Last Harvest
Sukkot is the last of the three harvest festivals (after Pesach and Shavuot), which also functioned as pilgrimage festivals where every Israelite citizen was required to journey in order to bring a sacrifice to the Temple in Jerusalem. The last harvest festival is a reminder of all the beautiful things we've harvested this year, but also a time to look towards the darker, colder season about to come. Making sure that you have stored away enough produce to survive winter was of utmost importance and we hope that all of our hard work during this year will pay off.
Lulav and Etrog
One of the most visible folk magic traditions is the shaking of the lulav and etrog. This tradition is included as a commandment to gather the four species on Sukkot, and it is grounded in a fertility ritual for blessing the lands with rain for the coming year's harvest.
In Talmudic tradition, the four plants are identified as:
- etrog (אתרוג) – the fruit of a citron tree
- lulav (לולב) – a ripe, green, closed frond from a date palm tree
- hadass (הדס) – boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree
- aravah (ערבה) – branches with leaves from the willow tree
The four species also allude kabbalistically to parts of the human body based on shape:
Rabbi Mani opened, "'All of my bones shall say, "Lord, who is like you"' (Psalms 35:10). This verse was only stated for the sake of the lulav (the four species). The spine of the palm branch is similar to the spine of man. And the myrtle is similar to the eye. And the willow is similar to the mouth. And the etrog (citron), is similar to the heart. David said, 'In all of the limbs, there are no greater ones than these, as they are compared to the entire body.' This is [what is meant] by 'All of my bones shall say.'"
The lulav bundle is also seen as a representation of the phallus and the etrog as the breast, lending the gathering a particular fertility which is where its power for calling on rain comes from (more on the sex metaphors of water later!)
The Sukkah
The sukkah, or hut, we build for Sukkot is in direct emulation of the huts in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert post-Exodus. The mitzvah to eat our meals in the sukkah is one of the few mitzvot that encapsulates the entire body (mikveh immersion does too!) and it is therefore an important symbol of using your entire body in service of G-d. According to Kabbalist Isaac Luria, the sukkah is a frame for the Shekhinah, the divine in-dwelling of G-d, and we are called to beautify our sukkot to aid in the process of uniting the feminine Shekhinah with the masculine divine principle of Tiferet (beauty).
(ח) תָּא חֲזֵי, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּבַר נָשׁ יָתִיב בְּמָדוֹרָא דָּא, צִלָּא דִּמְהֵימְנוּתָא, שְׁכִינְתָּא פַּרְסָא גַּדְפָהָא עָלֵיהּ מִלְּעֵילָּא, וְאַבְרָהָם וַחֲמִשָּׁה צַדִּיקַיָּיא אָחֳרָנִין שַׁוְיָין מָדוֹרֵיהוֹן עִמֵּיהּ. אָמַר רִבִּי אַבָּא, אַבְרָהָם וַחֲמִשָּׁה צַדִּיקַיָּיא, וְדָוִד מַלְכָּא, שַׁוְיָין מָדוֹרֵיהוֹן עִמֵּיהּ. הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִּיב, בַּסֻּכּוֹת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים. שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כְּתִיב, וְלָא בְּשִׁבְעַת יָמִים. כְּגַוְונָא דָּא כְּתִיב, (שמות לא) כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשָׂה יְיָ' אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְגוֹ'. וּבָעֵי בַּר נָשׁ לְמֶחְדֵּי בְּכָל יוֹמָא וְיוֹמָא, בְּאַנְפִּין נְהִירִין, בְּאוּשְׁפִּיזִין אִלֵּין דְּשַׁרְיָין עִמֵּיהּ.
"Come and see: When one sits in this dwelling, the shade of faith, Shekhinah spreads Her wings over him from above, Abraham and five other righteous heroes come to dwell with him!"
Rabbi Abba said "Abraham, five righteous heroes, and King David dwell with him! As it is written: 'Seven Days dwell in sukkot.' 'Seven days' it says, not 'For seven days.' Similarly it is written: 'Six Days YHVH made heaven (Exodus 31:17). Day after day, one should rejoice with a radiant face along with these guests who abide with him."
The sukkah is also a womb that draws together Jewish souls, both living and dead. It is traditional to complete the rite of Ushpizin, the invitation of the ancestors into your sukkah for meals. Traditionally we are inviting in our Jewish patriarchs, though many new versions exist to invite in matriarchs as well. It should also be a time to consider inviting in your own ancestors who have passed more recently; those you know and those you don't.
