Sukkot

Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. (Leviticus 23:39-41)

About Sukkot

According to Scripture, the feast is to be observed on the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the religious calendar (Tishri 15-21) which corresponds to September or the beginning of October on the Gregorian calendar.

Sukkot is known by several names. Biblically it is known as the Feast of Ingathering (Hag Ha’Asif—Exodus 23:16) when the produce of the vineyards and the product of the threshing rooms were collected.

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. (Exodus 23:14-17)

And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. (Exodus 34:22)

Another dimension of the feast pertained to the dwelling of the people in “booths” so that the future generations would remember how that the Lord made the people to live in booths when He brought them out of Egypt, hence the feast is also known biblically as the Feast of Booths.

During this feast the Israelites were to take the product of the hadar trees, palm branches, boughs of leafy trees and willows and rejoice with them before the Lord. Later these four items were referred to as the “four species” which is said to represent the various types of people.

In rabbinic literature Sukkot is known as the feast of water pouring, and the season of joy (zeman simhateinu). It is known as Zeman Simhateinu because three times in the Torah we are commanded to experience elation in conjunction with the feast.

During Biblical times the feast of Sukkot was considered as being the most important feast of all and was given the designation “the feast” (HaChag). During this time people came from all over Israel to Jerusalem to celebrate this feast, witnessing the elaborate and colorful rites, which included a large amount of sacrifices each day of the festival (Numbers 29:12-39). Solomon completed the construction of the Temple in 955 B.C.E. and consecrated it during the feast of Sukkot, which was the first festival celebrated in the Temple. For this reason, several modern attempts to set the cornerstone for the rebuilding of the Temple have taken place on this festival.

 Three Chief Features of the Feast of Sukkot

The feast was marked by three joyous activities: (1) dwelling in the sukkah, (2) gathering the four species and the fruit, and (3) the offerings. There was a debate between the Pharisees and the Sadducees concerning the items listed in Leviticus 23:40 and their appropriate use during the feast.

And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. (Leviticus 23:40)

The Sadducees interpreted this to refer to the materials to be used in the construction of the sukkah (booth). The Pharisees however, interpreted the passage as referring to the materials that the people were to carry in their hands as they worshipped the Lord. It seems that the later interpretation is the correct one, since we find in Nehemiah a different list of trees being used in the construction of the sukkah.

And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto he mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle ranches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. (Nehemiah 8:14-15)

Simkhat Beit Hashoavah (Rejoicing at the Place of Water Pouring)

For one month prior to the feast, the rabbis spent time instructing the people about “living water” and the “fountain of living water,” which is another name for the Messiah. During the Temple period, every day of the year after the burning of the sacrifice, an offering of wine was poured upon the altar. During the feast of Sukkot, a water libation was also offered. Each morning during the feast, the priesthood was divided into three divisions. While the first division was preparing the morning sacrifice, the high priest, heading the second division, took a golden pitcher, which held about two pints, and went to the Pool of Siloam. He was accompanied on this joyous procession by music. The blast of a shofar announced his arrival at the Temple’s “Watergate.” Having immersed the pitcher into the pool and collecting the “living water,” he proceeded in making his journey back through the Watergate on his way to the Temple. His assistant held a silver pitcher containing wine.

On the Sabbath, alterations to the procedure were essential, due to the laws of travel on the Sabbath. On the Sabbaths the water was drawn from a golden vessel in the Temple, which had been filled from the pool on the previous day.

As the second division started their journey to the pool, the third division went to a place in the Kedron valley called “Motza” where the ashes were dumped at the beginning of the sabbath. There they cut long willow branches and made a procession to the Temple. As they advance towards the Temple, the priest would swing the willows back and forth as they took a step making the sound of a mighty rushing wind. This part of the ceremony was symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming upon the city of Jerusalem as a fulfillment of the prophet Joel. As they reached the Temple a trumpet was blown announcing their arrival, and the priest arranged the willow branches on either side of the altar forming a canopy, as the priest made blasts from their silver trumpets. The sacrifice is offered and as the priests carried the pieces of the sacrifices to be offered, the priest with the golden pitchers entered the Watergate. As he made his entrance through the Watergate, he was received by three blasts of the priests trumpets. The priests approached the altar turning to the left. On the eastern and western side of the altar were two silver basins with narrow holes, the eastern side being wider for the use of the wine, and the western basin being more narrow for the water. The wine and the water were poured simultaneously into the appropriate basins. As the water from the golden pitcher was being poured, the people shouted out to the priest to raise his hand in order for the people to see that he was really pouring the water into the basin.

