Ceremony held in the
Temple on the night following the first day of the
Sukkot festival and thereafter on each night of the festival. It celebrated the water libation which followed the morning sacrifice on each day of the festival. The water libation was a bone of contention between the
Pharisees, who regarded it as being an oral tradition handed down from Sinai, and the
Sadducees, who saw no basis for it. The name "water-drawing ceremony" is derived from Isaiah 12:3: "Joyfully shall you draw water from the fountains of triumph." King Alexander Yannai, a Sadducee, deliberately poured the water on his feet as a sign of his contempt for the entire ritual, and was pelted by the people with the citrons used for the Sukkot festival (
Suk. 34a). Probably because of the opposition of the Sadducees, great emphasis was placed by the Pharisees on celebrating the water libation, which was an exceptionally joyful time. The Mishnah states: "He who has not seen the rejoicing of the water-drawing ceremony (in the Temple) has never seen rejoicing in his life" (
Suk. 5:1). The great sages joined the festivities, and R. Simeon ben
Gamaliel I was reputed to have juggled with eight lighted torches at the water-drawing ceremony, without allowing a single torch to touch the ground (
BB 53). The sages danced with the people to music supplied by the
Levites and would not sleep the entire night, but would doze off on each other's shoulders. To add to the festivities, huge bonfires were lit throughout Jerusalem, lighting up the entire city. In Israel's contemporary kibbutzim, attempts have been made to revive the festival in a modern form.
