שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד הִנֵּ֣ה מַה־טּ֭וֹב וּמַה־נָּעִ֑ים שֶׁ֖בֶת אַחִ֣ים גַּם־יָֽחַד׃ כַּשֶּׁ֤מֶן הַטּ֨וֹב ׀ עַל־הָרֹ֗אשׁ יֹרֵ֗ד עַֽל־הַזָּקָ֥ן זְקַֽן־אַהֲרֹ֑ן שֶׁ֝יֹּרֵ֗ד עַל־פִּ֥י מִדּוֹתָֽיו׃ כְּטַל־חֶרְמ֗וֹן שֶׁיֹּרֵד֮ עַל־הַרְרֵ֢י צִ֫יּ֥וֹן כִּ֤י שָׁ֨ם ׀ צִוָּ֣ה יי אֶת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה חַ֝יִּ֗ים עַד־הָעוֹלָֽם׃ {פ}
A Ma῾alot Poem of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, running down upon the beard, the beard of Aharon: running down over the hem of his garments: like the dew of Ḥermon descending upon the mountains of Żiyyon: for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
שיר וגו'. הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שבת אחים גם יחד, כשישב הקב"ה בבית הבחירה עם ישראל הקרויין אחים ורעים ויהיה גם הוא יחד עמהם:
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers also to dwell together When the Holy One, blessed be He, will dwell in the Temple with Israel, who are called brothers and friends, and He too will be together with them.
שיורד. מראשו אל זקנו אל פי ראש הכתונת שלו שהזקן שוכב ע"פ הכתונת כן נעים טל חרמון שגבוה על הררי ציון והטל יורד מחרמון להררי ציון כשם ששמן המשחה לגדולה כך הר ציון לתפאר' ולכבוד לישראל כשם ששמן הטוב כן טל חרמון כזה כן זה כמו והיה כעם ככהן (ישעיהו כ״ד:ב׳), ורבותינו דרשו שבת אחים משה ואהרן לענין מעילה בשמן המשחה במסכת הוריות כל המזמור אבל יש בדברי תורה וקבלה משל ומליצה ודברי חכמים וחידותם ועיקר שיר המעלות על בית המקדש נאמר:
which runs down from his head to his beard, to the mouth of his tunic, for the beard rests on the mouth of the tunic. So is the dew of Hermon, which is high, pleasant on the mountains of Zion. Just as the anointing oil is for greatness, so is the dew of Zion for glory and distinction for Israel. Just as the good oil is so, so is the dew of Hermon. Like this, so is that, like (Isa. 24:2): “as with the people, so with the priest.” Our Rabbis explained “for brothers to dwell” as cmemeoncerning Moses and Aaron, regarding unlawful use of the anointment oil, in tractate Horioth (12a) the entire psalm. But [there is], in words of Torah and post- Mosaic Scriptures, an allegory and a figure, and [in the] words of the wise and their riddles, but the primary meaning of the song of ascents is that it was said regarding the Temple.
כטל חרמון. כמו הטל היורד מהר חרמון על הררי ציון הנמוכים ממנו כן באה השפע באמצעות המלך ליתר העם:
As the dew of Hermon – Like the dew which descends from Mount Hermon onto the mountains of Zion which are lower than it, so comes the influx by way of the king to the rest of the people.
On first read, sounds pretty weird, right? The dwelling of brethren is like oil on the head dripping into the beard???
But this poem would be in the running on my list of most brilliantly poetic verses in the whole of the TaNaKh, and is all the more powerful in its reverberating brevity.
Here is a comment from Great Texts of the Bible, edited by Reverend James Hastings and published in 1916:
Nowhere has the nature of true unity—that unity which binds men together, not by artificial restraints, but as brethren of one heart—been more faithfully described, nowhere so gracefully illustrated, as in this short ode. True concord, we are here taught, is a holy thing, a sacred oil, a rich perfume, which, flowing down from the head to the beard, from the beard to the garment, sanctifies the whole body. It is a sweet morning dew, which falls not only on the lofty mountain-peaks but on the lesser hills, embracing all and refreshing all with its influence.
