Ancient Jews Music 30: The wind instruments

Continuation of the review on the various musical instruments that were used in the temple at the end of the Second Temple, with Greek influence

The first part: Ancient Jews Music 29: harp and violin: the musical instruments and an examination of their development

1. trumpet

It is a wind instrument made of metal and used in the temple - only silver, inspired by the divine command to Moses in the desert.

According to Joseph ben Matthew who described the trumpet that the biblical Moses produced in the desert, from which we can learn and stand for the trumpet in his day, at the end of the second verse - "Its length is a little less than her mother's (mm = 68 cm). The barrel was narrow and thick, a little like a flute, while near the mouth it was wide enough to receive the breath (after exhalation) and ended in the shape of a bell" (Jews' Antiquities, 291:XNUMX). Before us, then, is the famous Greek trumpet, it is the "salphix" which was also used by the Romans, namely the salpinxs. Joseph's technical and visual knowledge in this matter is surprising and impressive.

This tool was used in the Land of Israel among the foreign armies that set foot on the soil of the land, considering it a very common event. Indeed, this tool was echoed in the literature of the Sages, along with inherent language distortions such as: "salpids", "salpidin" and "salpings" (such as the book of Lamentations, the opening of 1, Beresheet Rabbah 292 and more).

The Romans, who were loyal to the army, asked for logic and were able to develop mainly wind instruments, from the trumpet family such as the tuba, cornu' bucina' lituus, litus and more, in terms of communications that are accepted today in the IDF assault units, which are also mentioned a lot in the Sage literature. It is also reasonable to assume that the trumpet that was used a lot in the Essene vision, in the famous composition "War of the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness", was none other than the tuba', the Roman battle trumpet. And it should be noted in this context that Joseph ben Matthieu, as the one who commanded the anti-Roman rebellion in the Galilee, gave his Jewish warriors a chapter on the doctrine of warfare

(Tol) which was accepted by the Roman army and among other things the special use of the signs of the trumpets.

Even the temple trumpet, the one that stood out in the famous Titus Gate, was none other than the Roman tuba, and like it the trumpets stamped on the coins of Ben Kusava. And knowing that these were minted on silver coins only, this information may lead us to the assumption that this is a trumpet that was used in the temple. It is possible, says researcher Bayer, that it was the metallic association that caused Ben Khosva, who was in charge of the mint, to engrave trumpets on silver coins only. According to another researcher, Sachs, they should be considered pipes (flutes), Aubi and not trumpets. And it is interesting that in the pottery candles between the destruction of the Second Temple and after the rebellion of Ben Khosva, we find intersecting trumpets. And the researcher, Sussman, an expert on clay candles, doubts whether these are flutes at all.

Sage sources did not illuminate the condemned labyrinth and did not remove any shadows from all its corners. On the contrary, they claimed that after the destruction of the Second Temple there was a disturbance in the distinction, and they began to call the shofar a trumpet, and the trumpet a shofar. And Rabbi Yehoshua testified that the two horns of the lamb (or the goat) were used to make trumpets (Mishnet Kenim 6:XNUMX). And it was known that the common and accepted trumpet was artificial and not natural.

Although in the next section we will discuss the shofar, it is appropriate to bring up here now, to clarify the matter, another figure that referred to the shofar. There were two types of shofar: a projecting shofar (natural) and an artificial shofar. And two types of craft were known: round/bent and simple-straight. The first was probably close to the Roman cornu and the second between the salpinxs and the bucina.

And on the other hand, the expression "trumpets of my parts" appeared in the sources of the Sages (Tosefta Kelim, Baba Metzia 8:XNUMX). That is, a wind instrument consisting of two detachable parts, which could be separated. This is a technical innovation originating from the Roman tuba, the end of which could be separated from its body.

From all of the above it can be assumed that in the second temple they used different types of trumpets, some of which were even close in shape to the shofar. And this is alluded to in connection with the Sukkot holiday in the temple, in the comparison between Jewish literature from the Land of Israel and Jewish literature from the Diaspora, such as in the books of Philo the Alexandrian, or Gentile, in Plutarch. Hence the confusion that followed the destruction of the house. And apparently each species was intended for a different role, in the multiple ceremonies held in the temple.

It should also be noted that these instruments, like the others, required high musical skill, which was the property of the priests in the temple.

