Q & A: The Halachic Relevance of Simchat Beit Ha’sho’eva

Question: I know that the Simchat Beit Ha’sho’eva is a significant but not very popular ritual on Sukkot. Is it possible to elaborate on its significance?

Menachem

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Answer: Indeed, this ritual, referred to as a great celebration, has its origins in the period of Bayit Sheini, the Holy Temple reconstructed by Herod, as we shall see in a moment. The Gemara (Sukkah 51b) cites the Sages, who taught, “He who has not seen the rejoicing of the Beit Ha’sho’eva (the Water-Drawing ceremony) has never seen rejoicing in his life. He who has not seen Jerusalem in her splendor has not seen a beautiful city in his life. He who has not seen the Holy Temple in its full construction has not seen a glorious edifice in his life.”

The Gemara asks, “Which Temple?” Abaye, or some say R. Chisda, replied, “This [statement] refers to the building of King Herod. It was constructed of yellow and white marble. Others say it was constructed of yellow, blue, and white. He wished to do more to beautify it, but the Sages cautioned him to stop, saying: ‘It is more beautiful as it is since it has the appearance of the waves of the sea.’”

The Gemara teaches of a later structure as cited in the name of R. Judah: “He who has not seen the Basilica of Alexandria in Egypt has never seen the glory of Israel [the Jewish people].” It is said that it was like a huge basilica, one colonnade within the other. And at times, it held twice the number of people who departed Egypt. This structure with its bima in the center and gallery above modeled on the second Temple serves today as the model for an Orthodox Synagogue.

The Gemara further teaches of a powerful enactment our Sages instituted in the Holy Temple. Initially, the women sat in their court, the Ezrat Nashim, and the men sat outside it, on the same level, but they then constructed a gallery for the women above, with the men below, in order to prevent frivolity at the festivities of Beit Ha’sho’eva. The Gemara then asks: How could they alter the original structure of the Temple? Is it not written (I Chronicles 28:19), “Everything is in writing, by the hand of G-d, who instructed me [i.e., David]”? Answered Rav: They found another verse (Zecharia 12:12), “The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves.”

The Gemara analyzes this as an inference from minor to major (kal va’chomer): If in the future time described by the prophet Zecharia (after the death of Mashiach ben Yosef, who will be universally mourned), when people will be engaged in mourning and the Yetzer Hara (Evil Inclination) will have no power over them, the Torah stresses that men and women mourn separately, how much more so is such a separation required at Simchat Beit Ha’sho'eva, when people are rejoicing and the Evil Inclination has sway over them.

Based on the above, Rambam (Hilchot Lulav 8:12) rules that halacha requires separation between men and women in the synagogue in times of prayer. “Even though it is a mitzvah to rejoice on all the Festivals, the Sukkot Festival in the Temple was a time of even greater rejoicing, as the verse (Leviticus 23:40) states, ‘U'lekachtem lachem bayom ha’rishon pri etz hadar, kapot temarim, va’anaf etz avot ve’arvei nachal, u’simachtem lifnei Hashem Elokeichem shiv’at yamim’ (You shall take for yourselves on the first day [of Sukkot] the fruit of a tree of splendor, branches of date palms, twigs of a cord-like tree, and brook willows; And you shall rejoice before Hashem, your G-d, for a seven-day period.’” Rambam continues: “And what did they do? On the eve of the first day of Yom Tov [Sukkot], they would construct in the Temple a place for the women above and [a place] for the men below, in order that they not intermingle...” This was because of the possibility of the men and women mingling at the Simchat Beit Ha’sho’eva.

Unfortunately, in our time, when we are bereft of our Holy Temple, the Gemara (Megilla 29a) teaches us that our synagogues and study halls are small or substitute sanctuaries, as stated (Ezekiel 11:16), “Va’Ehi lahem le’mikdash me’at”– Yet I [G-d] have been for them a minor sanctuary. Thus, after the destruction of the Holy Temple, the synagogue is the place where we should properly feel the greatest closeness to G-d. The prayers we utter there replace the sacrifices offered in the Temple, as we learn (Hosea 14:3), “Kechu imachem devarim v’shuvu el Hashem, imru elav,‘Kol tissa avon v’kach tov u’neshalmah [p]arim sefateinu’” – Take with your words [of admission] and return to Hashem; and say to Him, “Forgive all iniquity and accept good [intentions], and let our lips substitute for the bulls [of the sacrifices].” In other words, may our prayers and pledges be accepted instead of korbanot. Thus, we can understand the importance of maintaining the sanctity of our places of prayer, as they serve the same purpose as the Temple before it was destroyed.

As such, it was the Simchat Beit Ha’sho’eva, with the possibility of such frivolity leading to sin, which served as the impetus for this enactment that remains an integral part of the Orthodox synagogue. A synagogue that lacks such separation is, in the view of halacha, not considered a sanctified edifice suitable for one to pray before G-d. Indeed, two of our most recent guiding lights in all areas of halacha, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein and Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, both fought, in word and deed, for the sanctity of our houses of prayer.

In fact, Rav Soloveitchik, when queried by a young man who lived in an area where the only available place to hear the blasts of the shofar was in a synagogue without a mechitza, advised him that it is far better that he not enter such a synagogue even though he would miss the blasts of the shofar.