I AM ISRAEL film | Music of the Levites | Yair Levi

From the days Solomon dedicated the temple, Mount Zion welcomed all nations of the earth. And the one language that united everyone was the language of music. Today, the ancient songs of the past are being renewed by descendants of Israel's original musicians, the tribe [music] of Levi. One of those descendants is Yair Levy. According to the Jewish faith, we believe that God gave us music as a gift. It's a gift that we [music] can use to connect between souls, between people. The secret of music is that it doesn't matter who you are and what language do you speak, it can touch your heart. My name is Yair Levy. I'm a singer, songwriter, live in Jaffa. I was born here. It's my grandparents that did aliyah. So, I'm very mixed from all over the world. From my side of my father, they came from Yemen. And from my side of my mother, Poland and Tunisia. [music] Yair has performed his music for audiences around the world. His ultimate dream is to sing [music] songs of worship on the Temple Mount. My mother said when I was 3 years old, she was singing in my bed and all the time I was fixing her and telling him, "Don't sing like this and sing it I sing differently than how you sing." So, she understood that I have something with music. >> [music] >> When I was 16, I started to play with friends and I learned from them. They teach me how to play guitar. Then I start to write songs. It was amazing and I understood that this is my purpose in this world, to write songs and to compose it. I feel that this is my purpose from a very young age. The tribe of Levi was set apart from the other 12 at Mount Sinai, chosen to serve in the sanctuary and to teach [music] the Torah throughout the nation. Their members included Moses [music] and Aaron, Samuel and Jeremiah, Zechariah and John the Baptist. We used to sing in the temple from Psalms [music] and other songs in harmony, and it was a very famous ceremony that people all over the world came to hear and to see and to hear the music of the Levites. It was very very unique. For pilgrims entering Jerusalem during the biblical festivals, >> [music] >> they would be enveloped by a city full of music. Jerusalem for me >> [music] >> is a gift. It's a kind of a gift that we got like music. And you can work with Jerusalem in the right way or not in the right way. I believe that this place need to be a place of peace, of music, not a place to fight. I always remember my family only 100 years ago, if I would tell them that I was walking to the Temple Mount, they were thinking that I'm crazy. In 100 years, we came from all over the world to Israel. So for me as a Levite, as a Jew, to walk in Israel and to walk in Jerusalem and to walk in the Temple Mount is a dream come true to all of my grandfathers. During the first century, a pilgrim's journey to the house of God culminated [music] here on the southern steps. As worshipers walked up, they would begin to hear music coming from inside the temple. The ancient gates where the biblical heroes of the past would enter are still visible today. Isaiah said that this is house of prayer for all the nations. We're praying for it every day that all the world and all the nation will say, "Hey, we want to [music] pray together. We're not afraid." I welcome anyone that want to come to pray in Jerusalem. It doesn't matter if it's non-Jewish or Jewish. Come, visit Jerusalem and pray with us. The melodies that once filled the air on Mount Zion were lost to time. But today, as the Jewish people return to the land of their forefathers, the ancient songs are being rediscovered. One of them is Psalm 118. >> [music] >> Originally composed by King David, it is believed that this melody was sung by the Levites on the Temple Mount. >> [singing] [music and singing] [singing] [music] >> I truly believe that if we want to bring peace to this place, we need to [music] work on our heart. Because right now we are not ready. The way to [music] be ready is first to love each other. Because the the temple is a place for peace. And second, we need to feel that it's missing in our heart. That the Hebrew people and all the nations praying together that it's something that we want. When when we feel that we want it, it [music] will happen. Yeah. My dream for the Temple Mount is to enter and to sing and to serve God through music in the way that he chose me as a Levite. I am Yair Levi and I am Israel. >> [music] >> Begin your adventure at iamIsraelFilm.com.