The Water Libation: Traditions, Celebrations, and Historical Tragedy

In the Torah portion of Emor, we find the laws for the holiday of Sukkot and its offerings. Yet, there is another tradition associated with the Temple that isn't written in the Torah: the Water Libation.

Pouring water on the altar is indeed rare. Typically, offerings are either animal-based or plant-based, not water.

The Water Libation is a tradition that originates from Moses on Sinai, which is why it isn't mentioned in the Torah. It has simply always been done this way.

However, for every good practice, there's someone who will oppose it... During the time of the Temple, there were the Sadducees in Jerusalem, who didn't agree to observe laws that weren't explicitly stated in the Torah. They didn't trust the sages' teachings and tried to undermine this tradition.

The preparations for the Water Libation were festive and unique: Children were taken down to draw water from the Shiloach spring, raised from a young age to avoid impurity. These children sat on large wooden planks placed on donkeys. Wood doesn’t become impure, serving as a barrier against impurity. The water was drawn from the Shiloach spring, then carried in song and dance to the Temple, kept in purity until the time for the libation. Subsequently, the joyous Simchat Beit HaShoeivah was celebrated, a great and unique celebration, remembered annually at Sukkot.

At some point, one of the Hasmonean kings supported the Sadducees. This was King Yannai, who was also, unfortunately, the High Priest. When he ascended the altar during the Water Libation, he took the ritualistically clean-drawn water and poured it on his legs instead. This act caused immense anger among the people witnessing the event, and they pelted him with their etrogim. The ruthless king, anticipating the result of his actions, had positioned foreign mercenaries behind the walls, who entered and killed many in the crowd. Thousands died that day, and the altar was damaged by the etrog barrage, necessitating repair.

The Sadducees argued against offering water to Hashem, overlooking a clear scriptural reference in the Book of Samuel, Chapter 23, where King David poured water before Hashem. The truth was that this was merely a cover for the Sadducees' attempts to challenge the authority of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. In the test of power, sometimes the Sadducees were stronger, but in the test of time, they disappeared from history long before the Mishnah was written. Truth is eternal, and falsehood has no foundation.