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Arakhin 11 for kids: Songs in the Temple

ערכין י״א

🎵 This daf asks who played music in the Temple and why the Levites sang during offerings. It also asks which offerings needed a song.

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Stories from Arakhin 11

Words to know

Rashi and Tosafot on Arakhin 11 in simple English

Rashi on Arakhin 11a, in English Tab translation (17)
  1. There were ten holes in it — Each hole held a tube, and each tube had ten holes. Each hole in a tube produced a different tone, so the instrument produced one hundred tones in all.
  2. And your mnemonic — It helps you remember who said one hundred and who said one thousand.
  3. The baraita exaggerates — Rabbinic teachings sometimes use exaggerated numbers, as in examples cited in the chapter Gid HaNasheh in tractate Hullin.
  4. Rabbi Yosei — If he says the musicians were Israelites of pure lineage, what does he hold? Rather, all agree that the main form of song is singing with the mouth.
  5. Even for tithes — We presume him to be a Levite.
  6. And I have given the Levites — And Levites are the singers.
  7. With the name — God’s name is mentioned in the song. A person sings only out of joy and gladness of heart, as it says, “Behold, My servants shall sing out of gladness of heart” (Isaiah 65:14).
  8. Say it means first fruits — The verse would then mean: Because you did not bring first fruits.
  9. How do we know first fruits require song? — They recite “I will exalt You, Lord, for You have raised me up,” as taught in tractate Bikkurim.
  10. Goodness, goodness — The verse about first fruits says “for all the goodness,” and the verse about song says “with joy and gladness of heart.”
  11. Fruit — The verse about first fruits says “of the first of the fruit.”
  12. He brought grapes — If he brought grapes to the Temple courtyard as first fruits and pressed them, how do we know he has fulfilled his obligation? The verse says “that you bring from your land,” which includes them in any form.
  13. Hezekiah said: From here — We find a Torah source for the Levites’ song in “he shall direct the carrying,” understood as raising the voice in song.
  14. Beluvati — The name of a sage.
  15. Song — It requires the service of an offering: It is sung only over the wine libations of an offering, as it says, “You shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings” (Numbers 10:10).
  16. Let the waters rejoice — They will rejoice at the Temple song more than they did at the Song of the Sea.
  17. He derives it from here — This is his source for the basic requirement of song by Torah law.
Tosafot on Arakhin 11a, in English Tab translation (5)
  1. No, everyone agrees that song is primarily vocal — But in Sukkah, the Gemara says that if song is primarily vocal, playing instruments for an offering does not override Shabbat or a Festival. Whose view, then, is the mishna’s statement that the flute played on twelve days? The tanna’im of that mishna do hold that song is primarily vocal. But Rabbi Yosei bar Yehuda says there that playing instruments for an offering does override Shabbat and Festivals, and the mishna’s opening statement follows his view.
  2. Song is indispensable to the offering — But song accompanies the libation, and the libation is not indispensable to the offering: a person can bring an offering today and its libations up to four days later. Rather, this means that song is indispensable to the libation: without song, the libation cannot be performed.
  3. It is called ‘gladdening the heart,’ but not ‘good’ — Yet Scripture calls Torah ‘a good teaching’ and says, ‘The Torah of Your mouth is good for me.’ The answer is that the required word ‘good’ must appear alongside joy and mean something joyful. Alternatively, Torah is not explicitly called ‘good’ alongside ‘heart.’ But Ruth says, ‘His heart was glad,’ which Rashi cites a midrash as referring to Torah study; a verse discussed in Shabbat is interpreted similarly. Those verses, however, do not state this explicitly. On the alternative explanation, it is hard to see why the Gemara asks, ‘Why not first fruits?’: they are not called ‘good’ alongside ‘heart.’ One could answer that this is precisely the Gemara’s reply. Still, if that requirement was known from the outset, there was no need to ask about first fruits. The first explanation is preferable.
