Comentários de Citação sobre Salmos 30:2

Maimonides Hilchot Bikkurim 4,16-17 describes the bringing of the bikkurim to Jerusalem in these words: “the notables of the respective towns along the route to Jerusalem would accompany the donors so that these would not appear as being solitary individuals bringing these gifts.” They based themselves on Proverbs 14,28 that “a throng of people constitutes honour for the king (the Almighty).” The donors would spend the night in the public square of the respective town they were passing and would not enter private houses so as to avoid entering an area which might house ritual impurity capable of being conferred upon them. On the morrow, early, the person appointed for this task would address them and say: “arise and let us ascend to the Lord our G’d.” The ox representing their peace-offering would precede them, its horns decorated with gold leaf, a laurel of olive (leaves) on its head. This was to alert people to the fact that the bikkurim consisted of the seven species which we mentioned earlier. A flute would play in front of them until they came close to Jerusalem. They would walk all along the way (not ride or travel in a coach) proclaiming the verse from Psalms 122,1: ”I rejoiced when they said to me we are going to the House of the Lord.” They would not walk all day long but only for two “hours” daily (points on the sundial). As soon as they approached Jerusalem they would dispatch messengers ahead to inform the people of Jerusalem of their impending arrival. They would decorate the bikkurim at that time with kinds of crowns. If the bikkurim contained both fresh fruit and dried fruit they would place the former on top. The various dignitaries of Jerusalem would come out to welcome these donors of bikkurim. The welcoming committee would correspond to the size of the delegation of people bringing their bikkurim at that time. As soon as they entered the gates of Jerusalem they would chant the verse from Psalms 122. All the skilled artisans (who would not be required to interrupt their work to welcome Torah scholars) did come out to welcome these farmers honouring them for performing this commandment. When the processional reached the Temple Mount, each farmer would place his basket on his shoulder and proclaim the verse from Psalms 122,1. This would be followed by the recital of Psalms 150,1: “Praise the Lord in His holy Sanctuary” until the end of this hymn, i.e. “let all that breathes praise the Lord, Hallelujah.” When the procession reached the foyer of the Temple the Levites would commence their song commencing with Psalms 30,2: “let me extol You O Lord, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.”

ובשיר – the song that they would recite (Psalms 30:2): “I extol You, O LORD, for you have lifted me up,” But during the Second Temple period, even though there was no King and no Urim and Thumim, the Holiness that Solomon sanctified of the First Temple was a holiness for its time period and a holiness for the time to come. But the service of Nehemiah ben Chakhliah was for mere memory.

The flute would play before them, until they reached the Temple Mount.
When they reached the Temple Mount even King Agrippas would take the basket and place it on his shoulder and walk as far as the Temple Court.
When he got to the Temple Court, the Levites would sing the song: “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have raised me up, and You have not let my enemies rejoice over me” (Psalms 30:2).
Having been greeted at the entrance to Jerusalem, we continue on our journey to the Temple Mount. Most of this mishnah is straightforward, so I will only deal with certain issues that come up in section two.
Section two: In the Second Temple period there were a few kings named Agrippas. A ccording to Albeck, the Mishnah refers to Agrippas I, who lived between 10 B.C.E-44 C.E. and ruled in the Galilee between 37-41 and became king of Judea from 41-44. He was the grandson of Herod the Great. He is also referred to favorably in Sotah 7:8. The mishnah there discusses a festive gathering which occurred on the last day of Sukkot at the end of the Sabbatical year. At that time they would read portions from Deuteronomy. The mishnah states:
The synagogue attendant takes a Torah scroll and hands it to the head of the synagogue, the head of the synagogue hands it to the deputy and he hands it to the high priest, and the high priest hands it to the king and the king stands and receives it, but reads it while sitting. King Agrippa stood and received it and read standing, and the sages praised him. When he reached, “You shall not place a foreigner over you” (ibid 17:15) his eyes ran with tears. They said to him, “Fear not, Agrippas, you are our brother, you are our brother!”
Just as he acted humbly in that mishnah by standing when he could have sat, so too in our mishnah, Agrippas is mentioned favorably, for he humbly puts the basket with the bikkurim in it on his shoulder, just as all other Jews did.
This mishnah serves as an interesting foil for yesterday’s mishnah. There we learned that the social status of the people visiting Jerusalem was emphasized by those coming out to greet them when they arrived. Today we see the opposite the very king of Israel would make sure that he acted in the same humble manner as everyone else. Perhaps this is also a tendency of human beings. We want to see our leaders act humbly, so that we can think of them as being “just like us.” On the other hand, we also want to elevate any small social advantage we have over others. Oh what fascinating creatures we are!