The Temple Willow-Branch Ritual Depicted on Bar Kokhba Denarii more

The Temple Willow-Branch Ritual Depicted on Bar Kokhba Denarii YONATA ADLER A COMMON motif on Bar Kokhba denarii is that of a jug with a thin neck and a fluted body, standing on a thin foot. At the top of the neck is a broad rim with a spout on one side and a handle on the other; the handle joins the body ofthe jug at the shoulder. On most coins bearing this design, there is a branch in the field, slightly raised, on the right side of the jug (Figs. 1-3).1 Fig. I Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Beginning with M. A. Levy, the vessel on these coins has been identified as the golden flagon (:lilt )\2) nm))~) used in the water libation ceremony that took place in the Temple of Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabemacles.2 In this ceremony, vividly described in the Mishnah,3 water was drawn from the Pool of Siloam in a golden flagon, and was subsequently poured by a priest onto the altar of bumt- I L. Mildenberg: The Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War, Aarau, Frankfurt am Main and Salzburg, 1984, identified 50 reverse dies with this motif; 1. C. Kaufman added one unrecorded reverse die with this motif and one re-cut die, see Kaufman: Additions to the Corpus of Leo Mildenberg's Coinage of the Bar Kokhba War, INJ 14 (2000-02), pp. 132-133, nos. 17-18. Mildenberg recorded four dies depicting the jug but omitting the branch, probably erroneously; see his reverse dies 57 (and 74, which is a close variant of 57 [ibid., p. 227]), 89, 92, 122; see also denarii 88, 108, 128, 132, 164, 188. M.A. Levy: Gesehiehte der jiidisehen Miinzen gemeinfasslieh dargestellt, Leipzig 1862, p. 135; cf. also F.W. Madden: History of Jewish Coinage and of Money in the Old and New Testament, London, 1864, p. 163 n. 9; P. Romanoff: Jewish Symbols on Aneient Jewish Coins, Philadelphia, 1944, pp.28-30; A. Reifenberg: Jewish Coins, Jerusalem, 1947, p. 32 (Hebrew); Meshorer, TJC, p. 146. M Sukkah 4: 9-10. 2 3 131 132 YONATAN ADLER offerings, the central altar that stood in the inner courtyard of the Temple. The identification of the vessel on the Bar Kokhba denarii is based on the shape of the vessel, which is clearly meant to hold liquids. The spout and large handle are excellently suited for decanting. Meshorer notes that the vessel depicted was apparently made of metal, since only a metal vessel could be fashioned in this shape - with a thin foot, and such a thin handle and neck.4 The Temple and its sacred vessels are a well-known motif on Bar Kokhba coinage; it is to be expected that the flagon appearing on the denarius (zuz) was one of the vessels used in the Temple service. A scholarly consensus has identified the branch to the side of the vessel on these coins as a palm frond.s As prescribed in Leviticus (23:40), the palm frond was used during the Feast of Tabemacles in the ritual ofthe "four species", along with willow and myrtle branches and a citron. According to Romanoff, the identification of the vessel on the denarii as the golden flagon of the water libation ceremony is supported by the presence of a palm frond to its side: "The purpose of this vessel is borne out by the presence of a palm-branch that is found to the right of the ampula. Both of them were used on Sukkot and with the same aim. In this way the symbols complement each other".6 Although Romanoff's argument would seem rather convincing prima facie, a closer examination of the water libation ceremony and the "four species" ritual reveals that the supposed association between the two is less than clear. Beyond the fact that both rituals took place during the Feast of Tabernacles, there seems to be little relationship between the water libation and the palm frond. The water libation was a priestly ceremony, performed exclusively on the altar of the Temple in Jerusalem. The "four species" ritual, in which the palm frond was used, was performed by all Jews - both in Eretz-Israel and in the Diaspora.7 A re-examination of the branch depicted on these coins should also call into 4 5 6 7 Meshorer (above, n. 2). F. de Saulcy: Recherches sur la numismatique judaique, Paris, 1854, p. 163; Levy (above, n. 2), p. 90; Madden (above, n. 2) p. 162 ff.; idem, Numismata Orientalia, II: Coins of the Jews, London, 1881, pp. 233 ff.; G.F. Hill, BMCPalestine, London, 1914, p. 288; Romanoff (above n. 2), p. 30; Reifenberg (above n. 2); 1. Mildenberg: The Eleazar Coins of the Bar Kochba Rebellion, Historia Judaica 11 (1949), p. 105; idem (above, n. 1), p. 46; E. R. Goodenough: