If You've Never Seen This...

We Jews, love holidays. We have so many of them. Some are festive and fun, like Hanukkah and Purim. Some are somber and reflective, like Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. But one celebration stands out from amongst them all: Simchat Beit HaShoavah! 

Wait! What? 

You’ve never heard of Simchat Beit HaShoavah? 

The Mishnah says: “Whoever has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing (Simchat Beit HaShoavah) has never seen rejoicing in his life.” (Sukkah 5:1)

Such joy and celebration, yet most Jews have never heard of it.

The Mishnah continued to describe the scene: “Four golden lampstands were there (at the Holy Temple), and four golden bowls atop each. Four ladders for each lampstand, and four young priests with jars of oil, each holding forty logs (about 6 gallons), which they poured into the bowls…There was no courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated by the light of the Beit HaShoavah.” The Talmud said that during the celebrations, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel (one of our greatest sages) “would juggle eight flaming torches, and none would touch another.” Try to imagine what it would take for any of our current leaders to perform such an act in public.  Then, try to imagine the unbridled joy of Rabban Shimon that would lead him to juggle eight flaming torches. This celebration was unparalleled. 

So, what was Simchat Beit HaShoavah? Simply stated, it was a nightly celebration during Sukkot at the time of the Holy Temple, when water was drawn from the Spring of Shiloach for the water libation on the altar of the Temple. The Water Libation (Nisuch HaMayim) was only performed during Sukkot and symbolized the prayer for rain (which is added to the daily service from Sukkot until Pesach). Unfortunately, because Simchat Beit HaShoavah was completely dependent on the offerings at the Beit HaMikdash, when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70CE, the celebration for drawing the water came to an end. However, the Spirit of Joy that surrounded Simchat Beit HaShoavah has continued. 

To this day, there are many municipalities in Israel that have large communal celebrations with concerts, dancing, food and more during Sukkot, and other communities include extra singing and Torah study to their Sukkot celebrations. There’s just one thing missing from all the modern adaptations of Simchat Beit HaShoavah celebrations: WATER! The basis of the celebration was the Water Libation. How can you have a celebration of water without any water? That’s like having a huge birthday party without the Birthday Boy or Girl present.  

As the World faces more powerful storms, hurricanes, typhoons, tornadoes, floods and droughts, the message of Simchat Beit HaShoavah could not be clearer: Water is life. Water is joy. Water is sacred. Our ancestors gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the gift of water with song, dance, and overflowing joy. Today, we are called to renew that celebration, not just with music and lights, but with responsibility. To rejoice in water now means to conserve and protect it.

As storms intensify around the world, our observance of Sukkot should be more than just a commemoration of the past or a harvest. It should also be a call to action. Simchat Beit HaShoavah reminds us that to dance for water is to stand up for water. To pray for rain is also a call to protect creation. Imagine if every Jewish community reclaimed Simchat Beit HaShoavah not just as a memory of Temple times, but as a living, breathing celebration of water itself. We need that joy now more than ever. During this holiday of Sukkot, let us juggle torches of awareness, light up our communities with action, and make sure that when we celebrate water, we also commit to protecting and restoring it; for us, for our children, and for the future of all life on Earth.

Chag Sukkot Sameach