(33) And the Eternal spoke to Moses, saying: (34) Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Tabernacles to the Eternal [to last] for seven days. (35) The first day shall be a sacred occasion; you shall not work at your occupations. (36) Seven days you shall bring offerings made by fire to the Eternal; on the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to the Eternal; it is a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations.
(39) Mark, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered-in the yield of your land, you shall observe the festival of the Eternal [to last] seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. (40) On the first day you shall take the product of the hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Eternal your God seven days. (41) You shall observe it as a festival of the Eternal for seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh months a law for all time, throughout the ages. (42) You shall dwell in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall dwell in booths; (43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Eternal your God.
i) According to the quotes from Leviticus, who is meant to celebrate the Festival, and why?
ii) What do you think it meant to "rejoiced before the Eternal?"
(13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You shall hold a festival for the Eternal your God in the place that God chooses; for the Eternal your God will bless all your crops and all your undertaking and you shall have nothing but joy.
iii) Is the description of the Festival in Deuteronomy different than the one in Leviticus? How so?
iv) How is the commandment of joy on this festival described?
(13) On the second day, the heads of the clans of all the people and the priests and Levites gathered to Ezra the scribe to study the words of the Teaching. (14) They found written in the Teaching, that the Eternal had commanded Moses, that the Israelite should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month, (15) and that they must announce and proclaim throughout all their towns and Jerusalem as follows: "Go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of olive trees, pine trees, myrtles, palms, and [other] leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written." (16) So the people went went out and brought them, and made themselves booths on their roofs, in their courtyard, in the courtyards of the House of God, in the square of the water gate, and in the square of the gate of Ephraim. (17) The whole community that returned from captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day, Israelites had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. (18) He read from the scroll of the Teaching of God each day, from first to the last day. The celebrated the festival seven days, and there was a solemn gathering on the eighth, as prescribed.
v) Do you think the people were rejoicing with Ezra the Scribe because that it was commanded, or because they had reconstituted a lost old practice?
vi) Why do you think the Israelites stopped practicing such an important festival to begin with?
...When a person eats, drinks, and celebrates on a festival, he should not let himself become overly drawn to drinking wine, mirth, and levity, saying "whoever indulges in these activities more is increasing his observance of the mitzvah of rejoicing." For drunkenness, profuse mirth, and levity are not rejoicing; they are frivolity and foolishness.
And we were not commanded to indulge in frivolity or foolishness, but rather in rejoicing that involves the service of the Creator of all existence. Thus [Deuteronomy 28:47] states, "Because you did not serve the Eternal, your God, with happiness and a glad heart, and with an abundance of prosperity." This teaches us that service [of God] involves joy. And it is impossible to truly serve God while in the midst of levity, frivolity, or drunkenness.
(12) ...Although it is a Mitzvah to rejoice on all festivals, on the Sukkot holiday there was a time of overabundant joy, for it is written, you shall rejoice before the Eternal your God for seven days. And how was this done? On the eve of the first holiday they would arrange in the Temple a place for the women above and for the men below so that they might not mix one with the other. And they began to rejoice from eve ending the first holiday, and continued on each and every day of the intercessory days of the holiday. They began after the Tamid offering was made in the evening to rejoice the rest of the day and through the night. (13) ...And how was this joy [performed]. The flute was struck and the violin, harp, and cymbals, were played, and every person played any instrument they knew how to play. And those who knew to sing, sang. And they danced, and bowed, and clapped, and spun, and crowed, each according to their ability, and spoke words of praise and song. And this joy does not supersede the Sabbath or the Holy Day.
vii) According to Maimonides, what should be the source of our holiday joy?
viii) Was the joy of Sukkot possible without the community of the Israelites? Could you experience such joy on your own?
(1) The pipes [were played sometimes on] five [days], and [sometimes on] six days. This means, the pipes [music] played on during the water-drawing, which does not supersede either the Sabbath or the festival. They [the sages] said, "Any one who has not witnessed the rejoicings at the water-drawing, has never witnessed real rejoicing in their entire lives." (2) At the expiration of the first holy day of the festival they descended into the women's court, where great preparations were made [for the rejoicing]. Four golden candelabras were [placed] there, with four golden basins to each; and four ladders [were put] to each candelabra, [on which ladders stood] four lads from the rising youth of the priesthood, holding jars of oil, containing 120 lugs, with which they replenished [fed] the basins. (3) The cast-off breeches and belts of the priests were torn into shreds for wicks, which they lighted. There was not a court in Jerusalem that was not illuminated by the lights of the water-drawing. (4) Pious and distinguished men danced before the people with lighted flambeaux in their hands, and sang hymns and lauds before them;, and the Levites accompanied them with harps, psalteries, cymbals, and numberless musical instruments. On the fifteen steps which led into the women's court, corresponding with the fifteen songs of degrees, stood the Levites, with their musical instruments and sang. At the upper gate, which leads down from the court of the Israelites to the court of the women, stood two priests, with trumpets in their hands. When the cock [first] crowed they blew a blast, a long note and a blast. This they repeated when they reached the tenth step, and again [the third time] when they got into the court. They went on, blowing [their trumpets] as they went, until they reached the gate that leads out to the east. When they reached the gate that leads out to the east, they turned westward [with their faces towards the Temple], and said, "Our ancestors, who were in this place, turned their backs on the Temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east; for they worshipped the Sun towards the east: but we lift our eyes to God." R. Jehudah says, they repeated again and again, "We belong to God, and raise our eyes to God."
ix) How might we replicate or replace some of the practices of joy described in the Mishnah after the Temple was destroyed?
תניא אמרו עליו על רבן שמעון בן גמליאל כשהיה שמח שמחת בית השואבה היה נוטל שמנה אבוקות של אור וזורק אחת ונוטל אחת ואין נוגעות זו בזו וכשהוא משתחוה נועץ שני גודליו בארץ ושוחה ונושק את הרצפה וזוקף ואין כל בריה יכולה לעשות כן וזו היא קידה
... It is reported of Rabbi Simeon Ben Gamaliel: When he celebrated during the rejoicing at the place of the waterdrawing, he used to take eight burning torches in one hand and throw them into the air; as he threw one, he caught another, and not one torch touched the other. When he prostrated himself, he used to fix his thumbs firmly on the ground [and while leaning on them], lower himself, kiss the ground, and draw himself up again, a feat that no other man could perform, and this is what is meant by the genuflection called kiddah.