The silence that has hung over the Temple Mount for nearly two thousand years was broken Thursday morning when three Levites ascended Judaism’s holiest site and sang the daily psalm. The moment marks an unprecedented restoration of an ancient Temple service that ceased with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

The Levites who participated in the ascent described their experience in a statement: “We were moved today to fulfill (partially) our dream as sons of Levi – to sing the song of God on the holy mountain. Today, thank God, there are several organizations of Levites preparing for the day when we can stand again on the platform, and we invite our Levite brothers to inquire and join.”

The Bible assigns the Levites a specific role in Temple worship. In the book of Chronicles, King David organizes the Levitical singers: “David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, harps, and cymbals” (1 Chronicles 25:1). This wasn’t merely ceremonial music. The Sages teach that Levitical song was an essential component of the Temple service itself, so integral that sacrifices offered without it were considered incomplete.

The Beyadenu movement for the Temple Mount facilitated Thursday’s event and helped make it accessible to the public as part of its activities to strengthen the living, values-based, and communal connection to the Temple Mount.

Akiva Ariel, acting CEO of Beyadenu, stated: “Since the destruction of the Second Temple, the song of the Levites has not been heard on the Temple Mount. This moment expresses the longing and deep connection of the people of Israel to the holiest place in a respectful, modest, and sanctifying way. This is a moving civic initiative that continues the heartbeat of the nation toward this place.”

Beyadenu emphasized that events of this type join a long line of communal and educational initiatives that express the awakening and renewed connection to the Temple Mount from across the country.

The return of Levitical song to the Temple Mount represents more than historical reenactment. It signals a generation of Jews refusing to accept the Mount’s status as a place where Jewish prayer and worship remain restricted. While current policies limit Jewish religious expression on the site, initiatives like Thursday’s Levitical singing push the boundaries of what Jewish presence on the Mount can mean.

The three Levites who sang on Thursday stood in the footsteps of their ancestors who once filled the Temple courts with psalms. Their voices carried across stones that remember King David’s harp and Solomon’s dedication. After 1,955 years of silence, the songs of Levi sound again on the Mount.

Traditionally, Temple musicians were selected from the tribe of Levi. The Zohar explains that the Levites were selected to sing in the Temple because the name Levi means to accompany, and their music would cause others to come close to God. In the days that the Temples stood in Jerusalem, the Levites sang on the 15 steps— corresponding to the 15 Songs of Ascent in Psalms 15 —that led from the Ezrat Nashim (“Court of Women”) to the Ezrat Yisrael(“Court of Israelites”). The Mishna states that there were never less than 12 Levites standing on the platform, but their number could be increased indefinitely. While ordinarily, no minor was permitted to enter the Azarah (“Courtyard”) to take part in the service, the young Levites were permitted to join in the singing to “add sweetness to the sound” but were not permitted to stand on the same platform with the adult Levites (Talmud Erchin 2:6).

In the Bible, the tribe of Levi included Moses and Aaron. Kohanim (priests) are descendants of Aaron and his descendants became a subset of the tribe of Levi. The other members of the tribe were chosen by God to forfeit their portions of land in Israel and to serve in the Temple. The Levites performed various functions in the Temple including guarding and serving all the musical needs. 

Jewish communities are scrupulous about perpetuating the status of the Levites, which is passed from father to son. Only Jewish men whose fathers were Levites are considered eligible. Comprising about 4% of the total Jewish population, they are recognized for conspicuous honors in religious services and their status as Levites is inscribed on their gravestones.

The Gaon of Vilna (an 18th-century Torah sage) said that the Temple music would be the last secret to be revealed before the Messiah.