Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel

What the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Talmud actually say about the Temple's all-night Sukkot celebration — and where the spectacle creeps in.

Fifteen hours of torch juggling, nonstop music, and a rain ritual the Torah never commanded — inside the Second Temple's wildest celebration.

What did Jerusalem feel like to residents when Sukkot tripled the city? Archaeology and ancient sources reconstruct the transformation.