Pt2 Sukkot in the Second Temple: Rituals of the Lulav, Willow, and Water Drawing Ceremony (Mishnah Sukkah 4:4-5:4)

This is the second and final installment of a two-part series. The first part is here, the outline can be found there.

Additional Customs of Sukkot: The Day of the Beating of Palm Branches

The Mishnah explains that the ritual performed on Shabbat during Sukkot was the same as during the week, except that branches were gathered in advance on Friday and placed in gold basins (גיגיות) to prevent them from drying out (יכמשו). 

R' Yoḥanan ben Beroka adds that on the seventh day of Sukkot, there was a custom where palm branches (חריות) were beaten (חובטין) on the ground on the side of the altar, and this day was referred to as "The Day of the Beating of Palm Branches" (יום חבוט חריות).

כמעשהו בחל כך מעשהו בשבת, 

אלא שהיו מלקטין אותן מערב שבת, 

ומניחים אותן בגיגיות של זהב, 

כדי שלא יכמשו. 

רבי יוחנן בן ברוקה אומר:

חריות של דקל היו מביאין, 

וחובטין אותן בקרקע בצדי המזבח, 

ואותו היום נקרא "יום חבוט חריות"

The mishna notes: As its performance during the week, so is its performance on Shabbat;

except for the fact that they would gather the branches from Shabbat eve

and place them in basins of gold so that they would not dry.

R' Yoḥanan ben Beroka says:

There was a unique custom on the seventh day. They would bring palm branches to the Temple

and place them on the ground at the sides of the altar,

and that seventh day of Sukkot was called: The day of the placing of palm branches.

Children grabbing lulavim and eating people’s etrogim

On the seventh day, after everyone had fulfilled the mitzva of taking the four species, children would grab (שומטין) lulavim and eat people’s etrogim. 

מיד, התינוקות שומטין את לולביהן, ואוכלין אתרוגיהן

[...]

Immediately after fulfilling the mitzva of taking the four species on the seventh day of the festival of Sukkot, children remove their lulavim from the binding and eat their etrogim as an expression of extreme joy.

[...]

Temple Water Libation Ritual

The water libation (נסוך המים) in the Temple during Sukkot was performed as follows: 

A priest would fill a golden jug (צלוחית) with three log of water from the Siloam (שלוח) pool and bring it to the Temple courtyard through the Water Gate (שער המים), accompanied by trumpet blasts. 

Upon reaching the top of the altar, the priest would pour the water into one of two silver basins (ספלים) on the altar. 

R' Yehuda noted that these basins were made of limestone (סיד) but were darkened (משחרין) and appeared silver due to staining from wine. 

To ensure visibility of the ritual, they would tell the priest to raise his hand while pouring, as once a priest poured it on his feet instead, prompting the people to pelt him (רגמוהו) with their etrogim in anger.

נסוך המים כיצד?

צלוחית של זהב, מחזקת שלשת לגים, היה ממלא מן השלוח. 

הגיעו לשער המים, תקעו והריעו ותקעו. 

עלה בכבש, ופנה לשמאלו,

שני ספלים של כסף היו שם. 

רבי יהודה אומר: של סיד היו, אלא שהיו משחרין פניהם מפני היין. 

[...]

ולמנסך אומרים לו, הגבה ידך, שפעם אחת נסך אחד על גבי רגליו, ורגמוהו כל העם באתרוגיהן

[...]

With regard to the rite of water libation performed in the Temple during the Festival, how was it performed?

One would fill a golden jug with a capacity of three log with water from the Siloam pool.

When those who went to bring the water reached the Gate of the Water, so called because the water for the libation was brought through this gate leading to the Temple courtyard, they sounded a tekia, sounded a terua, and sounded another tekia as an expression of joy.

The priest ascended the ramp of the altar and turned to his left.

There were two silver basins there into which he poured the water.

R' Yehuda said: They were limestone basins, but they would blacken due to the wine and therefore looked like silver. 

[...]

And the appointee says to the one pouring the water into the silver basin: Raise your hand, so that his actions would be visible, as one time a Sadducee priest intentionally poured the water on his feet, as the Sadducees did not accept the oral tradition requiring water libation, and in their rage all the people pelted him with their etrogim.

[...]

Flutes and candelabra: A Spectacle of Joy and Ritual at the Drawing of the Water Ceremony

The flute (חליל) was played during the Festival of Sukkot for five or six days, depending on whether Shabbat coincided with the festival. 

It was said that anyone who didn’t witness the celebration (שמחה) of the Drawing of the Water (Simchat Beit HaShoeivah)¹ had never seen a true celebration.

The sequence of events during the celebration included the priests and Levites descending to the Women's Courtyard (עזרת נשים), where golden candelabra (מנורות) were set up. 

