What is Hoshanah Rabbah or Hoshana Rabba ?

Hoshanah Rabbah or Hoshana Rabba is the seventh day and final day of the seven-day festival of Sukkot, the third of three yearly festivals in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar.

What does Hoshanah Rabbah or Hoshana Rabba mean?

Hoshanah Rabbah or Hoshana Rabba - "Hoshanah" or "Hoshana" literally means "please save (us)" in Hebrew", and "Rabbah" or "Rabba" means "great" in Hebrew. Taken together, these Hebrew words mean: the "great salvation". The day of Hoshanah Rabbah is the seventh day and final day in the seven-day festival of Sukkot, and although it is considered to be a Chol Hamoed day for Sukkot, it has its own special observances and hence, its own name, and is considered to be a semi-holiday in its own right.

What is the importance of the day of Hoshanah Rabbah?

Judaism believes that G-d judges everything on earth on a yearly basis, from human beings, to plants, to animals, and that there are specific days of the year on which each of these are judged. On the day of Hoshanah Rabbah, rabbinical tradition believes that G-d judges whether or not the Jewish community is worthy of receiving the annual seasonal rainfall which would enable them to grow their crops and survive as a community. The rabbis, therefore, saw the day of Hoshanah Rabbah as a kind of mini-Yom Kippur. In the morning synagogue services, all seven hoshanot prayers are recited in seven hakkafot, or ceremonial processions that are made by the congregants around the inside of the sanctuary of the synagogue. When the seven hakkafot are completed, a special ceremony that involves taking five aravot or willow branches - meaning a group of five aravot that is separate from the two aravot that are in the lulav bundle - and beating or striking the willow leaves they hold upon the ground. I know what you're now thinking: why do this? Well, the willow leaves symbolize our transgressions or sins and the beating or striking of the willow leaves upon the ground symbolize our attempt to rid ourselves of any remaining transgressions or sins we may have that might influence the decision by G-d to send the seasonal rains.

The name for the special synagogue service for the seventh day of Sukkot is the same name as that for the day: Hoshanah Rabbah. This service is highlighted by the seven hakkafot ("circles" in Hebrew; singular form: "hakkafah", meaning "circle" or "circling" in Hebrew), which are seven ceremonial processional circuits that are made around the sanctuary by the worshippers, who, like the previous six days of Sukkot, carry two of the symbols of Sukkot: the etrog, a lemon-like fruit that is a cousin to the lemon, and the lulav bundle, in this context, the lulav is the collective name for a bundle of three specific plants that are tied together: the lulav (a palm branch), the aravah or arava (a willow branch; specifically, two aravah branches), and the hadass or hadas (a myrtle branch; specifically, three myrtle branches). As previously mentioned, the bundle is called a lulav since the lulav, or palm branch, is the most prominent plant of the three types of plants in the lulav bundle. The etrog is held in the left hand and the lulav bundle, which again consists of the lulav or palm branch surrounded by and bound with the two aravot or willow branches and the three hadasim or myrtle branches - meaning the lulav is located in the middle of the lulav bundle - is held in the right hand. As mentioned, one keeps both hands apart and also keeps both the etrog and lulav bundle from touching each other. Then one recites the special blessing commanding us to "take" the lulav. Then one brings both hands together so that the lulav bundle and etrog are touching each other and then one points and then gently shakes the etrog and lulav bundle - meaning the Four Species - three times in each of the four directions and also up and down, as on the previous six days of Sukkot. For lots of Jewish people, Hoshanah Rabbah, being the seventh and final day of Sukkot, represents the final day on which they wave or shake the lulav and etrog and dwell or sit in the Sukkah. However, there are many other traditional Jews who will continue to dwell or sit in the Sukkah right through the next day, the day after the holiday of Sukkot, which is the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, which is a separate holiday from Sukkot.

In the afternoon of Hoshanah Rabbah, a festive meal is eaten in the Sukkah. The sanctification blessing to sanctify the day and G-d, known as "Kiddush" ("sanctification" in Hebrew) is not recited, but we begin the meal by eating a special egg-like bread known as "Challah" ("dough" in Hebrew) that is dipped in honey, and delicious Kreplach are eaten (Kreplach means "filled dumplings" in Yiddish, plural form of "krepel"; kreplach are square or triangular dumplings filled with ground meat or cheese, boiled or fried, and usually served in soup, they are similar-looking to ravioli). Kreplach symbolizes the covering of severity (symbolized by the dough covering of the kreplach) with loving-kindness (symbolized by the filling inside the kreplach).

On Hoshanah Rabbah, a cantor, who is a litugical singer in the synagogue, will wear a white kittel ("kittel" means "robe" in Yiddish) which symbolizes purity. In fact, a cantor also wears a white kittel for synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah, Hoshanah Rabbah, and Shemini Atzeret, which are all days on which we seek forgiveness. The color white symbolizes purity and hence a desire to begin again with a clean slate.

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What is Hoshanah Rabbah ?
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