Jewish Symbols in the Greco-Roman Period, I, New York, 1953, p. 278; 1. Kadman and A. Kindler: Coins in Palestine Throughout the Ages, Tel-Aviv, 1963, PI. 13:9 (Hebrew); Meshorer (above, n. 2); However, cf. S. Rephaeli: Coins of the Jews, Jerusalem, 1913, p. 161 (Hebrew), where the floral object is identified as a "sheaf'. Romanoff (above, n. 2), p. 30. The only source that alludes to any connection between the "four species" and the altar is a late Babylonian source, dated to the third century CE: "Raba said to R. Isaac the TEMPLE WILLOW-BRANCH RITUAL BAR KOKHBADENARII 133 question its suggested identification as a palm frond. In this vein, it would be helpful to compare the denarii, under discussion, with other coins minted during the Bar Kokhba War. Palm trees are depicted on a fairly large number of types of bronze Bar Kokhba coins. The palm fronds on these trees differ significantly from the branch on the "flagon type" denarius. The individual leaflets attached to the central rachis of the palm frond on these bronze coins are longer, and much closer together than the leaves attached to the branch depicted on the denarius. A similar comparison can be made between our "flagon type" denarius, and another type of Bar Kokhba denarius - on which there is a lone branch without any associated vessel, generally believed to be a palm frond.8 A similar branch, inside a wreath, was struck on bronze Bar Kokhba coins depicting a harp or lyre on the reverse.9 Here, too, careful analysis shows that the leaves on the "flagon type" denarius appear smaller and farther apart than the leaflets depicted on the palm fronds of the other denarius and bronze coins. It thus seems reasonable to suggest an alternative identification for the branch appearing on the "flagon type" Bar Kokhba denarii. Assuming that the vessel depicted on these coins has been correctly identified as the golden flagon used in the water libation ceremony, it would seem most appropriate to identify the branch shown next to this vessel as the willow-branch (;,:ny) used in a Temple rite performed in close conjunction with the water libation. The willow-branch ritual, carried out each day of the seven-day Feast of Tabernacles, is described in Tractate Sukkah of the Mishnah: "What was the rite of the willow-branch? There was a place below Jerusalem called Motsa. They went down to there, and collected young willowbranches, and then came and set them upright along the sides of the altar, with their tops bent over the top of the altar. They then sounded a prolonged [trumpet] blast, a quavering note, and a prolonged blast". 10 son ofRabbah b. bar Hana: 'Come, 0 Son of the Law, and I will tell you of an excellent statement which your father made. With reference to what we have learnt, '''Every day they walked round the altar once, and on that day they went round seven times"', your father, citing R. Eleazar, stated: "[This was done] with the lulab" (BT Sukkah 43b Soncino translation). This statement was challenged by contemporary sages, who held that the altar was encircled while holding willow-branches, and not the "four species" (ibid.); See also 1. L. Rubenstein: The History of Sukkot in the Second Temple and Rabbinic Periods, Atlanta, 1995, p. 109, who writes: "Most likely the circumambulations were performed with willows - the description says nothing of the lulavbut we should not advance solid historical claims where the traditions are silent". Meshorer, TJC, nos. 247-249a, 279-282. Ibid., nos. 223-223h, 263-263a, 296-299. M Sukkah 4: 5, The statement by R. Johanan b. Baroka (M Sukkah 4: 6) regarding the beating of palm fronds should be seen as complementing this tradition (Rubenstein, above, n. 7, p. liS). 8 9 10 134 YONATAN ADLER The willow-branch ceremony was closely associated with the water libation. Both ceremonies were priestly functions performed on the altar of burnt-offerings in· the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. The two are paired in numerous rabbinic traditions, in various contexts. II Like the water libation, the willow-branch ceremony is not prescribed directly in the Torah. Both are laws that were termed "halakhah given to Moses at Sinai", 12 or alternatively, "enactments of the early prophets". 13 Both were Pharisaic rituals, and both met with strong opposition from sectarian groups such as the Sadducees and the Boethusians.14 Classical commentators on the Talmud have argued that the willow-branch ceremony took place concurrently with the water libation ceremony. This is adduced from a mishnaic tradition that mentions three trumpet blasts performed "on the altar" as part of the water libation ceremony. IS As we have seen, three trumpet blasts are mentioned in the Mishnah in connection with the willowbranch ceremony, and they are understood to be identical with the three trumpet blasts ofthe water libation ceremony. 