The water ceremony at Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh and last day of the feast of , was one of the most solemn and symbolic moments of worship in the Temple in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period.
This is how it unfolded:
Each morning of , a priest went down in procession to the , south of Jerusalem, to draw living water in a golden pitcher. This water was then brought back to the Temple in a festive atmosphere, accompanied by songs, music and dances. The procession entered through the Water Gate and went up to the altar.
But it was at Hoshana Rabbah that this ceremony reached its climax:
The priests walked around the altar seven times, in memory of the seven circuits around Jericho, crying out “Hoshia Na” (“Save, please”).
The water was then poured out on the altar, together with a libation of wine, symbolizing the prayer for rain and for the blessing of the harvests.
The worshippers waved the (lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow) and recited the Hallel Psalms (Psalms 113 to 118).
Although this rite is not prescribed in the written , the regarded it as a tradition received orally from Moses.
Its symbolic significance
The water poured out represented the divine blessing, life, and the presence of the Spirit. It is in this context that Jesus, according to John 7.37, cries out: > “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
He thus presents himself as the true of living water, fulfilling spiritually what the ceremony announced symbolically.