Talmud for Zevachim 220:5

HALAKHAH: “Ten saplings, etc.“Rebbi Zeïra, Rebbi La, Rebbi Yasa in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan⁴⁸This paragraph (from Sukkah4:1, fol. 54b) is an introduction to the next one which will mention the ten saplings. It deals with the laws of the feast of Tabernacles when in addition to the ceremonies prescribed by the Torah the altar was adorned by long willow twigs and water was poured as libation on the altar, against the opposition of the Sadducees.: The “willow” is practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is against Abba Shaul, since Abba Shaul said the willow is a word of the Torah (Lev. 23:40): “Brook willows,” two⁴⁹Babli Sukkah 34a. In the Babli, it is not implied that taking the willows in the Temple is a separate biblical commandment. (In the opinion of I. Löw, ערבה denotes not the willow but the Euphrates poplar but in Arabic ע̇דב means “willow”.). One willow for the lulab⁵⁰The three kinds of branches taken together on Tabernacles, Lev. 23:40., the other willow for the Temple. Rebbi Abba, Rebbi Ḥiyya in the name of Rebbi Joḥanan, willow and pouring of water are practice going back to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is against Rebbi Aqiba, since Rebbi Aqiba said the pouring of water is a word of the Torah⁵¹Babli Zebaḥim 110b. There, the derivation of R. Aqiba parallels the argument of Abba Shaul here, that (Num. 29:31) “and its libations” implies two libations, one of wine and one of water.. On the second day, (Num. 29:19) “and their libations.” On the sixth day, (Num. 29:31) “and its libations.” On the seventh day, (Num. 29:33) “and its rules.” מ י מ spells “water”⁵²In Sifry Num. 150, the argument is given in the name of R. Jehudah ben Batyra. In Num. 29:17–34, the sacrifices for the intermediate days of Tabernacles are given in identical language after the mention of the number of animals required. The only deviations from the identical patterns are ונסכיה ,ונסכיהם instead of ונסכה and כמשפטם instead of כמשפט. The additional letters are taken to form the word for “water.” Rabbenu Hillel notes in his commentary that ונסכיהם has two letters in excess over ונסכה so that the word to be formed would be מײם, in the time of the Yerushalmi the standard spelling of מים.. Rebbi Ḥiyya bar Abba asked before Rebbi Joḥanan, why does one now plough because of old trees? He said to him, when the practice was established it was given so that when they desired to plough they might plough⁷Since the institution of the Sabbatical year is interwoven with that of the Jubilee year and the Jubilee is possible only if the Twelve Tribes are living on their ancestral lands, the Sabbatical in the times of the Second Commonwealth is not a biblical but a rabbinic institution. It is a general rule in dealing with institutions of the Men of the Great Assembly that one is restrictive in interpretation while the Temple exists and lenient when the Temple does not exist. Since one hopes that the Temple will be re-established, the rules have to be stated in the Mishnah for future generations (Interpretation of Rav Ashi in Babli Mo‘ed Qaṭan 4a)..