The impetus for the shouting resulted from an incident which occurred around 95 B.C.E. when Alexander Jannaeus, in showing his contempt for the Pharisees poured the water at this feast on the ground. This act demonstrated his alliance with the Sadducees, who rejected the oral law and followed only the Torah. As a result of his action, Alexander was pelted with the crowds etrogs (citrons) and if it were not for Alexander’s foreign body guard, the people would have killed Alexander. In the course, six thousand Jews were killed in the Temple.

As the water and wine were being poured, the Temple music was being played and the Hallel (Psalms 113-118) was being sung, accompanied by flutes, except on the Sabbath and the first day of the feast. On all seven days of the feast the priest formed a procession and walked around the altar singing “O then, now work salvation, Jehovah! O Jehovah, give prosperity! (Psalm 118:25) In connection with this feast is Isaiah 12:3.

Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3)

The Hebrew term salvation is “Yeshua,” which is the name of the Messiah. With our understanding of the feast we can now focus our attention to John 7-8 which occurred during the feast of Sukkot.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Yeshua stood and cried, saying, . (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Yeshua was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. (John 7:37-40)

The phrase “…the last day, that great day of the feast…” is referred to in rabbinical writings as the “Day of the Great Hosanna.” On this day the priest marched around the altar seven times, instead of once, in remembrance of how the walls of Jericho fell and how the walls of Heathenism would fall before the Lord and the land be open for the people to possess it. As the priest were pouring the water and the wine, and after the Hallel had been sung to the accompaniment of the flutes, and as the last words of Psalm 118 were being chanted, Yeshua (Jesus) stood up and cried:

“ If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”

In doing so Yeshua proclaimed himself as the “fountain of living water.” The fact that this had an effect on the people and caused many to question his Messiahship is evident in scriptures. The phrase “But this spake he of the Spirit…” found in verse 39, expresses the connection of this portion of the feast with the pouring out of God’s spirit among the earth. We find an example of the connection between the pouring out of water and the pouring out of God’s spirit in Isaiah.

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: (Isaiah 44:3)

It has been postulated by some that Isaiah was alluding to this particular rite of the feast in his comment in 12:3.
The Ceremonies in the Court of the Women

In the court of the women, four golden candelabras were erected, each being fifty cubits high (75 ft.), each with four golden bowls, and against each rested four ladders. Four young priests would climb the ladder, each having a pitcher that contained seven and a half gallons of oil. The young priests would use the old worn breeches and girdles of the priests for wicks to use in the lamps. According to the Mishnah (Sukkah 5:3) the light which emanated from these four candelabras were so bright that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not lit up with the light at the libation water-well ceremony. This illumination held the same symbolic meaning as the pouring out of the water. The illumination of Jerusalem was seen as being symbolic of the Shechinah presence which once filled the Temple. The symbolism had a dual nature in that it was to represent the ‘great light’ of Isaiah 9:2 which the people ‘walking in darkness’ were to see. This helps us in our understanding of the words of Yeshua when He said that “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

During the feast, the pious men danced before the people carrying flaming torches in their hands and sang songs of praise to God. The festivities continuing throughout the night. The Levitical musicians played their harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets and other instruments and stood on the fifteen steps which led down from the Court of Israel. The Mishnah tells us that these fifteen steps corresponded with the fifteen songs of ascent in the Book of Psalms (120-134). Two priests holding trumpets were stationed at the Upper Gate (Nicanor Gate) leading from the Court of Israel to the Court of the Women. At cock-crowing they drew a threefold blast of the trumpet. When they reached the tenth step another three fold blast was given; as they entered the court itself another threefold blast was sounded. The two priests blew until they reached the Eastern (Beautiful) Gate. Once through the gate the priests and the multitude of worshippers turned facing the sanctuary (west), as the sun rose and the light of the candelabras paled the people recited an ancient prayer: ‘Our fathers who were in this place, they turned their back upon the Sanctuary of Jehovah, and their faces towards the east, and they worshipped towards the rising sun; but as for us, our eyes are towards the Lord.’

Sukkot in the Millennium

During Temple times the number of sacrifices offered during the feast of Sukkot totaled 70, which is understood by the Jewish people to represent the seventy nations that existed in the world. It was believed that the well being of the entire world, including Israel, was dependent upon whether or not they received the life giving rain. Rain was understood as a reward for obedience.

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. (Deuteronomy 11:13-15)

In the book of Zekariah we read that the giving of rain will be contingent upon the nations of the world worshipping the Lord in Jerusalem and celebrating the feast of tabernacles. The penalty for not observing this feast will entail the withholding of rain and a plague. In the passage we read that the command of celebrating the feast is not limited to the Jewish people, but is required of Gentiles from all the nations of the earth.

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Zechariah 14:16-19)