The preservation of this unity was the object of the selection of one place to which the tribes should go up on pilgrimage three times a year. And the intercommunion with each other which the pilgrimages fostered was certainly one of the chief means by which the unity of feeling and sentiment was kept up among the scattered members of the nation century after century.
But this poem would be in the running on my list of most brilliantly poetic verses in the whole of the TaNaKh, and is all the more powerful in its reverberating brevity.
Here is a comment from Great Texts of the Bible, edited by Reverend James Hastings and published in 1916:
Nowhere has the nature of true unity—that unity which binds men together, not by artificial restraints, but as brethren of one heart—been more faithfully described, nowhere so gracefully illustrated, as in this short ode. True concord, we are here taught, is a holy thing, a sacred oil, a rich perfume, which, flowing down from the head to the beard, from the beard to the garment, sanctifies the whole body. It is a sweet morning dew, which falls not only on the lofty mountain-peaks but on the lesser hills, embracing all and refreshing all with its influence.
The preservation of this unity was the object of the selection of one place to which the tribes should go up on pilgrimage three times a year. And the intercommunion with each other which the pilgrimages fostered was certainly one of the chief means by which the unity of feeling and sentiment was kept up among the scattered members of the nation century after century.
טוֹב שֵׁם מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב. שֶׁמֶן טוֹב יוֹרֵד לְמַטָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "כַּשֶּׁמֶן הַטּוֹב . . . יוֹרֵד עַל הַזָּקָן". שֵׁם טוֹב עוֹלֶה לְמַעְלָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "וַאֲגַדְּלָה שְׁמֶךָ". שֶׁמֶן טוֹב לְשָׁעָה, וְשֵׁם טוֹב לְעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: "יְהִי שְׁמוֹ לְעוֹלָם". שֶׁמֶן טוֹב הוֹלֵךְ מִקִּיטוֹן לִטְרַקְלִין וְלֹא יוֹתֵר, וְשֵׁם טוֹב לְסוֹף הָעוֹלָם. אָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בְּרַבִּי סִימוֹן: "מָצִינוּ בַּעֲלֵי שֶׁמֶן טוֹב נִכְנְסוּ לִמְקוֹם הַחַיִּים וְיָצְאוּ שְׂרוּפִים, וְהֵם נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא שֶׁנִּמְשְׁחוּ בְשֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה, וּמָצִינוּ בַּעֲלֵי שֵׁם טוֹב שֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ לִמְקוֹם הַמִּיתָה וְיָצְאוּ חַיִּים, חֲנַנְיָה, מִישָׁאֵל וַעֲזַרְיָה, שֶׁיָּצְאוּ מִכִּבְשַׁן הָאֵשׁ:
Better a good name than precious oil. Precious oil runs down, as it is stated, “as the precious oil (on the head) runs down upon the beard.” But a good name rises to the top, as it is stated, “and I will make your name great.” Precious oil is temporary, but a fine reputation is forever, as it is stated, “may his name endure forever.” Precious oil [at best] flows from the flask to the palace, and no further, but a fine reputation [spreads] throughout the world. Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Simon said, that we find that those who had good oil entered the place of life and emerged burnt up. These are Nadav and Avihu, who were anointed with the anointing oil. And we find those who possessed a fine reputation, who entered a place of death and emerged alive, [these are] Chananyah, Mishaeil, and Azaryah, who emerged [unscathed] from the fiery furnace.
So as important as the Temple was to foster communion between the Almighty and Israel, it was also of huge importance for the unity and brotherhood of Israelites with each other.
Here is another lovely comment, from the College Press Study Bible Textbook Series:
The stay in the sacred city was not long, but it was an abiding while it lasted: it brought brethren face to face who had never before seen each other; and, sweeping away prejudices and misunderstandings, cementing holy friendships by sacred service and song and by the giving and receiving of domestic courtesies, made the participants realise how truly they were brethren.
Here is another lovely comment, from the College Press Study Bible Textbook Series:
The stay in the sacred city was not long, but it was an abiding while it lasted: it brought brethren face to face who had never before seen each other; and, sweeping away prejudices and misunderstandings, cementing holy friendships by sacred service and song and by the giving and receiving of domestic courtesies, made the participants realise how truly they were brethren.