•  shofar

The shofar is the horn of the ram only, while the horn is the horn of the beast. Two types of trumpets were used in the temple. The first, one of a kind, was used

At Rosh Hashanah and Shani ceremonies - on Yom Kippur. On Rosh Hashanah they stuck in a "simple" goat horn (straight and not bent), the lower lip of which is coated with gold, and on Yom Kippur they stuck in a bent ram horn, the lip of which is coated with silver.

Based on the paintings and carvings that have been preserved, the researchers were under the impression that two basic shapes existed: a rounded mouthpiece and an angular mouthpiece. And hence, archaeological verification of the sources of the aforementioned Sages.

The shofar, unlike the trumpet, was a folk instrument, and this is one of the reasons why the shofar was used even outside the Temple and became the sacred-musical ritual instrument after the destruction of the Second Temple (73 AD).

Sage sources are filled with many testimonies about the shofar, especially after the Holocaust. These are testimonies whose character and substance pointed to the popularity of the instrument in question. These sources testified to various actions that were wrapped in the Shofar. For example - use of liquids to shade the impingement; The coating of the vessel was permitted by Chazal, as long as it did not interfere with the piercing; repairs and renovations to the vessel, which were also allowed under a condition similar to the above; Determining a minimum size for a tool and more.

This involvement of Chazal is not rooted in the Jewish leadership's recognition of the importance of music alone, but also, apparently, in its desire to supervise the drivers of blowing the shofar. The prayer that became a foundation in the life of every synagogue, in every community, just like the prayer itself, which the Sages used to monitor. And in connection with this, we should note that with the appearance of the symbols of Jewish art in the synagogue, the Shofar took a permanent place alongside other holy utensils such as the Etrog, the Lulav and more. And this is expressed in numismatic sources such as during the Great Revolt and in the Ben Kusava Rebellion.

It should be noted that some believe that the shofar was influenced by Greek and Roman musical instruments.

3. The flute

The biblical flute was made of wood, reed, but of two types: one-reed and two-reed. It should be noted that the biblical flute was oboe-like. There is no direct evidence if the Israelites used the double flute, but there is no doubt that they knew of its existence. In any case, the addition of the double flute during the Second Temple period certainly indicates an interesting innovation. During the Second Temple period, the flute found its place in the overall system of temple music, towards the end of the temple days. It was a reed flute, or as it was called in the sources also called a "reed pipe" (such as Mishnat Arakhin 3:13; Tosefta Shem XNUMX:XNUMX), which they tried to cover with gold, but due to the defect caused to its sounds, the coating was removed.

It should be noted that in Berita Arkhin (3 p. 548) the Talmud identified the flute with the oboe. Maimonides in his reference to the Mishnat Arakhin (XNUMX:XNUMX) states that "obov of a reed" is the small reed at the top of the flute, and others like it. Some have argued that the use of the mouth of the reed shows that the Jews used long flutes like the peoples of Asia and Greece, and not the Egyptian oblique oboe which was blown on the side and not on the length as claimed by M. Breyer in his article: "To identify the instruments of song in the Holy Scriptures and the Talmud", Talpiot XNUMX (XNUMX) p. XNUMX).

Next to the "obov of reed" we find the "obov of copper" (from Archin 3:6) and the metal flute (from Kilim XNUMX:XNUMX) whose mouth and lower part were coated. And we are witness to the flutes that were made of bones,

 As a proof of the Greek-Hellenistic influence, since the "pipes of idolatry" (Tosefta Avodat Zera 6 (7) 1) were used by Israel.

The instruction in the temple to play on a "single flute" (from Arakhin 3:XNUMX) may lead us to the assumption that the Greek double flute, the "aulus", was not allowed to be used in the temple. This flute was made of two separate tubes that came out of the mouthpiece. These tubes, in which there were drilled holes and the tongues that caused the vibrations were made of reeds. The expert obovans, to whom the Mishna attributed the general expertise, were the Beit Hafagrim family and the Beit Tsiprieh. These would strengthen the edge of the vessel in their mouth with strips of leather ("forbaia in Greek), which would cover part of their cheeks).

4. Different types of flutes

A. Organ - hydraulics

The biblical references that testified to the organ do not help, unfortunately, to identify the instrument. And in general, the researchers are divided about its identification, whether it is a string instrument or a wind instrument, and there are even those who identify it as the famous, classical "pan flute". Even the sages of Babylon the Amorite called it by the name "Tabla Gurgadna" (Talmud Babylon, Arkhin 10, p. 2), lest a water organ (?) did not make the job easier for us.

