Sukkot was traditionally one of the great pilgrimage festivals, when the people ascended to Jerusalem to bring the harvest offerings of grain, wine, and oil. In the days of the Temple, seventy bulls were offered over the seven days — corresponding to the seventy nations, a euphemism for “all people”. This was an intercession for the peace and wellbeing of the entire world, human and beyond human!

During the festival the kohanim (priests) and the kahal (multitude) would descend every morning at dawn to the Spring of Shiloah to conduct the water libation – Nishuch Hamayim. In a joyful procession of music and dance, water was carried in a golden flask up to the temple. As the shofars sounded, it was poured upon the mizbeach (altar), which were stones in the women’s courtyard. This was an act of embodied prayer for the waters of life; for rain.

Hoshanah Rabbah, the seventh and final day of Sukkot, is the culmination: 7 counterclockwise circle dances, waving and beating of willow branches, voices crying out, “Hoshana! — Save us!” Pleading for life and dancing in gratitude and joy of what we have! 

The journey through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — one of self-accounting, reflection, forgiveness, and release — prepares us for this Hoshanah Rabbah moment; helping us to arrive emptied and renewed, open and whole, ready to stand tall and take on our role as rain praying people.

For many years, Rabbi Zelig Golden through Wilderness Torah cultivated the Hoshanah Rabbah rain dance within their Sukkot gatherings. Through the aid and guidance of Rachel Ruach Golden and a core ritual team, including Ilana Meallem and Alex Kugler, it has now transformed into an independent, multi-day community-led gathering with a ceremony taking place from sunset into the morning light, embracing the practice of Tikun Lel Hoshannah Rabba (the Night of Repair of Hoshannah Rabbah) and the morning Hoshanot circle dances, songs and water libation.

On this night of Tikun (cosmic fixing) and prayer, the gates of divine judgment gently close, sealing the fate written on Yom Kippur. The measure of rain, the flow of blessing and renewal for the year is decided.

This year, we are deeply honored to be joined by elders and people of diverse lineages and traditions, who will bring their prayers alongside ours, in this potent of times.

A ritual available to us all:

During this festival of Sukkot we encourage you to gather water in a bowl each day. Offer a prayer of gratitude, share your heart, your tears, your hopes for yourself and the world, and then pour the water on the land or on stones, letting your prayer be carried forward into creation. On the last day, October 12 into 13, sing, dance, shake the lulav or willow, and pour more water in a prayer for balanced rains and for life to continue in a good way!  If you feel called to join us on Hoshanah Rabba for the Rain Dance this year in Sonoma County, you can learn more here.

Lastly, we wish to leave you with some words offered in 2023, at the Wilderness Torah Sukkkot festival in preparation for the Rain Dance— A Message from the Water; May these words inspire your own deepening with water in this festival. And may we be blessed with rains in their proper time, in their right measure — enough for the earth to drink in deeply. And may the rains of peace flow on all peoples, all nations, and all creation.

 A Message from the Water
Carried through Ilana Meallem

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

When the Creator began to create heaven and earth — the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of the Creator hovered over the face of the waters—.(Genisis)

I have been here since the first moment of creation before life existed…
I was there when Light first appeared
I was above as well as below.
I drew back and saw the land
I sustained the first plants and animals and all their descendants to this day

I have watched you come into being and rise as rulers upon the Earth.

If you travel with me, if you close your eyes and let go you will know what it means to be one, for I travel to the deepest parts of the earth, into the darkness and up to the heavens. I move through all the beings of creation, plant, mushroom, animal from microscopic to gigantic. There I am.

In my liquid form I follow an irresistible draw to unity with the great oceans. I am moved by the moon. I dance with obstacles on my path. I find my way, always following my calling.

In my freedom, as I tumble and flow, seep through bedrocks and evaporate, rise and fall

I cleanse myself — regenerating my life-giving power. 

I am the red splashed sunset and sunrise, the rainbow, the misty morning, the shimmering lake. I am the crashing waves, the desert oasis, the hot spring, the cascading waterfall there I am …my beauty…your muse …your inspiration.

Across this precious earth people come to me for help knowing the potency of being fully immersed in me, of becoming one with the Oneness. So too, your ancestors came to purify in preparation for sacred life moments.

I welcome you with your pain, I embrace you, I hear the whispers of your heart, your deepest longings and dreams. I receive your grief, your shame and regret, taking from you what no longer serves you.  I carry your prayers with me as I travel.

I do all this while also hurting, trapped in concrete tombs, my freedom taken, polluted by waste, poisoned by chemicals, contaminated by your neglect and greed, your excessive consumption, your throw away society that turns my fresh clear fluid toxic.

In places you’ve taken away my ability to purify myself, redirecting my flow, parts of me are left stagnant and aching. But I am here, compassionate, hopeful, loving and giving 

offering myself to life over and over again…..

I am here…. Will you remember me during this Sukkot festival, will you sing to me, celebrate me, pray for my return? 

—

About the Author: Ilana Meallem

Ilana leads ceremonies, rituals, and water-based healing journeys, inviting participants into deeper connection with themselves and the water. She was engaged for over a decade in peace and environmental work in the Middle East and cofounded the EcoME centre for peace in the West Bank. She currently lives in Occidental with her husband and daughter.

About the Co-Author: Rachel Ruach Golden

Rachel is a cultural midwife, committed to birthing and revitalizing culture that helps us stay rooted in our traditions while being present to life on the lands we call home and the times we find ourselves in. She is raising her family and holds ceremony at her home in Occidental, California.