Succoth

“On the fifteenth day of the seventh month . . . You shall take on the first day of the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and the boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook; and you will rejoice before the L-rd your G-d seven days . . . You shall dwell in booths, that your generations shall know I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt . . . “ Lev.23.39-44

If we were to go back to the first century when Yeshua and His disciples walked the earth and before Temple was leveled by the Romans after the Days of Awe had passed, you would enter into a world far different that any we in our modern world now understand. Pilgrims would be arriving from all over Judea, Galilee and even the Hellenistic world. By the 14th of Tishri, most would have arrived in the Great City and would be in the process of building humble temporary dwellings which they would live in for the full week as their only home. This was the third of three feasts of ingathering, the only one to come in the fall and was one of the most exciting and breath taking events in the Jewish calendar.

At dusk on the first day of this feast, the shofar would sound and the much-anticipated festival would begin. First, the Temple priests would clean the altar for the sacrifices and then around midnight, open the gates of the great Temple, welcoming the anxiously awaiting pilgrims who would enter the court carrying lulav (palm branches) and etrog (citron) although another source claims they held all four species (pussy willows and myrtle are added). Some would stand by waiting while some of the Temple priests took and examined the sacrifices for purity while others would join the musical procession led by other Levitical priests who were carrying golden vessels to the Pool of Siloam. At this important conduit, the priests would fill their jars and then carry them back to the Temple (if the feast fell on Shabbos, the water was brought a day before Shabbos). Still another group traveled to a place called Motza in the Kidron Valley to get pussy willow branches for the altar. All events were so timed that the priests gathering the elements of the feast would reach the water gate just at the time the sacrifice was about to begin.

As they reached it, they would be greeted by three blasts of the shofar. Then the one trusted with the precious water walked up the steps to the altar while another carried a pitcher of wine for a drink offering. The two would then pour their pitchers into basins with portal holes, which allowed the liquids to drain out upon the altar in unison. Then willows brought from the Kidron Valley were used to build the succah on the altar after the morning sacrifice was done. During this sacrifice, the priest would chant the Great Hillel and at three points in this chant the people would wave their lulavim toward the altar; the first time was when they reached the phrase, “Thank YHVH, He is good” Ps.118.29, then when they said, ”O work then now salvation, YHVH,” and the last when they sang “O give thanks unto YHVH”. After this chant was over the priest would march around the altar singing, “Hosanna, O YHVH, deliver us, O YHVH, let us prosper.” Ps.118.25. After this there was a final benediction and then the people were dispersed to go home to the cries of, “How beautiful art Thou altar” or “To YHVH and Thee, O altar, we give thanks!”

Also there were the great lamps, which were lit during this time; and it was said these lamps were so bright that Jerusalem looked like day, even during the night and that the light could be seen even unto Bethlehem, where we suspect Yeshua was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger because the city was overflowing with people from the feast and the census (see Can we Know when Yeshua HaMoshiach was born or “Out on a Limb” in the 6th section of this piece). The merriment would continue with singing and dancing until noon the next day while the other festivities would continue throughout the remaining week. The daily sacrifices were reduced by one each day (they began with thirteen) culminating 70 in all. The water and light ceremonies (the light shined both day and night) also continued through the holy and exciting week. One sacrifice was also done on the eighth day for Shemini Atzeret when the rabbis also circled the altar and struck the pussy willow asking Hashem for rain and this we believe prefigured Zech.14.16-19 fulfillment.

(1) and (2)

Yeshua Himself visited the Temple during these days of Succos, which is described in length in the book of Saint John. Remember that this day was one of the three days of ingathering, which all males travel to present themselves before HaShem in Jerusalem and to present their first fruits of the harvest. In John 7 we read that the “Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth) was at hand”. Yeshua came to the celebration in secrecy because there were people trying to kill Him and His time had not yet come. We can discern from the history above and the clues within John’s Gospel that the Temple ritual of gathering water and pussy willows was taking place as He stood up before the people. Thus the listeners had a physical action to connect His words to what was happening before the altar:

“If any one thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said ‘Out of His heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Jn.37-38

The reaction from the crowd was to ask whether Yeshua was indeed HaMoshiach. Why? Because this water ritual and the words He quoted were of HaMoshiach! Therefore, He spoke these words to make a clear connection to Himself for the crowd to see and indeed they saw. The Pharisees also caught the connection and this only strengthened their resolve to destroy Him for they believed He spoke blasphemy.

Later, on the same day (probably at night for the light was the greatest then), Yeshua alluded to those great lamps, which were illuminating Jerusalem and her surrounding suburbs, saying:

“I am the light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn.8.12

“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am” Jn.8.58

Why is this so significant? We find a clue in a reference we found in Talmud to the Sabbath years. The sages tell us that there are six thousand years of life; 2000 years of lawlessness, 2000 years of the Law and two thousand years of HaMoshiach. After these years comes the thousand years in the Sabbath year. It is this, the Sabbath year, that Succoth represents (in the Christian faith it resembles most the Protestant belief of the Millennial Kingdom). Yet, whether these thousand years are literal, Spiritual, or symbolic we will leave for our Church to decide. This is why we were instructed to light those candelabras such that they light up the entire region both day and night, also why the Living Water mixed with the wine of the sacrifice must flow (notice the correlation to this part of our Eucharistic celebration). When Yeshua returns as Moshiach Ben Dovid, the Light will indeed shine forth from Jerusalem for all the world to see as well as the living water streaming forth, Zech.14.6-9. Yet these living waters will be mixed spiritually with the True Blood of the sacrifice and the mitzvah of Torah. Without this sacrifice, all else would be meaningless and without parameters (fences), thus we would wander back into sin. However, to fully understand Succoth we must first look at the other feasts of ingathering and place it within these three highly important feasts.

Khag HaAsif: The Festival of Ingathering