The laying of the foundation for the Second Temple was a momentous occasion that beautifully blended the physical labor of construction with deep spiritual expression. As the builders engaged in the intense, prolonged work of setting the foundations and erecting the initial walls [שטיינזלץ], a grand musical ceremony of praise and thanksgiving to God took place simultaneously [רש״י].
The priests stood ready, dressed specifically for the occasion. Commentators debate the exact nature of their attire. Some suggest they wore special garments of honor to mark the significance of the event [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Others maintain they wore their official priestly vestments [אבן עזרא]. This latter view raises a legal question, as priests are generally forbidden to wear their sacred work clothes outside of actual Temple service. To resolve this, it is explained that the priests had already put on these garments to perform the daily continual offering and simply remained in them for the ceremony. In a similar departure from standard practice, the priests blew trumpets. Normally, trumpet blasts were reserved strictly for festivals. However, the overwhelming joy of the moment led them to treat the day as a true festival, enacting a special, temporary ruling to sound the trumpets [מלבי״ם].
Alongside the priests stood the Levites from the family of Asaph, historically known as leading singers [שטיינזלץ]. They accompanied the ceremony with cymbals—copper instruments struck together to produce a loud, resounding noise [מצודת ציון], which are identified with the sounding cymbals mentioned in the Book of Psalms [רש״י, אבן עזרא, רס״ג]. The songs of praise and gratitude they performed were deeply connected to King David. The primary approach among commentators is that the Levites sang the very psalms of praise, thanksgiving, and prophecy authored by the king. Alternatively, the connection to David refers specifically to the act of playing instruments, indicating that the Levites performed the actual musical melodies composed by David [אבן עזרא].