וכי שני זקנים היו לאהרן ואת אמרת הזקן, זקן?! אלא כיון שראה משה את השמן יורד על זקן אהרן, היה שמח כאלו על זקנו ירד.
Did Aharon, then, have two beards, that it is mentioned twice here? Rather, when Moshe saw the annointing oil running down upon the beard of Aharon, he rejoiced as though it had run down upon his own beard.
Jewish tradition recognizes the awesome power of collective musical worship. But in a time when communal gatherings are socially distant, if they happen at all, the thought of simply sitting closely with friends may be painful. All the more so, group singing is entirely out of the question. And yet, our communities will someday merit to gather together in song once more, and we can access the voice's spiritual power even when we are by ourselves.
(א) מה טוב. אפשר דמדבר על משה רבינו ז"ל שהתורה נקראת על שמו וזהו מה טוב אין טוב אלא תורה. ומה נעים אהרן הכהן שהיה הולך לשים שלום בין אדם לחבירו ובין איש לאשתו ונעימו בימינו להרבות שלום. שבת אחים גם יחד. ועד"ה ידוע דקב"ה הוא שם מה וכתב רבינו האר"י ז"ל דגם המלכות נקראת מה כמ"ש בסוד מה אנו מה חיינו וזה רמז מה טוב ומה נעים קבה"ו שבת אחים גם יחד ולכך אמר הנה מה טוב ומה נעים ואמרו רבותינו ז"ל כל מקום שנאמר הנה הוא שמחה שנאמר הנה הוא יוצא לקראתך וראך ושמח בלבו. וז"ש הנה מה טוב ומה נעים שמחה רבה כשיש יחוד קבה"ו:
How good. It is possible that this speaks of Moshe Rabeinu, z"l, as the torah is called after his name; and this is "how good." There is no "good" other than Torah. And "how pleasant" is Aharon the Priest, who would walk to bring (to put) peace between a person and his friend, between man and wife, and whose pleasantness in our days increases peace. Brothers dwell together. And according to the secret (kabbalah), it is known that the Holy Blessed One's name is "how" (mah). And the Ar"i z'l wrote that the kinship is also called "how." As it is written in secret "how (what) are we, how are our lives." And this is a hint to "how good and how pleasant it is" Holy Blessed One "that brothers dwell together." And thus it is said, how good and how pleasant. And our rabbis said, every place that it says "hineh" - here/behold - it means happiness. As it is said, "here he is coming forth towards you, and he sees you and is happy in his heart." And thus is is written, "how good an how pleasant" - what great happiness when God communes. ...
ת"ר (תהלים קלג, ב) כשמן הטוב [וגו'] יורד על הזקן זקן אהרן וגו' כמין שני טפי מרגליות היו תלויות לאהרן בזקנו אמר רב פפא תנא כשהוא מספר עולות ויושבות לו בעיקר זקנו ועל דבר זה היה משה דואג אמר שמא חס ושלום מעלתי בשמן המשחה יצתה בת קול ואמרה כשמן הטוב וגו' (תהלים קלג, ג) כטל חרמון מה טל חרמון אין בו מעילה אף שמן המשחה שבזקן אהרן אין בו מעילה
The Sages taught: “It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard, that comes down upon the collar of his garments” (Psalms 133:2). Two drops of anointing oil, shaped like pearls, were suspended for Aaron from his beard. Rav Pappa said that it is taught: When Aaron would speak and his beard would move, those drops would miraculously rise and settle on the roots of his beard so that they would not fall. Moses was concerned about this matter. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forfend, I misused the consecrated anointing oil and poured more than necessary, as two additional drops remain? A Divine Voice emerged and said: “It is like the precious oil upon the head coming down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard, that comes down upon the collar of his garments. Like the dew of Hermon” (Psalms 133:2–3). This analogy teaches: Just as there is no misuse of the dew of Hermon, which is not consecrated, so too, with regard to the anointing oil that is on Aaron’s beard, there is no misuse of consecrated property.