Sukkot is a festive holiday filled with special mitzvot and rituals. Dining in the Sukkah is always a highlight (even when the weather doesn’t cooperate!) and reciting the blessing over the Four Kinds evokes many special lessons about gratitude to G-d and Jewish unity. The historic significance of the holiday and why it holds such a special place in the collective national Jewish memory is perhaps due to the unique celebration each year on Sukkot in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Each night of Sukkot there was an all-night party featuring the most exquisite orchestra, choir, dancers and jugglers. The greatest scholars and teachers of the nation danced and juggled the night away as thousands watched enthralled. This annual week-long event was called “Simchat Beit Hashoeiva.” It was so intense that the Talmud declares “whoever did not witness Simchat Beit Hashoeiva - never witnessed true joy in life.” What was this party all about? The daily service in the Holy Temple featured the wine libation. Specially prepared wine was poured on the altar as an offering to G-d. On Sukkot there was an additional water libation. Every morning water was drawn from a nearby spring and poured on the altar at the same time as the wine. Sounds simple enough, but the Jews in Temple times took this water libation very seriously. So seriously, that the festivities started in midafternoon continuing through the night culminating with the ceremonious water-drawing at daybreak with much fanfare. The party was not just the top-of-the-line entertainment of its time, it was mainly a spiritual event that caused many participants to become prophets as well. The closeness Jews felt with G-d during those joyous evenings was unmatched, indicating that the Sukkot water libation represents something important about our relationship with G-d. Wine is sophisticated and valuable. There are many different types and some fetch a good price, but wine can go sour. It can enhance life and relationships but when abused can be the catalyst for real disasters. Water on the other hand is simple, unflavored, refreshing, available in abundance and never goes bad. Judaism has both “wine” and “water” elements. We need to be intellectually and emotionally invested in Torah study and Mitzvah observance and derive pleasure and joy from Jewish living. But this track needs constant maintenance and preservation. The core of our Jewishness must be simple and unchanging as water. The essential connection every Jew has with G-d regardless of their level of knowledge or observance never goes sour. The “water libation” in the Holy Temple on Sukkot highlighted this eternal connection and caused the epic celebration to escalate every night to unprecedented levels. Because knowing that we belong to G-d and the Jewish nation no matter what is the most exciting thing you can tell a Jew.