What is Hoshanah Rabbah?
Hoshana Rabbahh is is the special name for the seventh day of Sukkot. It is the end of the serious time in the Jewish year that starts with Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). Hoshana Rabbahh is the last day of this time of judgement as we believe that right up until the end of this day, God may change his judgment about what will happen to us during the coming year.
Although important, Hoshana Rabbah is not a yom tov or Shabbat (day on which work is forbidden). We are still allowed to work and do everyday activities, like go to school, cook, drive in cars and so on.
What does Hoshanah Rabbah mean?
Hoshanah Rabbah - "Hoshanah" literally means "please save (us)" in Hebrew", and "Rabbah" 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 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.
:מנהגים
Night Learning
In consideration of the auspiciousness of the day, it is customary in many communities to remain awake on the night preceding Hoshana Rabbah. We recite the entire Book of Devarim, wherein the precepts to love and fear G‑d are expounded at length. In certain communities, the entire book of Devarim is read in the synagogue from the Torah scroll. After midnight, the entire Book of Psalms is recited. In some congregations it is a custom for the gabbai (synagogue manager) to distribute apples (signifying a “sweet year”) to the congregants. These apples are then taken home, dipped in honey, and eaten in the sukkah.
Morning Prayers
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Hoshanot: After the Hoshanot are completely finished on Hoshana Rabbah, and the Torah scrolls are returned to the ark, the chazan recites kaddish. Afterward, there is an ancient custom instituted by the prophets Chaggai, Zechariah and Malachi to take aravot (willow branches) together, recite a special prayer, and then beat them on the ground.
How to Do Hoshanot
When: We do Hoshanot every day of Sukkot as part of the morning services (see below for Shabbat). Many, including Chabad, do the Hoshanot right after the Hallel prayers; others do it either after the reading of the Torah or after the Musaf prayer.
What: First, a Torah scroll is taken from the ark, which remains open during the Hoshanot prayers. The Torah scroll is brought to the bimah so that the chazan (cantor) and the congregation can make a circuit around the bimah and the Torah while carrying the Four Kinds.
We hold the lulav and etrog together and press them against our heart. (If you don’t have a set of your own, the best thing to do is to borrow from someone who has already circled the bimah, since there is a difference of opinion whether you may circle without a lulav and etrog in hand.8 But regardless of whether or not you circle around the bimah, make sure to at least borrow a set of Four Kinds to recite the blessing over them.)
The chazan says the following four lines out loud, and the congregation repeats after him