The XNUMXth muscle song - dancing with virgins

In one case President Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamaliel testifies as follows: "There were no good days for Israel until the fifteenth of Av... and the girls of Jerusalem go out and dance (dance), and what would they say? (In terms of saying and singing) Boy, open your eyes and see what you choose for yourself?! ... ” (Mishnat Tanit XNUMX:XNUMX).

In the eighth episode of the series, under the title of "corrupt dance", we dealt with the biblical dance, one that is linked to different subject areas, holy and profane, and mainly to the military, war context on the one hand and the romantic-conjugal domain on the other.

During the period in question, the days after the destruction of the Second Temple, evidence remains regarding the dance, and naturally the military sphere was completely removed from it.

Right after the mating dance of the biblical Shiloh girls, which became an ingrained practice of ancient "POP meetings", a similar phenomenon is revealed before our eyes, but not in relation to the ritual center in Shiloh, but to Jerusalem and even its surroundings. In one case President Rabbi Shimon Ben Gamaliel testifies as follows: "There were no good days for Israel until the fifteenth of Av... and the girls of Jerusalem go out and dance (dance), and what would they say? (In terms of saying and singing) Boy, open your eyes and see what you choose for yourself?! ... ” (Mishnat Tanit XNUMX:XNUMX).

The Babylonian Talmud refers to this by saying: "The daughters of Israel go out and get sick in the vineyards. Tana, he who does not have a wife will turn there. Attributions in which (among the dancers) they would say: Boy (see your eyes...). Tano Rabnan: Beauties among them, what would they say? Give your eyes to beauty, that there is no woman but to beauty..." (Taanit no p. XNUMX).

It must be assumed that these are prepared and known songs in advance, which the singers, and perhaps even in the choir, would open their throats to the fullest and, along with their choreographic ability, recruit the available boys.

The mishna refers to the vacant place in the vineyard, where dances were held at the end of the harvest, and calls it "the dance of the vineyard."

A dance associated with worship, and its origin, so it seems, in the ceremonies held in the early days of the Second Temple, after the construction of the temple, was performed on the same day, which was intended entirely for joy and celebration, and meant for the joy of the Beit Hashuava. Mishnat Sukkah tells about "the followers and the people of the act (who) were Markadin (in the joy of the house of worship) in front of them (in front of the priests who performed the lighting ceremony) with torches of light in their hands, and saying words of service and praise before them..." (XNUMX, XNUMX).

In connection with this joy, all kinds of amusements and physical stunts were performed, in which the president of the Sanhedrin would take an important part. It is told about this in the Babylonian Talmud in this language: "It was said about him, about Rabbi Shimon ben Gamaliel the old man (even before the destruction of the Second Temple), when he was happy that the house of the Shu'aba was happy, he would take eight torches of light, and throw one and take another and they would not touch each other. And when he bows, his two (a) feet stick into the earth and he bends down and straightens up, and no creature can do that" (Sukkah Neg p. XNUMX).

A similar phenomenon was accepted in the ancient era, it was said among the pharaonic princes and even among Mesopotamian kings. The president wanted to demonstrate his physical and juggling skills and thus was a focal point of encouragement for the rest of the company, and it must be assumed that he practiced seriously on his ability to perform, because it was not at all pleasant to disappoint the audience with his stumbles. Bending over the thumbs was probably push-ups under pressure, or some kind of flexibility exercises along the lines of yogism.