And so, corresponding to each type of excitement and feeling for Hashem, there is a specific musical instrument that the Leviim would use.
This is also the idea of “praise Him with the shofar,” since the shofar is an instrument that produces a sound that makes a person feel a sense of trembling before Hashem and a broken heart (like the shofar of Rosh Hashana and Elul, which are times of Teshuva-Repentance, where the person is contrite and serious), which is the idea of the simple cry of the tekios and the broken sound of the shevarim,
and similarly, the continuation of that verse states, “Praise Him with the broken teruah sound of the cymbals” which also corresponds to the excitement for Hashem that exists within the sense of bitterness and a broken heart.
When we sound the shofar on Rosh Hashana, there are three different sounds: Tekios are a long, simple sound, like someone crying out for help; shevarim are a broken sound, like someone sobbing; and teruos are the even more broken sound of someone whimpering in short breaths. The “cymbals” in the Mishkan and Beis Hamikdash made a broken sound like the teruos of the shofar.
Lessons in Likutay Torah
And the flute is a musical instrument that stimulates joy, which corresponds to the love and excitement for Hashem in a joyous manner.
This was the service of the Leviim, with their various types of musical instruments, the entire purpose of the singing and music was to work on revealing the level of הו"א-Him, meaning Bina, like it says הו"א עָשָנו - We make הו"א practical, meaning that we draw forth emotions for Hashem from being hidden to being revealed.
The literal meaning of "הו א עָשָנו" is “He (Hashem) has made us.” However, here we are reading עָשָנו to mean “we make” and thus, "הו א עָשָנו" means “we make הו א,” meaning we make the awareness of Bina into an awareness that is revealed in our emotions and thus practical, having an effect even on our bodies.
