Hoshanah Rabbah

Hoshana Rabbah
Beating of the willows at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
Official name	Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא
Also called	Translation: "The Great Supplication"
Observed by	Jews
Type	Jewish
Significance	The culmination of Sukkot.
Date	21st day of Tishrei
Related to	Culmination of Sukkot (Tabernacles)

The seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, 21st day of Tishrei, is known as Hoshana Rabbah (Aramaic: הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא, "Great Hoshana/Supplication"). 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. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession. In a few communities a shofar is sounded after each circuit.

Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the Days of Judgment which began on Rosh Hashana. The Zohar says that while the judgment for the new year is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not "delivered" until the end of Sukkot (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah, the last day of Sukkot), during which time one can still alter their verdict and decree for the new year. Consequently, an Aramaic blessing which Jews give each other on Hoshana Rabbah, פתקא טבא (pitka tava or piska tava), which in Yiddish is "A guten kvitel", or "A good note", is a wish that the verdict will be positive.

In this spirit, it is a custom in many congregations that the cantor wears a kittel as on the High Holidays. Since Hoshana Rabbah blends elements of the High Holy Days, Chol HaMoed, and Yom Tov, in the Ashkenazic tradition, the cantor recites the service using High Holiday, Festival, Weekday, and Sabbath melodies interchangeably.