The Ritual of Waters

Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz

The festival of Sukkot is known as Z'man Simhateinu, the time of our rejoicing. One of the reasons that happiness is connected to this pilgrimage festival is the ritual of nisuch ha-mayim, the Water Libation Ceremony. Although this is an unfamiliar ritual to us today, it was one of the highlights of the Sukkot holiday. When the temples stood in Jerusalem, water libations were performed each morning of the holiday. And later, in the evening, people would gather at the point from which the waters were drawn and join in festive singing and dancing. This ritual was known as simhat beit hashoeva, the celebration at the place of water-drawing. Mishnah Sukkah even states, "One who has not seen the rejoicing at the 'Place of the Water-Drawing' has never seen rejoicing in his life." The ostensible reason for this ritual is the belief that on Sukkot, God judges the world for rainfall in the coming year. And, in fact, it is at the close of the holiday of Sukkot that we begin our prayers in earnest for rainfall in the Land of Israel.

A beautiful prayer is associated with this ritual of waters. The Babylonian Talmud reports that when "Hillel the Elder celebrated during the 'rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing,' he used to recite, 'When I am here, everyone is here; but when I am not here, who is here? To the place that I love, there my feet lead me.'" Then God responded to Hillel the Elder, "If you come into my house, I will come into your house; if you come not into my house, I will not come into your house: 'In every place where I cause my name to be mentioned, I will come to you and bless you' (Exod. 20:21)" (BT Sukkot 53a).