast lots for a shift in comparison to the small and the great - from the people of a disciple" (28 Chronicles XNUMX:XNUMX).
Moreover, since the musical role of the Levites was folded into both the instrumental and the vocal level, the age at which they entered the role was an important function, since the clarity of a person's vocal chords lies in their choice more than in their late maturity at the age of thirty and beyond.
Another case that may shed light on the degree of establishment of the Levites-poets in the Temple is related to their clothing, the clothing of the office bearers, a kind of clothing that has survived. First we find only by allusion that the poets and gatekeepers were dressed in "mud" - a kind of special cloth vest that was the property of the priests serving in the temple, and then we find it with clear regularity. Before us, then, is another aspect regarding raising the horn of the poets, the servants of the Holy.
Furthermore, both from the emphasis of the author of the chronicles that the poets stood "to the east of the altar" together with the priests and from the mention of their special clothing - the "mud" - as the mountains of the priests, it can be learned that the period in question was a witness to the sure integration of the poets in the work of the temple and the growing recognition of this Becoming an integral part, a necessary and important part within this work system.
3) Assaf, Haiman and Viddon
These names are mentioned among the heads of the families of the Levites-the poets who were counted among the seniors in the musical positions. And files of psalms are attributed to them. Many researchers struggled hard regarding the historical perspectives and interpretations that were hidden behind these names and especially around the question - does their genealogical origin begin with King David?
It seems that the solution to the genealogical problem is difficult and even uncertain, especially in light of the fact that the above names are not associated with the world of poets in general and the music of the temple in particular during the days of the First Temple.
Moreover, the person who looks at the mention of these in relation to music in the Chronicles sometimes feels that this is an artificial assimilation, the result of the work of the author, and cannot determine with certainty whether the name "Asaf" that appears in various musical functions is the same person, the same personality, or whether it is a family member or someone From the "tribe".
It seems that the solution must be sought on the level alluded to in the previous chapter, that is, the attribution to the House of David. The groups of poets of the Chronicles were a logical continuation of the lists of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And then as now, they asked to hang the attribution of those performing the musical functions in the temple to King David and his enterprises. This assumption may be strengthened by the very fact, which is not disputed, that David did not found departments of music, although the reader of the Book of Chronicles may get the wrong impression, that this too is nothing but the work of King David. Before us, then, is a fundamental, essential difference between historical dimensionality and traditional-romantic dimensionality.
And here, I believe that there is room to raise the hypothesis that the music department regulators were asked to break through to some extent the wall that the three aforementioned families had created around them. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, Assaf's family stood out, while in the Chronicles, the Hyman family, and even the Yadon family, rise up. And probably between these Levite-poet families there were quarrels over the background of class prestige in the temple. It is possible, therefore, that the administrators of the departments wanted to put an end to this situation in the form of raising new positions in the system of holy servants, positions that would constitute an overall representative examination for all Levite families, and even to a certain extent, for the entire Jewish public in Israel, since this principle was laid at the foundation of the system of priestly departments in the temple .
Be that as it may, I think that in our case the assumption must be made that it is only a late work, the result of the historical upheaval of the days of the Second Temple, a work that for certain reasons asked to be hung in the house of King David and to be wrapped in one way or another in close proximity to the three aforementioned families. We were families that the books of Samuel or Kings did not link their activities or their destiny, even if only by allusion, to music in general and sacred music in particular.
4) Song of the day
One of the most important functions of the Levites-poets during the Second Temple period was folded into the "song of the day". That is, he sang certain psalms from a number of psalms. Every day they sacrificed the eternal sacrifice of Shaharit and of the Inter-Arabs. These sacrifices were accompanied by the singing of the Levites, and this came together with the mixing of the wine by the high priest, and when he began his work, the Levites burst into song.