תִּיבוּ תִּיבוּ אוּשְׁפִּיזִין עִילָאִין, תִּיבוּ תִּיבוּ אוּשְׁפִּיזִין קַדִּישִׁין, תִּיבוּ תִּיבוּ אוּשְׁפִּיזִין דִמְהֵימְנוּתָא...
בלילה ראשון כשנכנס לסוכה קודם שישב לאכול ובכל יום קודם סעודתו יאמר זה: אֲזַמִין לִסְעוּדָתִי אוּשְׁפִּיזִין עִילָאִין אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק יַעֲקב משֶׁה אַהֲרן יוסֵף וְדָּוִד:
ביום הראשון אומר: בְּמָטֵי מִינָךְ אַבְרָהָם אוּשְׁפִּיזִי עִילָאִי דְיַתְבֵי עִמִּי וְעִמָּךְ כָּל אוּשְׁפִּיזֵי עִילָאִי יִצְחָק יַעֲקב משֶׁה אַהֲרן יוסֵף וְדָּוִד:
וכך לכל הימים.
Sit, sit, [you] lofty guests; sit, sit [you] holy guests; sit, sit [you] guests of faith...
On the first night when one enters the sukkah before sitting to eat, and on every night before the meal, one should say: I am inviting the lofty guests, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David.
On the first day, one says:
If you please, Abraham, my lofty guest, may all of the exalted guests - Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David - sit with me and you.
And so forth for all the days.
There is also a kabbalistic belief that each of our patriarchs represents a different sefirah (divine emanation) and as we invite them in for each day, we are inviting in a new sefirah into our life.
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Day one: Abraham - Chesed (loving-kindness)
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Day two: Isaac - Gevurah (strength)
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Day three: Jacob - Tiferet (beauty)
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Day four: Moses - Netzach (victory)
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Day five: Aaron - Hod (glory)
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Day six: Joseph - Yesod (foundation)
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Day seven: David - Malchut (kingship)
Simchat Beit Hashoeva and Nisukh Ha'mayim
Every day of Sukkot, in addition to the usual wine libation, a water libation (nisukh ha'mayim) was added to the service. This process kicked off the night before with the Simchat Beit Hashoeivah (Rejoicing of the House of Drawing-Water). This festival the night before the pouring of the water libation was full of lights, music, dancing, and even Rabbis juggling! It was so joyful that it was said that if one mentioned a "chag" (holiday) without defining which one, it was taken to mean they were talking about this holiday specifically.
MISHNA: One who did not see the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water never saw celebration in his days. This was the sequence of events: At the conclusion of the first Festival day the priests and the Levites descended from the Israelites’ courtyard to the Women’s Courtyard, where they would introduce a significant repair, as the Gemara will explain. There were golden candelabra atop poles there in the courtyard. And there were four basins made of gold at the top of each candelabrum. And there were four ladders for each and every pole and there were four children from the priesthood trainees, and in their hands were pitchers with a capacity of 120 log of oil that they would pour into each and every basin. From the worn trousers of the priests and their belts they would loosen and tear strips to use as wicks, and with them they would light the candelabra. And the light from the candelabra was so bright that there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated from the light of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.
§ It is taught in a baraita: They said about Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel that when he would rejoice at the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water, he would take eight flaming torches and toss one and catch another, juggling them, and, though all were in the air at the same time, they would not touch each other. And when he would prostrate himself, he would insert his two thumbs into the ground, and bow, and kiss the floor of the courtyard and straighten, and there was not any other creature that could do that due to the extreme difficulty involved. And this was the form of bowing called kidda performed by the High Priest.
A libation ritual is the pouring out of a liquid to symbolically give it to a spirit or deity. This water libation ceremony which was held every Sukkot was based on sympathetic magic - the idea that if we pour out water in the Temple, then G-d will pour water out for us in the coming year in the form of rainfall. Back when society depended on if your crop yield survived, praying for rainfall was an extremely common request and certain of our Sages were touted as miraculously-skilled rainmakers.
