Hoshana Rabbah

This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah, in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Hoshanot.

In Amsterdam and in 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 Diaspora, some Hasidic communities such as Satmar have the custom of having Priestly Blessing recited during the Mussaf service.

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.

Furthermore, the seven circuits correspond to the seven Hebrew words in Psalms 26:6 - "I wash my hands in purity and circle around Your altar, O Lord".

The list of honorees is identical to that of the honorary invitees to the sukkah according to the tradition of Ushpizin: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, David.

[7] In Hasidic communities that follow the customs of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, there is a public reading of the Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) from a Sefer Torah.

At the conclusion of a number of Piyyutim (liturgical poems), five willow branches are beaten on the ground or other surfaces to symbolize the elimination of sin.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook noted that these simple people have their own contribution to the nation; they are blessed with common sense and are unencumbered by sophisticated calculations.

The unusual custom to beat the willow on the ground symbolizes that these common folk provide “a natural, healthy power that is part of the arsenal of the Jewish people.

In Ashkenazi culture, it is traditional to eat soup with kreplach during the meal served on the day of Hoshana Rabba.

[12] Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz taught that one should bake an apple with the Hoshana branch in it to ward off toothaches in the coming year.