It should be noted that this sacrifice had a public-denominational character, and because of this the acceptance of the Leviticus' song changes its importance and thus strengthens the connection between the people and their temple, between the people and the worship, considering one of the important means of connection. Indeed, the psalm of the day was not sung all at once, but with breaks - the cheering of the priests with trumpets would open the distinguished ceremonial position. The Levites would sing a part of the psalm, when it stopped there would be another trumpet blast and the people who had gathered there would bow down. When another cheer was heard, the Levites continued their song and at the end another cheer was heard.
The beginning of this colorful ceremony, which dates back to the days of the Second Temple, is recalled in the testimony of the author of Chronicles and its words - "And to stand up early in the morning to give praise to the Lord, as well as for the evening and for all the offerings that go up to the Lord, for the Sabbaths, for the months, and for the festivals as a number as a judgment on them always before the Lord" (31 Chronicles 30:11 -8). The details of the song in the temple, when the sacrifices were offered, appear in the following composition from the 5th scroll; As for Qumran - "to sing before the altar about the perpetual offering for each and every day. For all the days of the year... and for the sacrifice of the Sabbaths... and for the sacrifice of the beginning of the months..." (Megillat Tehilim, page 4, lines XNUMX-XNUMX. And it is worth comparing with the Mishnat Tamim XNUMX:XNUMX).
Most of the verses were chanted antiphonally. That is, between the choir of the Levites and the audience and sometimes with a soloist. And so the ceremony gained an important public-social dimension.
"Song of the Day" would become an institution in the later days of the Second Temple, and especially in light of the many testimonies attributed to the days of Herod and Agrippa found in the Mishnah, the Tosefta and the Talmud. Therefore, it should be noted that the beginning of that phenomenon lies in the soil of the beginning of the days of the Second Temple and its continuation, and this within the framework of that initial organization of the music of the temple and its shrines.
5) Singing psalms in the temple
During the Second Temple period we find psalms being sung and driven by the choirs of the Levites-the poets in the temple and this no later than the second century BC onwards. Although certain psalms were found written in the days of the First Temple, they were sung and sung only in the days of the Second Temple. In connection with this we will mention the singing of the "Hillel" - the singing of Psalms XNUMX-XNUMX in the Psalms, which were sung by the Levites during the offering of the sacrifices, excluding of course the perpetual sacrifices, considering the contribution of Ezra and Nehemiah. In their days, the musical performance of the "thanks" was institutionalized at the same time as the appearance of choirs of poets in a fixed number.
It should be noted that the status of the Levites-poets was higher than that of the priests-trumpeters and this is learned, among other things, from the mention of the Levites before the priests.
6) sheet music?
Were there and were found proofs of the existence of musical notes in the possession of the musicians in the temple. On this question, as well as regarding Greek, Hellenistic or Roman musical notes, researchers in the field of ancient music were divided. Unfortunately, although in a sort of contradiction to historical logic, no evidence was found, beyond various signs in archaeological sites, that the extent of their musical connection is equivalent to the absence of such a connection. It is believed that the teaching of playing music was based on oral transmission from generation to generation and perhaps even sanctified the quasi-corporate-collegial status of the ancient musicians and gave it a special character.
7) The pilgrimage
The celebration of Passover in the temple with a spectacular musical performance by Levites and priests with the participation of the public, was in a sense a continuation of the works of Ezra and Nehemiah. This holiday is undoubtedly a holiday of mass pilgrimage. Some psalms attributed to the period of the Book of Chronicles or to the Maccabean period testify to a new, interesting phenomenon, without parallel to the days of the First Temple, and it is the immigration of multitudes of people to Jerusalem who participated in the musical events of the temple, such as were intended to glorify the sacrificial work with a special sanctity.
During this period, these ascensions became one of the most important means of strengthening the relationship between the people and the temple, with the music in the temple making a very important contribution to this. And it seems that the same mass ascent that swept the immigrants in waves of enthusiasm reached the peak of a religious and public-social experience at the same time in the offering of the public sacrifices, while the Levites sang and played and while blowing the trumpets that created an atmosphere of solemnity and holiness - together and with the participation of the public in the "retribution" and "the experience".
It should be noted that the subject of the pilgrimage in relation to music will be discussed in detail later.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