שמתן תורה שמחה לישראל וירידת הגשמים שמחה לכל העמים ולכל העולם לבהמה ולחיה ולעופות שנאמר (תהלים סה י) פקדת הארץ ותשוקקיה. תן לה תשוקתה. רבי אומר תן לה תאותה. כענין שנאמר (בראשית ג טז) ואל אישך תשוקתך:
Rabbi Tanchum bar Chiya said, "The descent of rain is as great as the giving of the Torah. The giving of the Torah brought joy to Israel, and the descent of rain brings joy to all the nations and to all the world, to beasts, to birds, and to wild animals, as it says (Psalms 65:10), 'You visit the earth and water it; You greatly enrich it.' Rabbi says, 'You satisfy its desire,' as it says (Genesis 3:16), 'And to your husband will be your desire.'"...
In Talmud tractate Ta'anit (which is all about rain and water!), Rabba introduces us to the angel in charge of all water, who combines the higher and lower waters in a sexual metaphor for birthing the rainfall of the next year.
Water in Jewish Ritual
Considered to be one of the main elements of creation (it was birthed by air and gave birth to fire according to Sefer Yetzirah), water was often the most easily accessible liquid for ritual use and it was included in both rabbinical and folk practices ranging from divination, love potions, protection acts, demon exorcism, and more.
In the creation story of Bereishit (Genesis), water is the visible manifestation of chaos. Order only emerges as G-d drives back and delimits the watery abyss. It is taught that with the appearance of dry land, G-d traps the primordial waters under the Earth and seals them in place with the Foundation Stone, a stone that is held in place under the Temple Mount. Removing it would cause the abyss to return and wash out the entire planet.
(דברים כח, יב): "יִפְתַּח יְהוָה לְךָ אֶת אוֹצָרוֹ הַטּוֹב אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם", וכתיב כי (ישעיהו סב, ה):
He opens the good treasuries in heaven and sends rain upon the earth, namely, the fructifying rain The rain from heaven is full of vitalizing power; see infra, pp. 63 and 167. The actual expression in our context is “the masculine waters.” Eth. Enoch liv. 8 offers a parallel: “And all the waters shall be joined with the waters, that which is above the heavens is the masculine, and the water which is beneath the earth is feminine.” See Charles’ interesting note (8) on p. 107 of his edition, where he quotes T.J. Berakhoth, 9:2, “the upper water is male and the lower water is female.”
Like many things in early Jewish mysticism, water is considered to be gendered. According to the Talmudic sages, all the water of the universe is divided between the female tellurian waters and the male celestial waters. Their joining together fructifies earth. (This fertility is the rationale for the water libation service!) The concept of the upper water being male and the lower water being female also extends to the belief that rain is masculine and dew is feminine. Both the rain and dew sent from G-d have incredible power to revive the dead (corresponding with rainfall's power to grow crops). Notice that the below includes both the word dew and rain from G-d, alluding to the intercourse of the masculine and feminine essences.
וְטַל שֶׁעָתִיד הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְהַחְיוֹת בּוֹ מֵתִים — דִּכְתִיב: ״גֶּשֶׁם נְדָבוֹת תָּנִיף אֱלֹהִים נַחֲלָתְךָ וְנִלְאָה אַתָּה כוֹנַנְתָּהּ״.
The dew that the Holy One, Blessed be He, will use to revive the dead is found in heaven, as it is written: “A bountiful rain You will pour down, God; when Your inheritance was weary, You confirmed it” (Psalms 68:10).
Water is a frequent component in rituals of power and protection, and not only was it used in the ritual itself, but also as a required location.
Joshua Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition
"There are incantations which work on water but not on land... Ecclesiastes Rabbah 3:15 goes so far as to say that if one intends to use the name of G-d for theurgic purposes, one should only do so over a body of water. Sefer ha-Shem and Sefer ha-Malbush teach that one may only transmit the knowledge of the proper pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton in a ritual while standing in or over water."
Water is as potent a cleansing and piacular medium as fire, and consequently it possesses similar protective and potent virtues. Here are some examples of Jewish magic requiring the use of water, sourced from Joshua Trachtenberg's Jewish Magic and Superstition and The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic & Mysticism by Geoffrey W. Dennis:
- Love potions were written out on leaves or small pieces of parchment, submerged in water (sometimes with honey), and then imbibed by either the spell caster of the object of affection to transmit the charm in physical form to the body
- Magically charged water was applied externally to treat a variety of illnesses or create an environment for meditation
- Water from a crossroads was considered to have extra high medicinal value
- A restorative for an inebriate was to recite a charm over a bowl of cold water and douse him with it
- To free someone possessed by a demon, one should 'fill a new pot with freshly drawn water, pour in some olive oil, and whisper Psalm 10 over it nine times, with the mystical names that appertain to that Psalm, and then bathe the patient with the liquid.'