  4. From where do we know that first fruits require song? — Rashi explains that they require song, as the mishna in Bikkurim says that a flute played before the procession. Yet when the Gemara challenges Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani, why does it not challenge him directly from that mishna? Perhaps the Talmud does not cite mishnayot from Zeraim, and it mentioned Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani’s statement only incidentally, so it framed the challenge this way. Our teacher, however, suggests that the song in the mishna is merely for celebration, not the essential song required for first fruits; it therefore poses no challenge to Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani, unlike Rashi’s explanation. But then why does the Gemara treat the mishna as concerning essential song at all? Rabbi Elchanan further asks how the mishna about all first fruits—including figs, wheat, and the other seven species—can be understood here as speaking of grapes that were pressed. One cannot say that grapes first designated as first fruits retain their sanctity if pressed, despite the verse’s reference to ‘fruit’: a baraita teaches that the only liquids one may bring as first fruits are those from olives and grapes, showing that these liquids themselves qualify. One might instead understand ‘he brought grapes and pressed them’ to mean that he designated grapes and then pressed them, and ask how we know the juice qualifies as first fruits. The answer is the verse’s word ‘bring.’ Although the baraita’s wording suggests that one may bring such liquids from the outset, one could read it as describing what is valid after the fact. But since the verse speaks of singing over first fruits, it is difficult to take it as addressing only an after-the-fact case. It seems better to read the question as asking whether one may bring pressed grapes from the outset; the verse’s word ‘bring’ shows that one may. The mishna can then concern song over liquids from olives and grapes from the outset. Because song was instituted for those liquids, it was also instituted for first fruits of all seven species. This resolves the earlier difficulties, though the Jerusalem Talmud needs examination.
  5. Do not read ‘he bears,’ but ‘he sings’ — Why is this derivation needed when several verses in Chronicles explicitly mention singers? The aim is to find a Torah source for song, so the derivation uses the verse about bearing a burden, alongside the verse that calls it ‘the service of bearing.’ Alternatively, it establishes from Scripture that song is a service for which an unauthorized person is liable to death.
Rashi on Arakhin 11b, in English Tab translation (35)
  1. Matters of the voice — God was commanding Moses to sing, since Moses was a Levite.
  2. They too — the Levites also have a service connected to the altar, and the only such service Levites may perform is song.
  3. Just as you — the verse is addressing the priests.
  4. You perform their duties — priests perform Levites’ duties, such as singing.
  5. They perform yours — a Levite serves at the altar as a priest would.
  6. They perform each other’s duties — for example, a Levite assigned to sing closes the doors, or one assigned to guard the gates sings. These were separate Levite assignments.
  7. Only a prohibition — the source of the prohibition is not explained here.
  8. Abaye — he does not accept the teaching above that a Levite who performs another Levite’s duty is not liable to death, since another tanna supports his view.
  9. An actual stranger — for example, an Israelite who is not a Levite.
  10. It is already written once — earlier in that same passage, also concerning the Levites’ service.
  11. Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Yohanan ben Gudgeda were Levites — Rabbi Yohanan held that a singer who closes a gate alone is liable to death, so the Sages prohibited even helping, lest he do it alone. Rabbi Yehoshua held that doing it alone violates only a prohibition, so the Sages did not prohibit helping.
  12. A communal voluntary burnt offering — for example, offerings bought for the altar with surplus sin-offering and guilt-offering funds placed in collection chests.
  13. Your burnt offerings — the verse says, “You shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings” (Numbers 10:10); blowing the trumpets entails song.
  14. Hezekiah commanded — this implies that he first sought advice.
  15. Rather, was it not a voluntary offering? — Hezekiah sought advice about whether to sing, and “the song of the Lord began” shows that the court instructed them to sing.
  16. The New Moon burnt offering — it was the additional offering for the New Moon.
  17. The lamb brought with the omer — it is an obligatory burnt offering on the sixteenth of Nisan.
  18. Rather, Rav Ashi said — Hezekiah did not seek advice because he was uncertain; he knew the New Moon had been fixed on its proper day. He was merely asking permission.
  19. Just as a prayer leader asks — he asks permission before leading the prayer.
  20. You can even say it was an obligatory burnt offering — it was the daily burnt offering.
  21. Merit for an auspicious day — Israel was redeemed in Nisan and will be redeemed in Nisan.
  22. After Shabbat — Sunday.
  23. After the sabbatical year — the eighth year.
  24. He will bring their wrongdoing back upon them — this is a verse in the psalm “God of vengeance” (Psalms 94).
  25. The daily offering ceased — they had no lambs because Jerusalem was under siege and no one could enter or leave.
  26. Why say it was a voluntary burnt offering? — Lambs were not available.
  27. That is no difficulty — They happened to have a bull, which could not be used for the daily offering but could be used for a voluntary burnt offering.