Each candelabrum had four gold basins (ספלים) at the top, and four ladders were placed by each. Four priestly trainees² climbed the ladders carrying pitchers with 120 log of oil, which they poured into the basins to fuel the candelabra. Strips of fabric from the priests' worn trousers and belts were torn and used as wicks to light the candelabra. 

The light from the candelabra was so bright that it illuminated every courtyard in Jerusalem.

החליל חמשה וששה.

זהו החליל של בית השואבה, 

[...]

אמרו: כל מי שלא ראה שמחת בית השואבה, לא ראה שמחה מימיו

במוצאי יום טוב הראשון של חג, ירדו לעזרת נשים, ומתקנין שם תקון גדול. 

ומנורות של זהב היו שם, 

1. וארבעה ספלים של זהב בראשיהן, 

2. וארבעה סלמות לכל אחד ואחד, 

3. וארבעה ילדים מפרחי כהנה 

ובידיהם כדים של שמן של מאה ועשרים לג, 

שהן מטילין לכל ספל וספל

מבלאי מכנסי כהנים ומהמיניהן מהן היו מפקיעין, 

ובהן היו מדליקין, 

ולא היתה חצר בירושלים שאינה מאירה מאור בית השואבה

The flute is played on the festival of Sukkot for five or six days.

This is the flute of the Place of the Drawing of the Water,

[...]

One who did not see the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water never saw celebration in his days.

This was the sequence of events: At the conclusion of the first Festival day the priests and the Levites descended from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, where they would introduce a significant repair, as the Gemara will explain.

There were golden candelabra atop poles there in the courtyard.

1. And there were four basins made of gold at the top of each candelabrum.

2. And there were four ladders for each and every pole

3. and there were four children from the priesthood trainees,

and in their hands were pitchers with a capacity of 120 log of oil

that they would pour into each and every basin.

From the worn trousers of the priests and their belts they would loosen and tear strips to use as wicks,

and with them they would light the candelabra.

And the light from the candelabra was so bright that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated from the light of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.

Flaming Torches, Songs, and Music: A Celebration Led by the Pious and Levites

During the celebration, pious men (חסידים) and “men of action” (אנשי מעשה)³ would entertain the crowd by dancing (מרקדים) with flaming torches (אבוקות של אור) and reciting songs and praises. 

The Levites accompanied them by playing a variety of musical instruments, including lyres (כנורות), harps (נבלים), cymbals (מצלתים), and trumpets (חצוצרות). The musicians stood on the fifteen stairs that connect the Israelites' courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard,⁴ where they performed their music and would sing.

חסידים ואנשי מעשה היו מרקדים לפניהם,

באבוקות של אור שבידיהן, 

ואומרים לפניהן דברי שירות ותשבחות. 

והלוים 

1. בכנורות 

2. ובנבלים 

3. ובמצלתים 

4. ובחצוצרות 

5. ובכלי שיר בלא מספר, 

על חמש עשרה מעלות היורדות מעזרת ישראל לעזרת נשים, 

כנגד חמשה עשר שיר המעלות שבתהלים, 

שעליהן לויים עומדין בכלי שיר ואומרים שירה. 

The pious and the men of action would dance before the people who attended the celebration,

with flaming torches that they would juggle in their hands,

and they would say before them passages of song and praise to God.

And the Levites would play on

1. lyres,

2. harps,

3. cymbals,

4. and trumpets,

5. and countless other musical instruments.

The musicians would stand on the fifteen stairs that descend from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard,

corresponding to the fifteen Songs of the Ascents in Psalms, i.e., chapters 120–134,

and upon which the Levites stand with musical instruments and recite their song. 

Trumpet Blasts Mark Procession

The ceremony involved two priests standing at the Upper Gate (שער העליון) between the Israelites' Courtyard (עזרת ישראל) and the Women's Courtyard, each holding a trumpet (חצוצרות). 

At dawn, when the rooster crowed (קרא הגבר), they blew a series of trumpet blasts (tekia, terua, tekia). 

As they reached the tenth stair (מעלה), the trumpets sounded again with the same blasts. 

When they entered the Women's Courtyard, they repeated the trumpet blasts. 

This continued as they moved through the courtyard and towards the eastern gate, marking each stage of the procession with trumpet blasts.

ועמדו שני כהנים בשער העליון, שיורד מעזרת ישראל לעזרת נשים,

ושתי חצוצרות בידיהן. 

1. קרא הגבר, תקעו והריעו ותקעו. 

2. הגיעו למעלה עשירית, תקעו והריעו ותקעו. 

3. הגיעו לעזרה, תקעו והריעו ותקעו. 

היו תוקעין והולכין, עד שמגיעין לשער היוצא מזרח. 

And this was the ceremony of the Water Libation: Two priests stood at the Upper Gate that descends from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard,

with two trumpets in their hands.

1. When the rooster crowed at dawn, they sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia.

2. When they who would draw the water reached the tenth stair the trumpeters sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia, to indicate that the time to draw water from the Siloam pool had arrived.

