Q&A: The Water Libation
The Water Libation
Question
In the Jerusalem Talmud on Rosh Hashanah, regarding the Mishnah that says that on the festival they are judged concerning water, the Jerusalem Talmud explains that this is according to Rabbi Akiva, since he holds that the water libation is Torah-level, and therefore they are necessarily judged then concerning water.
My question is: according to the one who holds that the water libation is a law given to Moses at Sinai, is it impossible to interpret the Mishnah in accordance with his view? If so, then according to his view on the festival they are not judged concerning water; and if according to his view as well they are judged on the festival concerning water, why didn’t they interpret the Mishnah as acceptable to everyone?
Thank you
Answer
Clearly, in principle, even if this is not Torah-level, one can still say that they are judged concerning water. It’s just that the water libation would not be required on such a day of judgment by the Torah itself. The judgment on Rosh Hashanah, on the first of Tishrei, is also not mentioned in the Torah, and nevertheless it is accepted that people are judged on Rosh Hashanah. And similarly regarding the four New Years.
But in the Tosefta, Sukkah, at the end of chapter 3, we find:
Rabbi Akiva said: The Torah said: bring the barley omer on Passover, which is the season of barley, so that your produce may be blessed… bring the water libation on the festival so that the rains may be blessed for you.
You can see that he explains the water libation in terms of the blessing of rain. Perhaps the Jerusalem Talmud thought that one who disagrees with him could explain it differently.