Read time: 3 minutes 15 seconds
There is a buzz in Israel ever since the arrival of five, spotless red heifers.
Sine their arrival, Jews and Christians alike have been talking about what possible signs or events may occur regarding the Third Temple.
This excitement was palpable on the steps leading up to the Temple Mount on Thursday, Oct. 13.
Six hundred Levites, descendants of the tribe of Levi, held a joyful rehearsal in preparation for their duties as the priests of the Third Temple. Taking their roles as priest’s seriously, these 600 men were practicing so that they would be ready to provide the temple the musical needs that would be required upon its completion.
One of the organizers, Yitzchak Weiss, spoke with Israel365News explained his reasoning for this momentous event:
“The idea is to bring back the singing of the Levites and to renew it,” Weiss said. “I wanted to make something special for Jewish music, not just to learn music to be a singer” Weiss explained. “I asked myself what is the essence, the plus that we can give to music. We thought about composing music to the text of the Bible that the Levites were singing in the Temple and to make [contemporary] music for it. We started the project, giving some students to compose music. And then we thought, why shouldn’t we make a living choir.”
The school that Weiss was the principle for, Mizmore music school in Givat Washington, put out the call for those of the tribe of Levi.
With the strict adherence to the recognition of a Levite, only a Jewish man whose father was a Levite are considered eligible for the status, Weiss said that the gathering of such a group was quite difficult.
Levites only make up approximately 4% of the Jewish population.
This practice was first held in 2019, once a sufficient number of Levites were able to be gathered in one place at one time.
“We realized that if we held rehearsals in one place, people would have to come from far away,” Weiss said. “We understood that we had to develop a larger list of Levites. So, in 2019, we decided to do a massive singing event for Levites.”
With the COVID pandemic stifling any future gatherings at the time, as restrictions lift the opportunity to practice for what one day will take place at the temple was met with excitement and anticipation.
“I believe the Third Temple is about unity and the ingathering of the exiles,” Weiss said. “So, the music itself is from the East and the West, from all types of congregations and traditions. Also, the instruments. We have piano and drums and cello, but we also have a qanun, [a type of Middle Eastern zither], and an oud, [a Middle Eastern lute]. These are representative of the instruments that were in the Temple. There was a brass section, wind instruments, stringed instruments, and percussion.”
All of this is done from a place of selflessness, love for the Jewish people and the ability to worship again within the temple. How is that? Because Weiss himself is not a Levite.
“But I want to be,” he added. “But it is too late for me.”
“This is not theory or practical,” Weiss said. “This is tradition. We are bringing back Levites singing. I don’t know if that is the way it is going to be in the Third Temple. But for 2,000 years, the Levites didn’t sing.”
This event was able to take place with the help of the municipality of Jerusalem as a co-sponsor, which Israel365 News correspondent Joshua Wander noted as particularly impactful, “That is an important detail,” Wander said. “The municipal government is helping to prepare for the Third Temple.”
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James Lasher is a Copy Editor for Charisma Media.