The testimony of the Jewish Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish - "An organ, it is ardbals" (Talmud Yerushalmi Sukkah, Chapter 4, p. 23) - is the one that may bring us closer to the identification of the organ as a Greek "hydraulos". We were - a water organ, and even the Midrash who preached about the "organ" in the Bible said that "Adrabulin and Korbelin" (Beresheet Rabba XNUMX:XNUMX), or "Ardablin and Karbelin" (ibid. XNUMX:XNUMX), we were a water organ. I sought to strengthen this hypothesis from the authority of an interesting parable in the sources of the Sages. It is possible that they tried to introduce this instrument that developed in Alexandria, Egypt into the musical family of the temple. And this I learned from the Talmudic Bariata from the mouth of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamaliel the President, who claimed that "... the raddolim was not in the temple" (Talmud Babili, Arakhin XNUMX, p. XNUMX), when in some formulas the word "no" is omitted from the above-mentioned sentence. and this is only a hypothesis). In any case, the placement of the above-mentioned instrument in the whole musical family in the temple without any success seems to be based on the power of its tremendous voice which overshadowed the important musical effect required in the temple. And so from the mouth of Rashbagh the President - "Tani Rashbagh: There was no adderbalis in Jerusalem, because it stinks of pleasantness"" (Yerushalmi Talmud, Sukkah chapter XNUMX, p. XNUMX). And on the other hand, it is said that "... because his voice is deep (it should be - "thick") and mixes the pleasantness" (Talmud Babili, Arakhin XNUMX, p. XNUMX).

B. Symphony

This instrument was mentioned in the Hodam chapter, in the "Nebuchadnezzar Orchestra" chapter. Some believe that this is a kind of chameleon anger. In the Mishnah, the "symphony" is mentioned among the instruments that were made of wood and coated with metal, such as: "... a symphony, if it has a house for receiving wings..." (Mishnah HaKilim 6:XNUMX). . Either way, we are probably facing some kind of interesting technological innovation, if only from the Hellenistic tools.

third. Hamat Khalilin

This instrument is mentioned in the sources of the Sages, however, its teaching is ambiguous and anyone who tries to see it as the Scottish bagpipe, considering the name known in the Hebrew language and accepted as "Hamat Khalilin", will prove that it has no equivalent in ancient musical history.

d. Syrinx

This instrument, better known as the "pan flute", belongs, in fact, to the family of shepherds' instruments, to ritual ceremonies and to the mythological world in general. This tool appeared on a coin of Agrippa II from 83 AD. And this is a very interesting testimony, since we saw that a number of themes in Jewish music were associated with the name and likeness of this king.

Some speculate that the "Mashrukita" that appeared in the "Nebuchadnezzar Orchestra" is "Halil Pan". And perhaps this is the "poplar" mentioned in the Sage literature (such as Tosefta Sukkah 7:XNUMX). And was the picture painted in the midrash depicting a typical scene taken from the world of classical Greek education, close to the teaching of the "syrinx"? There it is told about a "pedagogue" of a "king", i.e. of a noble or rich man, who used to take a "pipe of reeds and was a singer" (Icha Rabbah XNUMX:XNUMX). Either way, this midrash probably indicated a phenomenon that we sought to highlight in the previous chapter. That is, about the important place that music occupied in the upbringing of the son of the Hellenistic-Roman riches, considering a phenomenon that left its imprint on the literature of the Sages.

We will conclude the section discussing flute wind instruments in the testimony of the Sages, who highlighted the pleasant sound of the flute, by saying that "a musical instrument of reeds" may bring sweet sleep to a person (Talmud Yerushalmi Eruvin, chapter 10, head of page 4). This sentence may be clarified through the symbol and lest it also be based on customary practices, as a rule, in the homes of the rich and wealthy, when the owner of the house would step out to perform it to the sound of the pipers hired for this purpose.

עAnd on the topic on the science website:

• flirt? In the temple?
• Ancient Jews Music 16: The music of the temple is organized in connection with the holidays (Third) - the Shofar
• Ancient Jews Music 12: Those who blow the trumpet and the shofar
• After returning from the hunt, the primitive man in the ice age played the flute for pleasure
• Am Yisrael sings: the music in the synagogues