Drawing Water

The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 5, 4) tells us that on the second day of creation HaKadosh Baruch Hu separated the upper waters from the lower waters. The water that remained down below here on earth cried out to HaKadosh Baruch Hu, "We want to remain up there in Heaven with the upper waters!" HaKadosh Baruch Hu placated them, "You will get your reward down below … in 2448 years, when Am Yisrael will build the Mishkan and later in the Beit HaMikdash." The sea water will get its reward in that all the sacrifices brought on the altar will be salted with sea salt and the fresh water will get its reward on Sukkot when they do Nisuch HaMayim, the water libation on the altar.

The Nisuch HaMayim was accompanied by huge festivities, including Simchat Beit HaShoeva, the Celebration of the Water Drawing House. The festivities are described in the Gemara (Sukkah 48b-51a).

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya says that during the week of Sukkot, nobody had any time to sleep normally. It was such an intense time of festivities that at most they would take catnaps and doze on each other's shoulders.

Early in the morning on each day of the festival a procession would leave from the Mikdash with the Levites standing on the fifteen steps between the Azara and the Womens' Courtyard, singing and playing musical instruments. The procession continued down to the Shiloach Springs near Jerusalem, with a kohen leading in front carrying a golden vessel with a volume of 3 "log" to draw water from the spring. During the procession, men of high spiritual stature would sing and dance, juggling fiery torches.

The kohen would fill the vessel with water and the procession began its return to the Mikdash, entering via the "Water Gate," the south-east gate in the southern wall. As the procession arrived there, a shofar would sound three blasts – Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah.

The water was then libated on the outer altar, after the wine libation of the Tamid morning sacrifice. On the southwestern corner of the altar there were two silver "cups" with a hole at the bottom, one for the wine and the second for the water libation. Water was poured into the western-most cup (the one closest to the Inner Sanctuary) and it drained through the hole, down a pipe to a cavern below the foundations of the altar, where it became soaked into the ground.

After the Tamid sacrifice everyone proceeded to the synagogue for the Shacharit prayers. They would return to watch the Musaf sacrifices and then back to the synagogue for the Musaf prayer. Following Musaf they would study Torah until lunch time, when they would eat in the Sukkah. After lunch, back to the synagogue for Mincha and then back to the Mikdash to watch the afternoon Tamid sacrifice.

Every evening of Sukkot, the celebration of Simchat Beit HaShoeva took place in the Women's Courtyard, men in the courtyard below and women in the ramparts surrounding it above. Inside the courtyard were four enormous oil lamps, 83 feet high, whose wicks were made from old priestly garments that were no longer usable. The light was so intense that it illuminated every courtyard in the city of Jerusalem.

The Gemara describes how Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel would juggle with eight flaming torches which never touched each other. The sage Levi would juggle with eight knives. The sage Shmuel would juggle with eight glasses of wine, never spilling a drop. The sage Abaye juggled with eight eggs, never breaking a single one. This was all accompanied by singing and dancing.

It was such a joyous celebration that the Mishna (Sukkah 5, 1) says that someone who never witnessed Simchat Beit HaShoeva, never witnessed true joy in their life. It was such an uplifting experience that some people merited the powers of prophecy during the celebrations.

The Gemara (Yerushalmi Sukkah 5, 1) says that the prophet Yonah ben Amitay (of Sefer Yonah fame, that we read during Mincha on Yom Kippur) was one of the pilgrims visiting the Mikdash during Sukkot and he got his prophecy during the Simchat Beit HaShoeva celebration.

Today, we have no understanding what true joy is. We fervently pray that HaKadosh Baruch Hu should restore us to the days of old so that we may partake in the Sukkot celebrations in the Beit HaMikdash and truly merit Zman Simchateinu, the time of our rejoicing.

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: How much water is 3 "log?"

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: Why is there a large letter heh in the pasuk (Devarim 32:6)? There are three types of the letter heh in the Torah, the normal letter heh which proliferates throughout the Torah, a small letter heh, in the word "Be'hibar'am" (Bereishit 2:4). In Ha’azinu we have a large heh. The Zohar says the large letter heh corresponds to the first letter heh in HaKadosh Baruch Hu's name (yuf-heh-vav-heh) and the small letter heh in Bereishit corresponds to the second letter heh in HaKadosh Baruch Hu's name.