Hoshana Rabba

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The seventh day of the Jewish pilgrimage festival of Sukkot , the 21st day of the month of Tishri , is known as Hoshana Rabba ( Aramaic הושענא רבה 'Great Hoschana' , also called "Palm Festival"; Translated, hoschana means “So help!”).

This day is sanctified by a special synagogue service, the Hoschana Rabba , in which seven tours ( Hakkafot ) with the lulav are carried out. Usually, the Torah scrolls are taken out of the Torah shrine during this procession . In a few parishes the shofar is blown after every procession round.

Hoshana rabba is the seventh day of Sukkot and at the same time the last day of the "high holidays". According to the Jewish Kabbalah, it was and is a day on which “notes are sent to heaven” in order to perhaps influence the judgment passed there, which is already fixed for every Jew for the whole coming year. As part of this tradition, everyone wishes their neighbor “A good note!” Or, as they say in Yiddish , A gutt Kwittel! In many places there is a night of vigil on the eve of Hoschana Rabba, during which one studies the fifth book of Moses .

Willow branches for the feast day

On the morning of Hoschana Rabba, the prayer leader stands in front of the Torah shrine in a white smock, called Sargenes, just like on the New Year festival and the Day of Atonement . In the synagogue there are seven tours with the Torah scroll or the Torah scrolls and with the Lulav or the four kinds, as a symbol of liberation from evil. After the seven Hakkafot, the ritual beating with the willow branches takes place: you put the four species aside and take a group of five brook willow branches that are tied together in your hand.

After completing the kaddish , the willow branches are struck five times on the floor or on the back of a chair. Then you throw them in a place where no one can step on them. The exact meaning of this custom from the time of the second temple is not clear. According to the guest list, according to the traditional Jewish understanding, King David is a guest on the day of Hoschana Rabba. For this reason, verses related to King David are read in the evening of Hoshana Rabba.

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Commons : Hoschana Rabba  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files