These first three books of the Writings are unique in another way. All the books of the Bible have a melody that is added when reading them. This melody is known as the cantillation. The book’s text is marked with cantillation marks that provide the instructions on how to sing the text. Every book of the Bible has a melody and for 21 out of the 24 books of the Bible, the syntax for the cantillation marks is the same. One that really wants to connect to the Torah, to all the books of the Bible should learn these melodies. The best way to connect your soul to the Bible is by learning how to sing the Bible.
But the marks and syntax for the cantillation marks is completely different in these three books, which are the most introspective books of the Bible. So much so that in most Jewish traditions, the way to sing these three books has actually been forgotten. Singing the melody of these three books is so complex that even the greatest sages of recent generations, no longer know how to properly sing Psalms, Proverbs, and Job. It is said that in order to sing the verses of these three books, you must, first of all, have a very long breath.
One of the last people who knew how to sing these three books was the author of the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe, meaning the Old Rebbe, the first Rebbe of the Chabad Hasidic movement. He conveyed the song of these books to his eldest great-grandchild, whom he knew and was close to in his lifetime. That great-grandchild was the last person that knew how to properly sing these three books. He was the last for the time being, until the Mashiach comes and will teache us how to sing them properly.
To sing the deepest insights of introspection is different from retrospection and different from extrospection. It is so unique, and it requires such a long breath that now almost no one is able to do it. We can obviously learn these books, recite the verses in our mouths and contemplate the meanings of the verses in our minds, but the ultimate way to experience them is by being able to sing them properly. Once again, these three books reflect the ultimate (inner) truth of the Bible.
This is another most important introduction to understanding the structure of the Bible. God willing, we are going to focus on the inspiration to be had from studying the introspective books of the Writings. We are going to focus on the book of Proverbs, whose initial is the letter mem (מ), the middle letter of “truth.”
