The musical side of Ben Kochba (Bar Kochba)

On the coins minted by Bar Kochba, musical instruments also appear - trumpets and lyres - "vile" stringed instruments

From the coins of Ben Khosva (Bar Kochva) several interesting images emerge in the musical context. We will examine some of them here.
Between the years 132 and 135 CE, there was a revolt against the Romans in Judea. Its originator was Ben Khosva, who combined strong ideological, practical and personal elements in his rebellious plan. The highlight of his plan was to take control of Jerusalem, to rebuild the Temple, to educate and operate it, i.e. to renew the work of sacrifices in it.

Ben Khosva issued coins with a painting of the front of the temple, and the researchers agree that this is not the realization of his above vision, but rather a media propaganda examination that seeks to encourage the public to support his actions.

In this sacred context, musical instruments also appear on his coins - trumpets and lyres - "harp" stringed instruments.

Five silver coins were discovered, all of which were minted with pairs of trumpets, as they appeared (crossed trumpets) on clay candles from the destruction of the house to the outbreak of the rebellion in question. The lyres appear in two versions of the stamp - one shaped like a sack/nad, with the arms symbolizing the horns of an animal and the number of strings ranging from four to six; The second, of the "bucket" type with linear arms, bent forward and outward. In most examples, three strings are observed, similar to the harps or violins on top of the clay candles from the days of the Holocaust onwards.

Trumpets, it should be noted, had a clear military meaning, but Ben Kusva probably had other ideas. The trumpets, claims one of the researchers, had a somewhat communicative symbolism of the ardor of his warriors in their struggle to take control of Jerusalem and restore the temple, that is, the trumpets were used for a propaganda purpose.

It seems that the war of the Maccabees had quite an influence on Ben Khosva and his soldiers, when the former used trumpets a lot. All of this is fine for the military aspect, but as for the religious, ceremonial-ritual meaning, apparently the son of Kosba drew the symbol of the trumpets from the divine command (so according to the author of the biblical source) to Moses in the desert: the command to make two silver trumpets, and after all, the coins of the Kosbi revolt bear the imprint of two trumpets and they are of silver.

The two trumpets appear a lot in the Second Temple sources as the temple trumpets, in terms of a respectable musical instrument that was wrapped in a sacral mythological estele.

Although it is possible that the customs of the Essene sect were influenced by Ben Kusava and his warriors, since the field of action of the rebellion also overlapped to a large extent with the seat of the Judean desert sect. This sect singled out an important chapter in its ceremonies for the trumpet and its uses, both from the religious and military aspects.

It is worth noting that the issue of the pair of trumpets is deeply embedded in the Sage tradition. Sages demand and benevolent to set sail on this subject, as if the Temple had not yet been destroyed, or work had already been resumed on it, and this in consideration of the instructions and commandments that refer to the preparation of the trumpets, to the selection of the right material for their construction, and more. The recognition of the importance of the trumpet, for all the symbolic baggage it carries, was therefore found in the mouths of the Sages after its destruction, and seems to have reached in a non-routine way also to Ben Kuseva and the rebels.

Moreover, the people had a tradition after the destruction about the two silver trumpets that Moses prepared in the desert following the instruction "from on high", and they were put away. It is possible that there was a deep idea in it, that their drowning on the coins of Ben Kusava, may be seen as the uncovering of the lot above the buried vessels, in the examination of Shabbat Atara to its old age. More than that, the rebellion is interpreted in some traditions as having an eschatological, messianic effect, 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 noble right to take the trumpets and use them when the time comes.

Also, let's not forget that the famous Roman relief - the Gate of Titus - clearly shows two intersecting trumpets, considering the temple vessels that were brought to Rome after the Great Rebellion.

And from another angle - the stamping of the inscription "Shimon" or "Shema" on some of the coins is connected to the stamping of the pair of trumpets, which perhaps indicates the desire to renew the biblical tradition of the queen of the leaders in ceremonies in which the trumpet played an important role.

Among the temple musical instruments, the trumpet stood out as an instrument that characterized the priests, while the Levites were characterized by their connection to the stringed instruments, the violin and the harp, we were from the "lyre" family. And if we are talking about the restoration of the sacrificial work and the accompanying 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.

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

In any case, similarities arise and stretch between the types of Phoenician, Syrian, or Israelite "lyre" and the Greco-Roman "lyre", and some raise the question of whether these coins are actually musical instruments at all, or whether they are a figment of the imagination. There are those who seek to explain the phenomenon of the proliferation of "lira" seratoti, which is crude and has 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, both for reasons of efficiency, economy and convenience, and in order to erase, as far as possible, the traces Roman rule.

Be that as it may, the very fact that the "liras" occupied a prominent place in the coin finds, and these are silver dinars and medium-sized coins (while the bronze coins are not stamped with musical instruments), may help us to confirm the assumption that music occupied an important place in the knowledge of Ben Khosba and his warriors . And the fact that they sought to restore the Temple of the Sword, may align with the aforementioned musical element, since the coins were not intended solely for use, but their minting had a trending element - both in relation to distribution throughout the Jewish settlement and as symbols for the future to come.

The issue of the Kosbish drowning can be enlightened from another point of view, that of Chazal. It seems that the fact that the members of the Sanhedrin from the first and second generation before the destruction frequently engage in temple music to the point that it seems as if the temple had not yet been destroyed, may help us to assume that secretly in their hearts they believed that the temple would be built quite soon, if only due to the gradual thawing of relations with the Roman government. And also that the sacrificial work will be renewed and with it the temple music. This recognition was assimilated, either directly or indirectly, into the veins of the Jewish population.

Among these were also Levites whose family knew great and good days when they served in the Temple and among other things in musical roles. There is a basis for assuming that this family continued to educate their sons on the knees of the temple's music, that if it is built she will be able to continue to serve it with faith in her musical role.

As an example, we will cite Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah, who is said to be a member of a family of poets, who was often involved in musical matters, and even one of his brothers was known as an expert in violin playing and often spoke in praise of poetry.

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 to the hearts of the people.