Next-World Music

Itai researched the primary instruments used in those days: the violin, the harp, and stringed instruments like the sheminis and the asor. He found one rich vein in Maseches Arachin 13b. “Rabi Yehuda says: The harp of the Mikdash had seven strings, as it says, ‘Sova semachos es panecha.’ Don’t read it as sova, but rather as sheva. And the [harp] of the days of Mashiach will have shemoneh, eight, as it says ‘Lamnatzeiach al hasheminis.’ And the one in Olam Haba will have eser, ten, as it says, ‘Alei asor v’alei navel alei higayon bechinor.’ And it says, ‘Hodu l’Hashem b’kinor, b’nevel asor zamru lo, shiru Lo shir chadash.’”

In other words, in the Beis Hamikdash they used a harp with seven strings, as indicated by the pasuk, but in the days of Mashiach there will be one with eight strings. The Maharsha explains this gemara, that the seven strings of the harp in the Mikdash symbolizes life in This World, linking it to the days of the week and the years of shemittah. The eighth string of the sheminis will indicate Olam Haba, as it says, “Ein bein Olam Hazeh l’Olam Haba ela shibud malchuyos bilvad.” This difference will be expressed by the addition of another note to the musical scale in the days of Mashiach.

“We know today there are only seven notes: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti,” Itai adds. “The significance of the sheminis is that in those wondrous days, another note will be revealed to us, one that we don’t know today. In the period following that, two more notes will be revealed, that will appear on the instruments of that time, the asor.”

With his musical training, is Itai able to hazard a guess as to how this new eighth note will sound?

“I have a certain idea — something similar to the do note, a bit different maybe, but I am not sure,” he concedes. “I consult with musicians, and l’havdil, Torah scholars, and of course am waiting very much for Mashiach to arrive already so that the note will be revealed. Meanwhile, the sheminis is played in a similar way that the harp is plucked, and it corresponds to the musical scale that can be adapted to the notes that we use today, or to the makam, the scale according to Eastern music. Like all ancient instruments, the sheminis has a broader range of notes and octaves, which makes it possible to adjust the chords to various scales.”

When Itai warms to his subject, it’s hard to slow him down. He explains enthusiastically that we can also understand this in a deeper way: According to Kabbalah the various instruments indicate different stages in the Redemption of Am Yisrael.

“That is why I thought to focus specifically on the instrument of the next period to come, the sheminis. I thought that if we can create a sheminis and start playing it, it will intensify our yearning for the Beis Hamikdash and the arrival of Mashiach. As the Chofetz Chaim tells us, our anticipation can greatly hasten the Geulah.”

Sweet Melody

Itai wanted to craft a sheminis but he had no model to follow. None of the sources he found gave any hints.

“In our sources, it says that the Leviim took the musical instruments after the Churban to the exile in Bavel,” Itai relates. “In contrast to the other klei haMikdash, they were not hidden or taken to Rome, as happened after the destruction of the Second Beis Hamikdash. In Tehillim 137, it says, ‘al aravim b’sochah talinu kinoroseinu, on the willows inside it we hung our harps,’ but it does not say what happened to those harps after the Leviim refused to play them — if they were hidden, buried beneath the Chidekel [Tigris] River, as I saw in one source, or perhaps they were looted by the Babylonians. Either way, I did not find any description that explains how these instruments looked.

“I searched again through our sources,” Itai continues, “and got to Chapter 6 in Tehillim, which begins with the words ‘Lamnatzeiach al hasheminis.’ The mefarshim here describe a harp with eight strings. In the Gemara, it says that the Kinneret is thus called because its fruits are as sweet as the melody of the harp. As we know, the shape of the Kinneret is a bit reminiscent of a modern harp, and therefore I decided to shape the sheminis a lot like that, but with eight strings. There are also coins from the days of the Bar Kochba uprising featuring a familiar harp-like shape. In Ir David as well, they found an ancient pendant dating to a much earlier period, and imprinted on it is something that looks like a modern harp.”

The instrument that Itai Levy was ultimately able to build is an interesting combination of a harp and a violin. Its upper body narrows on its right side, like a harp, and the bottom is round, to form an elongated elliptical shape. The instrument is hollow, to increase resonance, and there is a hole in it over which the strings are stretched.

“The Midrash states that the strings on the ancient instruments were made of the tendons or the entrails of a ram,” Levy says. “But I couldn’t find any place that made tendons strong enough to withstand the tension exerted in playing the instrument. It is possible that in the past there was such a way, but meanwhile, I am sufficing with metal cords, like the ones used on today’s violins. Classic guitars, by the way, are made with plastic strings, which are weaker.”

Enthusiastic Response

Levy created his first sheminis himself, but his intention is to scale up production and bring the instrument to a wide distribution. To that end, he has developed a workshop in Chavat Gilad in the Shomron, where groups of bochurim come for a week at a time. They learn about the instrument and each crafts one himself. Each bochur gets to keep the sheminis he builds.

The first cycle of the sheminis builders began on Rosh Chodesh Nissan, and some ten boys participated. The second cycle was at the end of Nissan, and double that number of bochurim emerged with a sheminis. The third group is scheduled for right after Tishah B’Av. In the interim, the workshop continues to produce the sheminis in a commercial form in an effort to disseminate it to the public. The revenue from sales makes continued production possible. Concurrently, Itai Levy has been invited to lecture about the ancient instruments from the times of the Mikdash, mainly the sheminis.

“Besides the interest that this has aroused among the general public, musicians who have tried the sheminis are very enthusiastic,” Levy says. “Among others, I showed the instrument to Reb Aharon Razel, and he was very excited. Chaim Dovid Sarachik, who lives in the Old City, was very excited by it, and he is encouraging me to continue. My plan is to continue to present this instrument to musicians and Torah scholars and we’ll see where things go from there.”

In the long run, of course, Itai hopes the reaction to the sheminis will generate something much more sustained than mere buzz.

“I hope that by the time it happens the complete Redemption will be here and we will merit to see the Kohanim doing their service and the Leviim singing. Will they play on a sheminis that resembles what I imagined and produced? I have no idea. But I am sure we will get answers to these questions, along with all the other questions that Melech HaMashiach and Eliyahu Hanavi will answer. They should just come already.”

(Originally Featured in Mishpacha Issue 671)