We’ve just completed the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We’ve fasted, begged God’s forgiveness for our transgressions, and hope that we’ve been inscribed for a healthy and happy new year.
But wait! We haven’t come to the third holiest day in the Jewish calendar yet – the day when we beseech God to give us a healthy and prosperous New Year, a day when we eat and drink and are allowed to work. The day our fate is finally sealed for the forthcoming year is Hoshanah Rabah.
Literally, Hoshanah Rabah means “great help.” It’s the last day of Sukkot, before the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. The name refers to the Hoshanot ceremony, in which we circle the bimah seven times with our lulav and etrog bundles in hand, begging HaShem’s salvation.
The Talmud Yerushalmi (Rosh Hashanah 4:5) equates Hoshanah Rabah with Rosh Hashanah and says it’s the day we seek out HaShem the most in our prayers.
The Zohar (Tzav, 31b) lists Hoshanah Rabah as the day the angels are given the final verdict from God and are sent out to complete their assigned missions.
The unique quality of this day is listed in the Talmud, Maasechet Rosh Hashanah 16a, where we are told that this is the day the world is judged with regard to rainfall and prosperity. There are many other talmudic and kabbalistic references to Hoshanah Rabah’s being the last day to overturn a harsh judgment for the new year.
Hoshanah Rabah is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah, and therefore it has the same halachot as all the other days of chol hamoed (the intermediate days of Sukkkot between the yamim tovim at the beginning of the festival and Shemini Atzeret). One may go to work when a financial loss may occur if one didn’t, shop for groceries for chol hamoed or the final days of yom tov, or perform any activities that one can do on chol hamoed.
There are many customs unique to Hoshanah Rabah. Many chassidic rebbes held special tischen (meals) on Hoshanah Rabah while wearing garments that belonged to previous rebbes. The Shacharit service said in shul is nearly the same as that on Shabbat and yom tov, unlike the rest of chol hamoed. The chazzan wears a white kittle (like on Yom Kippur), uses the niggun (tune) used on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and adds several insertions in the service that proclaim the Kingship of God and are reserved for the High Holidays.
During the Mussaf service (during the Shacharit service, according to some customs), we circle the bimah seven times with our lulav and etrog bundles, while reciting supplications calling on HaShem to save and redeem us, and bless us with a sweet new year. This commemorates the seven circuits made around the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple in Jerusalem, on Hoshanah Rabah (Levush 660:2).
In Sephardi and chassidic synagogues, the shofar is blown at the end of each circuit. The Hoshanot service culminates in an unusual ceremony. We bang aravot (willow) bundles on the ground in order to atone for our misdeeds. Some believe this is done to illustrate our dependence on rain, as willow trees grow along the banks of waterways.
Our final judgement for 5771 is delivered on Hoshanah Rabah. Let us hope and pray for a healthy and happy year, and merit the coming of Mashiach.