LAND of ISRAEL

Tag: Jerusalem Temple

  • Golden Bell from the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (photo City of David & IAA)

    Golden Bell from the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (photo City of David & IAA)

    Discovered: Golden Bell from the High Priest robe in Jerusalem’s Holy Temple

    2000 year old gold bell from Jerusalem Holy Temple
    Gold bell from hem of Jewish High Priest’s robe. (credit City of David & Israel Antiquities Authority)

    Is it possible to hear an actual musical note from bible times? Well, here’s an incredible find that sheds light (photo credit City of David & Israel Antiquities Authority): The Bible and book of Psalms are full of references to musical sounds.  We recall Miriam, the sister of Moses, who after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea “took a timbrel in her hand… and sang” (Ex. 25:20) and David who would “take up his “kinor” (harp) and bring relief  and solace to King Saul (1Sam.16:23). Ongoing archaeological excavations around Jerusalem in recent years have revealed so much to us from Bible times.  In 2011, an actual golden bell, probably one of 72 that were sewn on the hem of the sky-blue “mei-eel” or robe, one of the eight vestments worn by the High Priest in the Holy Temple.  We read about the golden bells in the book of Exodus:

    Exodus 28:33-35
    “And upon the hem of it thou shall make… a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. It shall be on Aaron when he performs the service, and its sound shall be heard when he enters the Holy before the Lord and when he leaves, so that he will not die.” (Ex. 28:33-35)

    Call to prayer and repentance
    The Sages explain that the whole people gave themselves up to prayer and repentance, while the High Priest stepped into the Holy of Holies to officiate in their name.  It was therefore most appropriate that they should all know the moment when he entered the Holy of Holies.

    Discovery
    The gold bell was discovered in an underground drainage channel dating from the time of Christ, when the Temple was still standing.  The finely engraved, pomegranate shaped, gold bell was sealed all around, so it was x-rayed, and archaeologists could see the 4mm clapper, still intact.  It was suspended on a gold wire, striking the bell precisely in the middle. The amazing thing is that the bell still rings!  So it was sent to a music lab where it was sampled, amplified 72 times, and played back in rapid succession, the way the bells would have sounded on the hem of the vestments when the High Priest walked barefoot into the Holy of Holies of the Temple itself.  Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only on Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, but his movements could, thanks to the bells, be heard..

    Why the note “B”?
    It’s interesting to note that the frequency of the bell is 240 hz, which corresponds closely to the musical note B.  But why “B”?  In the ancient world, the note B represented the planet Saturn or Saturday, which was the 7th day of the week.  For the Jews of course this is the Sabbath day, known as “Shabbat” in Hebrew.  Indeed the word for bell in Hebrew, “pa’amon” has a numeric value of 240. So the ringing of the bells on the hem of the High Priest sounded out a central tenant and message of our biblical faith:  The Sabbath, the celebration of life, and belief in a premeditated act of Creation by a Creator.

    Hear the bell sound!
    To hear the sound of the bells click on www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVcOIdkGEjE

    Visit Israel & see the golden bell remains of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem
    I invite you to join me here in Israel and experience a 3-D living color Bible- a blessing without measure!   Shalom! Shalom! Zack Shavin, Jerusalem
  • Golden Menorah

    Golden Menorah

    Menorah: Golden Lampstand

    The seven branch Menorah or Golden Lampstand, a reminder of the seven days of Creation, was cast from one talent of gold and stood in the Tabernacle of Moses and later in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

    Golden Menorah
    Golden Menorah

    Divinely inspired
    Did you know that the Menorah or Golden Lampstand, as it is translated in many Bibles, was specially designed by God? It’s a “divine design” by the Master Creator of the universe and, following God’s instructions detailed in the Bible (Exodus 25:31-40). It had seven branches and was cast in one piece using 1 talent of pure gold: “Make a lampstand of pure gold. Hammer out its base and shaft, and make its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them… A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories.”

    Where was the Menorah placed?
    God proscribed that it should be placed in the Tabernacle – the portable temple – that the Israelites carried through the wilderness for 40 years, on the way from Egypt to the Promised Land. Later on it was places in the Holy Temple that king Solomon built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem (“Solomon’s Temple”). Throughout history the Jewish people have incorporated it into synagogue design and today it is the symbol of the modern state of Israel- it’s that important! Let’s look at the meaning of the word Menorah. In most bibles it is translated as Golden Candlestick or Candelabrum. What is so special about it? Why is it holy and what does it represent?

    How much is one talent of gold?
    One talent (kikar in Hebrew) is worth 3000 shekels. There are various evaluations of how much a shekel weighs, but if we take an average of 12 grams/ shekel X 3000 = 3.6 kilos. At a gold value of  $1,108 per troy ounce = approximately $128,000!

    Why the number seven?
    The seven branches or lights are not by coincidence. In the Bible, the number seven reminds us of the seven days of creation in the biblical book of Genesis. Seven in Hebrew- sheva – means fullness- to be totally filled and fulfilled. It was indeed what God felt when he finished his masterwork of Creation and His jewel-in-the- crown: Us! And then he “rested” on the seventh day- i.e. kicked back and said “Wow!”. He had humanity to lavish his love upon, with the hope, since we were created in His image, that we’d turn around and to the same with each other in fulfilling the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself”.

    What is the significance of the lights?
    The name “menorah” comes from the Hebrew root meaning “light” . So the emphasis is not on the actual candle holder but on the subject of “light” within the biblical creation story of the seven days. Indeed, the first thing God did – on the 1st day was to create light- “Let there be light!”. What kind of light was it? Not necessarily a physical light, but more importantly the Divine Light – which increased day by day throughout the Creation story as God planted himself in every nook and cranny of Creation- until it was All Pervading- as represented by the Menorah. But God’s menorah is not candles or oil lamps- it is people. Indeed in the book of Proverbs it says, “The spark, the lamp, of God (i.e. the divine light) is the soul of man.”. In other words, we, each human being, is a divine light, carrying the divine spark that was created on the 1st day. Through our actions we can choose to increase the divine light within ourselves or diminish it. The choice is ours, in the way we conduct our daily lives.

    What happened to the original Menorah?
    When Titus burned down the Holy Temple in Jerusalem he looted it and removed the Golden Lampstand. It was then paraded through the streets of Rome along with Jewish prisoners of war as depicted on the Arch of Titus near the Colosseum in Rome. His father Vespasian deposited the Menorah together with the other booty in the special temple which he erected after the Jewish Revolt against Rome in the years 66-73 AD. (Josephus Flavius: Wars 1:148-50) The subsequent fate of the Golden Lampstand is uncertain. It was probably melted down since it was made with 1 talent (3.6 kg) of pure gold.