King David, the temple, and the halleluyah chorus

In terms of the interior arrangements of the beit knesset, its structure, almost by accident, took on the appearance of the Temple. While praying in the direction of Jerusalem, the focus is on a niche or closet or box-like structure which contains the Torah scrolls, now called the Aron Kodesh or Holy Ark. This is separated from the rest of the beit knesset by a curtain called a parochet. This arrangement resembles the Temple, where the parochet separated the Holy from that which was considered the more sacred space-the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies in the Temple contained the Ark of the Covenant, which housed the tablets containing the Decalogue. In the synagogue today when for special prayers the parochet is parted and the Holy Ark is opened, the congregation rises and the worshipper has the impression that somehow he has come closer to the Divine Presence. And the Rabbis emphasized that a quorum of individuals earnestly engaged in prayer or in Torah study can be assured of the Divine Presence.(55)

The Psalms of David in their liturgical setting have come full circle. We first heard of these lyric poems of adoration being sung twice daily before a Holy Ark which contained the word of God and an intimation of His abiding Presence. Three thousand years later, these Psalms, as well as the words of many other inspired individuals, continue to be sung twice daily in the language of David before a Holy Ark, which contains the word of God and the promise of His Presence.

NOTES

1. The best translation of this difficult phrase is probably: ne'im zmirot yisroel; David is the ne'im, "chosen one" or "beloved" of He (God) who is the zmirot yisroel - the subject of the songs of Israel. See Da'at mikra on that verse.

2. I Chronicles 23:5. Maimonides, following the Talmud (Aarchin 11) finds the Biblical source for the Levites singing in the Temple in the verse ". . . then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God as all his brothers the Levites." (Deuteronomy 18:7). Says Maimonides, "a service which employs the name of the Lord is singing His praises." This appears to be an asmachta, i.e., a prooftext that seeks to justify an existing practice rather than a midrash which creates one.

3. See the chapters on early and ritual prayer in Prayer, History and Psychology by Friedrich Heiler (New York: A Galaxy Book, 1958).

4. See Part Six, "Music and Religion" in Sacred and Profane Beauty: The Holy in Art by G. Van Der Leeuw (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963).

5. Genesis 32:9-11; Exodus 15:1-19; Numbers 12:13; I Samuel 2:1-10; Jonah 2:3-11.

6. Leviticus 5:5; Leviticus 16:21.

7. Maimonides ruled that it was a positive Biblical command to pray daily. While the command to "serve God with all your heart" seems rather general, the Rabbis interpreted this to mean the special service (worship) which is done with the heart only, namely prayer. However, in communing with God, the heart experiences different emotions. Hence for the purposes of the Biblical command, Maimonides defines prayer (tefilah) as including the following: (1) One declares praises of God; (2) one formulates ones needs in terms of supplication; and (3) one expresses gratitude and thankfulness to God. (Rambam, Hilchot Tefilah, Chapter 1).