The Terry Elan Memorial Lecture 2025: Music of the Mikdash

To mark my father's yahrtzeit on 29 Shevat I delivered a new slideshow titled Music of the Mikdash: Reconstructing the musical instruments of the Leviim and recapturing the lost Song of Zion. See the full video below!

Some of the topics covered in this slideshow include:

The Instruments

    • The Biblical neivel — three opinions

    • Can you name all of the instruments produced from the body of a ram?

    •  Was there a pipe organ in the Beis Hamikdash?

The Leviim

    • Tour the underground Music Chambers

    • Walk through the Song Gate

    • Stand with the Leviim on the duchan

The Music

    •  Meet a synagogue composer from the Italian Renaissance

    • Sample different choral genres

    • Rediscover the sound of the Leviim!

I would like to thank the following for their help in preparing this year's slideshow:

• Chananya Kramer and Kol Rom Multimedia for permission to use a clip from "Megillas Lester"

• Six13 for permission to use a clip from "Hamalach HaGoel"

• Dr. Elam Rotem and Profeti Della Quinta for permission to use a clip from "Psalm 8" of Salomone Rossi

• Martha Goodman and the Disability and Inclusion Services, Macks Jewish Connection Network in Baltimore, MD for help with the closed captions for this video.