16 II See references in the following note; cf. M Me'ilah 3:7, "The water that is in the golden pitcher may not be used, but it does not come within the law of sacrilege; however, after it has been poured into the flagon - the law of sacrilege applies to it. The willow-branches [set alongside the altar] may not be used, but the law of sacrilege does not apply to them"; Also see, Sefer Pitron Torah (E. Urbach, ed., Jerusalem, 1978 [Hebrew D, p. 98: " ... when the Temple still stood, as the willow ceremony and the water libation, which do not apply today [after the destruction of the Temple]"; For an exegetic treatment of the relationship between the willow-branch ritual and the water libation, see: Rubenstein (above, n. 7), pp. 130-131. T Sukkah 3: 1 (ed. S. Lieberman, p. 266); BT Sukkah 34a; 44a; BT Ta'anith 3a; BT Mo'ed Qatan 3b; BT Zevahim 110b; JT Shevi'ith 1,6 (33b); JT Sukkah 4,1 (54b). JT Shevi'ith 1,6 (33b); JT Sukkah 4, 1 (54b). Regarding Sadducee and/or Boethusian opposition to the water libation ceremony, see: T Sukkah 3:16 (ed. S. Lieberman, p. 270); BT Sukkah 48b; cf. Josephus: Antiquities 13,372; For a different view of the controversy, see J.L. Rubenstein: The Sadducees and the Water Libation, Jewish Quarterly Review 84 (1994), pp. 414-444; Regarding the opposition of the Boethusians to the willow-branch ceremony, see T Sukkah 3: 1 (ed. S. Lieberman, p. 266); BT Sukkah 43b; cf. H. Albeck, Six Orders of the Mishnah, Order Mo 'ed, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 1952, p. 255 (Hebrew). S. Lieberman, Tosefta Ki-fshutah: A Comprehensive Commentary on the Tosefta, IV, Jerusalem, 19922, p. 870. (Hebrew). For an alternative view of the controversy, see Rubenstein (above, n. 7), p. 110, n. 23. M Sukkah 5:5; cf. M Sukkah 4:9: "How was the water libation performed? A golden flagon holding three log was filled from the Pool of Siloam. When they arrived at the Water Gate [at the inner courtyard of the Temple] they sounded a prolonged blast, a quavering note, and a prolonged blast." Rashi, on Sukkah 54a; Novellae of Rabbi Yom Tov ben Abraham Al-Ashbili (Ritba), Sukkah 54a (ed. Lichtenstein, Jerusalem, 1975, p. 465); The Rulings of Rabbi Isaiah the Elder (Piskei Harid), Sukkah 53. 12 13 14 15 16 TEMPLE WILLOW-BRANCH RITUAL BAR KOKHBA DENARII 135 Returning to the Bar Kokhba coins, we are now in a position to explain the reason for the apparent differences between the floral depiction on the "flagon type" denarius and the palm fronds appearing on the bronze coins and on the denarius with just a branch. According to this suggestion, the branch next to the flagon should be identified as a willow-branch; hence its leaves are relatively smaller, and farther apart, than the leaflets depicted on the palm fronds of the other coins. I? In summary: The vessel appearing on the "flagon-type" Bar Kokhba denarii has been identified as the golden flagon used in the water libation ceremony performed on the Temple altar during the Feast of Tabernacles. The branch appearing to the side of this flagon, previously identified as a palm frond, should be recognized instead as a willow-branch, symbolizing the willow-branch ceremony that took place at the Temple altar in conjunction with the water libation ceremony. If this is the case, the numismatic evidence provided by the Bar Kokhba denarii is the only evidence of the willow-branch ritual outside of rabbinic literature. 18 KEY TO FIGURES Coins nos. 1-3 are in the collections of the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem: 1. No. 2159;,R; 19 mm.; 2.77 gr.; Shim(on) / Eleazar the priest. 2. No. 2147;,R; 18 mm.; 2.47 gr.; Shim(on) /Year 2 of the redemption ofIsrael. 3. No. 16;,R; 19 mm.; 3.21 gr.; Shimon / For the freedom of Jerusalem; (gift of C. Lambert). 17 18 For a modem botanical identification ofthe mishnaic willow as Salix acmophylla, see: M. Weichselfish (Kislev): Which is the 'Aravah and Which is the Safsafa?, Teva Va 'aretz II (1969), pp. 285-290. (Hebrew). Buchler's claim that the willow-branch ritual is referred to by Plutarch is unconvincing; see A. Buchler: La fete des cabanes chez Plutarque et Tacite, Revue des Etudes Juives 37 (1898), pp. 181-202, esp. p. 186. / OFFPRINTED FROM THE ISRAEL NUMISMATIC JOURNAL VOL 16, 2007-8