  28. Could you really think so? — Was that the prescribed song for an offering? The song for Sunday is “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains,” as stated in Rosh Hashanah 31a. But this verse is from “O Lord, God of vengeance,” the song for Wednesday.
  29. Ailaya — A lament, as the Aramaic translation renders Jeremiah 7:29: “Raise a lament on the bare heights, and take up a lament in the valleys.”
  30. Platform — It was shaped like a raised bench.
  31. If so — If song may be sung even without an offering, let them sing for a voluntary burnt offering too. That would resolve Rabbi Avin’s question.
  32. It could lead to a mistake — The song Reish Lakish discusses is optional. If song were sung for a voluntary burnt offering on an optional basis, people might think song for an obligatory burnt offering is also optional. Therefore, no song is sung for a voluntary offering.
  33. What was the conclusion? — What was the answer to Rabbi Avin’s question?
  34. “You shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and your peace offerings” — The verse compares burnt offerings with peace offerings, and peace offerings with burnt offerings, regarding song.
  35. Just as the burnt offering mentioned here is most sacred — Every burnt offering is most sacred. So too, the peace offerings mentioned here that require song are most sacred. The only such peace offerings are the communal lambs of Shavuot, of which it says, “They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest” (Leviticus 23:20). And just as those peace offerings have a fixed time, so too does the burnt offering mentioned here. This excludes a communal voluntary burnt offering, which has no fixed time.
Tosafot on Arakhin 11b, in English Tab translation (11)
  1. From here, “the trumpeters and singers were as one” — The Torah says, “You shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings” (Numbers 10:10). This shows that song is required by Torah law.
  2. A gatekeeper who sang — First Chronicles 9 lists families of gatekeepers and families of singers.
  3. An objection was raised — Rashi says, “I do not know the source of this prohibition.” Rabbeinu Menahem explains that the Torah says, “To keep the charge, but they shall not perform the service,” and, “Thus you shall do to the Levites concerning their duties” (Numbers 8:26).
  4. One Sage holds that the penalty is death — That applies if a gatekeeper sings alone, so the Sages also prohibited him from assisting a singer. The other Sage holds that he merely violates a prohibition, so the Sages did not prohibit assisting.
  5. Does a communal voluntary burnt offering require song? — An example is a burnt offering brought when the altar is idle. An individual’s offering, even if obligatory, does not require libations.
  6. Rather, Rami son of Rav Yeiva said: The question concerned the lamb brought with the omer — This is very puzzling. They had offered the daily and additional offerings the day before; why would he seek guidance only about the additional offering of the sixteenth of Nisan?
  7. They asked whether the New Moon had been established — Rashi finds this difficult, because in Chronicles this verse comes before the account of the king’s counsel to observe Passover in the second month.
  8. Rather, Rav Ashi said: It is like a prayer leader who asks permission — The question remains unresolved, since the offering could have been the lamb brought with the omer.
  9. The day’s song was “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains” (Psalms 24:1) — If a voluntary communal burnt offering requires song, they used the song already sung for that morning’s daily offering.
  10. If so, the same applies to a voluntary burnt offering — Rashi explains that this would resolve Rabbi Avin’s question.
  11. “Over your burnt offerings and your peace offerings”: Just as a burnt offering is most holy, so too a peace offering … and just as peace offerings have a fixed time … — This baraita also appears in Zevachim 55a, but there it says, “Just as a burnt offering is most holy, so too a peace offering is most holy; just as a burnt offering must be slaughtered on the north side, so too a peace offering …” It does not mention a fixed time. Perhaps the full baraita discusses both slaughter on the north side and a fixed time; Rav Mari taught it in full, while Zevachim quotes only the part it needs. Alternatively, the baraita says only, “Just as a burnt offering is most holy, so too a peace offering is most holy,” and each passage raises its own question—about a fixed time here and slaughter on the north side in Zevachim. Rabbeinu Elhanan.

Sources

Kid summary and story cards written by Tab from the William Davidson Edition English (Sefaria, CC BY-NC 4.0).

Tab translation (machine-assisted) of Rashi and Tosafot, from the Vilna Edition Hebrew (public domain) on Sefaria. May contain mistakes.

In the app, the Gemara text comes from Sefaria (William Davidson Edition, CC BY-NC 4.0; Hebrew/Aramaic Vilna Edition). Rashi and Tosafot Hebrew: Vilna Edition (public domain) via Sefaria.

Also spelled: Arachin, Erchin 11.