- "To behold great wonders" one must bathe in scented water over which a spell has been cast
- Placing water on a threshold seemed to have important protective powers:
- To drain an enemy's power, one would recite charms over wine or water and pour the liquid in front of his door, "but be careful not to spill a single drop on yourself."
- To bar demons from entering one's home, one must pour water, prepared according to a magic recipe, over the threshold
- Water also clearly has purifying properties:
- A spell to arouse love asks the spell caster to wash a figurine "three times, so that it is washed clean, once in the name of Michael, again in the name of Gabriel, and the third time in the name of Raphael."
- Running water neutralizes a magic act, and destroys the magical properties of things; it dispels mirages created by demons and drives off the spirits themselves.
- Hydromancy, the divination by water, was also used to invoke G-d's truth:
- Gazing at the shapes of oil in water was meant to provide omens of the future
- To decide which of two people is telling the truth, an object was created for each person and whichever one floated in water was either the truth sayer or the lier (it changed depending on the practice)
For such a potent ritual ingredient, water itself could also be compromised. Water left exposed over night was thought to be unfit for use as a snake could have dropped poison in it. Water near bathrooms (that may have been contaminated with fecal matter) was a common living place for demons and therefore unfit to even be touched. Drinking running water from an open source near twilight on the Sabbath was considered to be "robbing the dead," as demons and spirits after their first year of death are given that water to live off of.
The Sages taught: A person should not drink water from rivers or from ponds at night. And if he drank, his blood is upon his own head due to the danger. The Gemara explains: What is this danger? The danger of blindness. The Gemara asks: And if he is thirsty, what is his remedy? If there is another person with him, he should say to him: So-and-so, son of so-and-so, I thirst for water. And if there is no one else with him, he should say to himself: So-and-so, my mother said to me to beware of shavrirei, the demon of blindness. He should continue to say the following incantation, in the first part of which the demon’s name gradually disappears: Shavrirei berirei rirei yiri ri; I thirst for water in white earthenware cups. This is an incantation against those demons.
Demons are considered to require water to survive the same way humans do, and some are even so picky that they keep their own personal wells. But demons may get their water whoever they can, including your cup; if you were worried that a demon might jump into your current cup of water, you could spill out some of the liquid to distract them.
Solomon said to them: Where is Ashmedai? They said to him: He is on such-and-such a mountain. He has dug a pit for himself there, and filled it with water, and covered it with a rock, and sealed it with his seal. And every day he ascends to Heaven and studies in the heavenly study hall and he descends to the earth and studies in the earthly study hall. And he comes and checks his seal to ensure that nobody has entered his pit, and then he uncovers it and drinks from the water in the pit. And then he covers it and seals it again and goes.
ואמר אביי מריש הוה אמינא האי דשדי מיא מפומא דחצבא משום ציבתא אמר לי מר משום דאיכא מים הרעים
ההוא בר שידא דהוה בי רב פפא אזל לאתויי מיא מנהרא איעכב כי אתא אמרו ליה אמאי איעכבת אמר להו עד דחלפי מים הרעים אדהכי
חזנהו דקא שדו מיא מפומא דחצבא אמר אי הוה ידענא דרגיליתו למיעבד הכי לא איעכבי
And Abaye said: At first I would say that this practice that people pour out a little water from the mouth of a pitcher before drinking from it is followed because of twigs it might contain. But the Master said to me that it is followed because there are foul waters in the pitcher.
The Gemara relates: There was a certain son of a demon that was in Rav Pappa’s house as a servant. It went to bring water from the river, and it delayed in returning. When it came, the members of Rav Pappa’s household said to it: Why did you delay? It said to them: I waited until the foul waters passed. In the meantime,
the demon saw the members of Rav Pappa’s household pouring water from the mouth of the pitcher before drinking from it. The demon said to them: If I had known that you regularly do this, I would not have delayed. I would have brought the water straight from the river, knowing you would pour out the foul waters.
During the tekufot (the two solstices and two equinoxes), all water in a house was thought to be poisoned and was thrown out. If drunk, the water would supposedly cause swelling of the body, sickness, and even death. A common reason given for this is that the angels who protect water change guard during the tekufah and leave it unwatched to become contaminated.