3. When they reached the Women’s Courtyard with the basins of water in their hands, the trumpeters sounded a tekia, and sounded a terua, and sounded a tekia.

They continued sounding the trumpets until they reached the gate through which one exits to the east, from the Women’s Courtyard to the eastern slope of the Temple Mount. 

Proclamation to God: A Ritual Contrast with First Temple Ancestors' Sun Worship

Upon reaching the eastern gate, they turned from facing east to facing west (toward the Holy of Holies). 

They contrasted their behavior with that of their ancestors during the First Temple period, who faced east and worshipped the sun, as described in Ezekiel 8:16. In contrast, the people proclaimed that their eyes are directed to Him.⁵ 

R’ Yehuda adds that they would repeat: "We are to God,⁶ and our eyes are to God."

הגיעו לשער היוצא ממזרח, הפכו פניהן למערב, 

ואמרו: 

אבותינו שהיו במקום הזה 

"אחוריהם אל היכל ה', 

ופניהם קדמה, 

והמה משתחוים קדמה לשמש" 

ואנו, ליה עינינו. 

רבי יהודה אומר: היו שונין ואומרין: אנו ליה, וליה עינינו

When they reached the gate through which one exits to the east, they turned from facing east to facing west, toward the Holy of Holies, 

and said: 

Our ancestors who were in this place during the First Temple period who did not conduct themselves appropriately, 

stood “with their backs toward the Sanctuary of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east” (Ezekiel 8:16), 

and we, our eyes are to God. 

R' Yehuda says that they would repeat and say: We are to God, and our eyes are to God.

1. בית השואבה - literally: “the House of the Water Drawing”.

2. ילדים מפרחי כהנה - literally: “children from the priestly cadets”.

3. This term is used in one other place in the Mishnah, twice, see my two pieces on the Mishnah at the end of tractate Sotah, here and here.

See also the appearance of this term in a baraita quoted in the Talmud, Sanhedrin.97a.2, for apocalyptic predictions in the leadup to the coming of the Messiah (a similar context for the discussion of the aforementioned Mishnah at the end of tractate Sotah):

ת"ר

שבוע שבן דוד בא בו

1. שנה ראשונה — מתקיים מקרא זה (עמוס ד, ז): “והמטרתי על עיר אחת, ועל עיר אחת לא אמטיר”

2. שניה — חיצי רעב משתלחים

3. שלישית — רעב גדול, ומתים

   1. אנשים

   2. ונשים

   3. וטף

   4. חסידים

   5. ואנשי מעשה, ותורה משתכחת מלומדיה

4. ברביעית — שובע ואינו שובע

5. בחמישית — שובע גדול,

   1. ואוכלין

   2. ושותין

   3. ושמחין, ותורה חוזרת ללומדיה

6. בששית — קולות

7. בשביעית — מלחמות

8. במוצאי שביעית — בן דוד בא

The Sages taught in a baraita:

With regard to the seven-year period, i.e., the Sabbatical cycle, during which the Messiah, son of David, comes:

1. During the first year, this verse will be fulfilled: “And I will cause it to rain upon one city and cause it not to rain upon another city” (Amos 4:7).

2. During the second year of that period, arrows of famine will be shot, indicating that there will be famine only in certain places.

3. During the third year there will be a great famine, and

   1. men,

   2. women,

   3. children,

   4. the pious,

   5. and men of action will die, and the Torah is forgotten by those who study it.

4. During the fourth year there will be plenty but not great plenty.

5. During the fifth year there will be great plenty and they will

   1. eat,

   2. and drink,

   3. and rejoice, and the Torah will return to those who study it.

6. During the sixth year, heavenly voices will be heard.

7. During the Sabbatical Year, wars, e.g., the war of Gog and Magog, will be waged involving the Jewish people.

8. During the year after the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year, the son of David will come.

4. The Mishnah adds that the fifteen stairs symbolize the fifteen “Songs of Ascents” (שיר המעלות) from the Book of Psalms (chapters 120–134). This explanation for the fifteen stairs is given in Mishnah Tractate Middot as well (2.5):

וחמש עשרה מעלות עולות מתוכה לעזרת ישראל,

כנגד חמש עשרה מעלות שבתהלים,

שעליהן הלוים אומרים בשיר

Fifteen steps led up from it to the courtyard of Israel,

corresponding to the fifteen [songs of] ascents mentioned in the Book of Psalms,

and upon which the Levites used to sing.

(Quoted in my “Mishnah Tractate Middot: Featuring Reader-Friendly Formatting, Summaries, Tables, Hyperlinks, and Loanword Etymologies“ , pp. 16-17.)

5. ליה עינינו - in Aramaic. Alternative reading and translation (as in previous section): “To Yah are our eyes”.

6. אנו ליה - “we are to Yah”; alternatively: “We are to Him”, in Aramaic.