1. It Is the Seventh Day of Sukkot
The festival of Sukkot comprises a two-day holiday, followed by five intermediate days (known as chol hamoed), and then another two-day holiday. (These final two days, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, are technically not part of Sukkot but a holiday of their own.1)
The seventh day of Sukkot—which is the final day of chol hamoed—is known as Hoshanah Rabbah. Although not as famous as some of the other dates on the Jewish calendar, it is a colorful day fusing contrasting flavors and seemingly opposite themes. It is a “Tishrei capsule” of sorts, combining features from all the holidays of the month.
Read: Tishrei in 10
2. We Parade With Lulav Sets Seven Times
Each day of Sukkot, following the Hallel prayer, we hold our set of Four Species and circle the bimah (the podium from which the Torah is read), while chanting Hoshaanot (see next item). Hoshanah Rabbah is distinct in that we parade around the bimah not once but seven times.
Read: All About Hoshaanot
3. It Means “Many [Prayers for] Deliverance”
While circling the bimah carrying the lulav and etrog, we recite Hoshaanot—prayers in which we beseech G‑d to protect us from harm and bless us with plentiful rain and abundant livelihood. Each day of Sukkot (save Shabbat), a different prayer is recited, unique to that day.
On Hoshanah Rabbah, we repeat all the Hoshaanot said throughout Sukkot, and many additional similarly-themed prayers. The name “Hoshanah Rabbah,” “Many [Prayers for] Deliverance,” aptly describes this proliferation of supplications.
Read: Hoshanah Rabbah
4. It Features a Millennia-Old Custom
After completing the Hoshaanot, each person takes a bundle of five aravot (willow branches) and beats it on the ground five times. The custom to take aravot on Hoshanah Rabbah is quite ancient; it was instituted by the final three prophets—Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—in c. 3440 (c. 360 BCE).
Kabbalistic sources teach that there are five supernal levels of severity, and they are “sweetened” or tempered when we strike the five willows.
Read: The Wonder of the Willow
5. It Is the Final Day of Judgment
G‑d judges us on Rosh Hashanah, seals the judgment on Yom Kippur, and finalizes it on Hoshanah Rabbah. Yes, you read that correctly. While G‑d determines the fate of every created being on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is on Hoshanah Rabbah that His judgment is finalized.
Hoshanah Rabbah is replete with customs that reflect this overtone, giving the day a unique blend of seriousness and joy (as after all, it is also part of Sukkot, the festival of rejoicing).
6. We Stay Up All Night
One of these customs is to stay up the entire night reading portions of Scripture. Some read the entire Book of Deuteronomy during the first half of the night and the entire Book of Psalms following midnight. In some synagogues, sweet apples are distributed to the congregants to be eaten dipped in honey, while reading Psalms, reminiscent of the first night of Rosh Hashanah.
7. It Is a Mini Holiday
Hoshanah Rabbah has the status of a mini holiday—not quite like the first two days of Sukkot, but more festive than the previous four intermediate days. We abstain from work until services are over; a festive meal is eaten; and in some communities, the kittel is worn during prayers, as it is on Yom Kippur.
Many Jews of Ashkenazic descent eat kreplach, meat-filled dumplings typically served in soup.
Read: What Are Kreplach?
8. Last Day of Honey-Dipping
In addition to dipping the apple in honey on Rosh Hashanah, some families dip the challah in honey, continuing to do so in the subsequent days and weeks as well. This custom comes to its sweet conclusion on Hoshanah Rabbah, when G‑d puts the final seal on His decision to give every Jew a sweet year ahead.
9. Last Day of Psalm 27
In some prayer rites (including that of Chabad), it is also the last day we say L’David Hashem Ori (Psalms 27), which is added to the prayers starting at the beginning of the month of Elul. Others continue saying it for one additional day, stopping on Shemini Atzeret.
10. Last Day of Lulav-Holding
As on every day of Sukkot, we hold the Four Species on Hoshanah Rabbah—this time with a special dose of feeling, knowing this is the last time we will experience the mitzvah until next year.
Although meals are eaten in the sukkah the next day as well (in the Diaspora), Hoshanah Rabbah is the last day to say leshev basukkah, the blessing said when eating in the sukkah.
Read: What Is a Sukkah?
11. It Is Followed by Two Days of Dancing
In no way does Hoshanah Rabbah wind down calmly and quietly. It leads straight into Shemini Atzeret and then Simchat Torah, two days of non-stop dancing and rejoicing, commemorating the conclusion and subsequent inauguration of the annual Torah reading.
In many communities, it is customary to begin the festivities and dancing of Simchat Torah on Shemini Atzeret. As the evening of Hoshanah Rabbah makes way to night, they celebrate hakafot, in which the Torah scrolls are removed from the Ark and circled around the bimah, accompanied by vigorous singing and dancing.
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