High Holidays · Sukkot and Simchat Torah
What is Hoshana Rabbah?
Hoshana Rabbah is the seventh day of Sukkot, when we make seven circuits crying hoshana (save us) and strike five willow branches on the ground — a day the tradition sees as the final sealing of the High Holidays' judgment.
The last knock at the gate
The days of awe began at Rosh Hashanah and were sealed on Yom Kippur — yet tradition sees one more moment when the judgment is finished for good. On הושענא רבה (Hoshana Rabbah, "the great hoshana") we circle the reading table seven times, the four species in hand, calling out hoshana — "please save us." Then we take five willow branches, the aravot, and strike them upon the ground.
It is at once solemn and hopeful: a last, tender plea to the Holy One, blessed be He, before the festival turns fully to joy.
Where it comes from
Hoshana Rabbah is rooted not in an explicit verse but in ancient custom (minhag) preserved through the generations: the seven hakafot (circuits) with the four species, and the striking of the willows, an ancient practice carried faithfully from one age to the next. The name itself comes from the many hoshana prayers of the day.
What to do
Join the morning service, take up the four species, and walk the seven circuits, adding your own voice to the cry of hoshana. When the willows are given out, take the bundle of five and strike it gently on the ground. Let the day carry the seriousness of the season's close and the sweetness of a plea heard.
Source: Custom (minhag); the hakafot with the Four Species and the striking of the willows.
To know when this seventh morning falls and to follow the order of the day's prayers, let My Jewish Day (siddur, zmanim, the Hebrew calendar) walk the circuits beside you.
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