Halachot and Customs
What Was the Role of the Levites in the Temple?
What Was the Role of the Levites in the Temple?
Question
In practice,
I have two questions:
According to the Torah, the role of the Levites was to carry the Tabernacle during the journey in the wilderness. The question is, what was the role of the Levites after the children of Israel had already settled in the Land of Israel?
Second question: the giving of tithes to the Levites began upon the entry of the children of Israel into the land. Until what period did the practice of giving tithes to the Levites continue?
Thank you,
Erez
Answer
The role of the Levites was to sing and to guard. To sing: during the offering of the sacrifices, a choir of Levites would stand on the platform and sing chapters from Psalms. The Levites also played several musical instruments. To guard: the Levites would stand around the Temple Mount at the gates of the Temple throughout the night. This was not because there was any concern that anyone would decide to invade, but rather as an act of honor for the House of Hashem.
It should be noted that there was special care in these two roles to ensure that a singer would not serve as a guard, and vice versa, to the extent that the Gemara said that a singer who served as a guard is חייב מיתה. The giving of tithes was practiced for as long as the Temple stood, including during the period of the Second Temple in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. However, then the Levites were penalized by Ezra because of their passive participation in the return to the Holy Land, and their authority in receiving tithes was reduced. As soon as the Temple was destroyed, the sanctity of Jerusalem decreased significantly, and the Levites no longer receive the tithes; instead, they are destroyed or redeemed for money, and the money is burned.
