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Hoshana Rabbah
Hoshana Rabbah (Hebrew: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה, lit. 'Great Hoshana/Supplication'; Imperial Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא) is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, as well as the 21st day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Hoshana Rabbah is marked by a special synagogue service during which seven circuits around the synagogue's Torah scrolls (ספרי תורה, sifrei Torah) are made by congregants while holding their lulav and etrog and reciting Hoshanot. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the synagogue's Torah ark during the procession. In a few communities, a shofar is sounded after each circuit.
Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the days of judgment, which begin on Rosh Hashanah. The Zohar teaches that, while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not "delivered" until the end of Sukkot (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot), during which time Jews can still change their verdicts and decrees for the new year. The Zohar's teaching has no source in the Mishnah, Midrash, or Talmud, but a similar idea appears in the Tosefta: that all judgment is made on Rosh Hashana, but judgment of the people is sealed on Yom Kippur, while judgment for rain, grain, and fruits are sealed on the agricultural festivals of Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot respectively.
Rabbi Mordecai Yoffe argued that Hoshana Rabbah should be observed as a day of judgment due to calendrical reasons: the Jewish year consists of 12 lunar months, totaling about 354 days in a typical year. Adding the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, there are a total of approximately 364 days between one year's Rosh Hashana and the following year's Yom Kippur, almost exactly equaling a solar year of 365 (or 366) days. Thus, on Yom Kippur, one's soul is judged for the deeds of the previous solar year. The next solar year lasts approximately from Yom Kippur to the following year's Hoshana Rabbah; thus, Hoshanah Rabbah is also a day of judgment. The third year will typically be a leap year, in which case the solar year lasts approximately from Hoshana Rabbah to Rosh Hashanah, after which the cycle repeats itself.
Consequently, an Aramaic blessing that Jews give each other on Hoshana Rabbah, "pitka tava" (פתקא טבא, 'a good note'), or, in Yiddish, "ah gut kvitl" (אַ גוט קוויטל, 'a good slip of paper'), is a wish that the verdict will be favorable.
In many Ashkenazi congregations, the hazzan (חַזָּן, 'cantor') wears a kittel on Hoshana Rabbah as on the High Holidays. Since the Hoshana Rabbah liturgy blends elements of the High Holidays, Chol HaMoed, and Jewish holidays (חַגִּים, ḥagim), in the Ashkenazi tradition, the cantor recites the service using High Holiday, festival, weekday, and Shabbat melodies as appropriate.
In some Sephardic communities, prayers known as Selichot ('forgivenesses') are recited before the regular morning service (these are the same prayers recited before Rosh Hashanah). In the different prayers of this day, Syrian Jews pray in the same maqam (melody) as on the high holidays. In Amsterdam and a few places in England, America, and elsewhere, the shofar is sounded in connection with the processions, reflecting the idea that Hoshana Rabbah is the end of the High Holy Day season. Because Hoshanah Rabbah is also linked to the High Holidays as well as being a joy-filled day, in the Jewish diaspora, some Hasidic communities (e.g., Satmar Hasidism) have the custom of having the Priestly Blessing recited during the Mussaf service. The Bobov community of Hasidic Judaism recites the Priestly Blessing only if Hoshanah Rabbah is on a Friday. However, this is uncommon outside of Israel and some Sephardic communities, where the Priestly Blessing is recited daily.
The reasons for many of the customs of the day are rooted in Kabbalah.
The modern-day observance of the rituals of Hoshana Rabbah is intended to emulate the practices that existed in the times of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. During Sukkot, the four species are taken in a circuit (hakafah) around the bimah of the synagogue once daily. On Hoshana Rabbah, there are seven circuits (hakafot).
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Hoshana Rabbah
Hoshana Rabbah (Hebrew: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה, lit. 'Great Hoshana/Supplication'; Imperial Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא) is the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, as well as the 21st day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Hoshana Rabbah is marked by a special synagogue service during which seven circuits around the synagogue's Torah scrolls (ספרי תורה, sifrei Torah) are made by congregants while holding their lulav and etrog and reciting Hoshanot. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the synagogue's Torah ark during the procession. In a few communities, a shofar is sounded after each circuit.
Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the days of judgment, which begin on Rosh Hashanah. The Zohar teaches that, while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not "delivered" until the end of Sukkot (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot), during which time Jews can still change their verdicts and decrees for the new year. The Zohar's teaching has no source in the Mishnah, Midrash, or Talmud, but a similar idea appears in the Tosefta: that all judgment is made on Rosh Hashana, but judgment of the people is sealed on Yom Kippur, while judgment for rain, grain, and fruits are sealed on the agricultural festivals of Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot respectively.
Rabbi Mordecai Yoffe argued that Hoshana Rabbah should be observed as a day of judgment due to calendrical reasons: the Jewish year consists of 12 lunar months, totaling about 354 days in a typical year. Adding the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, there are a total of approximately 364 days between one year's Rosh Hashana and the following year's Yom Kippur, almost exactly equaling a solar year of 365 (or 366) days. Thus, on Yom Kippur, one's soul is judged for the deeds of the previous solar year. The next solar year lasts approximately from Yom Kippur to the following year's Hoshana Rabbah; thus, Hoshanah Rabbah is also a day of judgment. The third year will typically be a leap year, in which case the solar year lasts approximately from Hoshana Rabbah to Rosh Hashanah, after which the cycle repeats itself.
Consequently, an Aramaic blessing that Jews give each other on Hoshana Rabbah, "pitka tava" (פתקא טבא, 'a good note'), or, in Yiddish, "ah gut kvitl" (אַ גוט קוויטל, 'a good slip of paper'), is a wish that the verdict will be favorable.
In many Ashkenazi congregations, the hazzan (חַזָּן, 'cantor') wears a kittel on Hoshana Rabbah as on the High Holidays. Since the Hoshana Rabbah liturgy blends elements of the High Holidays, Chol HaMoed, and Jewish holidays (חַגִּים, ḥagim), in the Ashkenazi tradition, the cantor recites the service using High Holiday, festival, weekday, and Shabbat melodies as appropriate.
In some Sephardic communities, prayers known as Selichot ('forgivenesses') are recited before the regular morning service (these are the same prayers recited before Rosh Hashanah). In the different prayers of this day, Syrian Jews pray in the same maqam (melody) as on the high holidays. In Amsterdam and a few places in England, America, and elsewhere, the shofar is sounded in connection with the processions, reflecting the idea that Hoshana Rabbah is the end of the High Holy Day season. Because Hoshanah Rabbah is also linked to the High Holidays as well as being a joy-filled day, in the Jewish diaspora, some Hasidic communities (e.g., Satmar Hasidism) have the custom of having the Priestly Blessing recited during the Mussaf service. The Bobov community of Hasidic Judaism recites the Priestly Blessing only if Hoshanah Rabbah is on a Friday. However, this is uncommon outside of Israel and some Sephardic communities, where the Priestly Blessing is recited daily.
The reasons for many of the customs of the day are rooted in Kabbalah.
The modern-day observance of the rituals of Hoshana Rabbah is intended to emulate the practices that existed in the times of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. During Sukkot, the four species are taken in a circuit (hakafah) around the bimah of the synagogue once daily. On Hoshana Rabbah, there are seven circuits (hakafot).
