Today is the 7th day of Sukkot.
The seventh day of Sukkot is also known as Hoshana Rabbah, the Great Prayer for Deliverance, which is one of Judaism’s least renowned traditions. Traditionally, worshippers make seven circuits around the synagogue with the four species, emulating the practice of the Temple period, as described within the Mishnah, which prescribes one circuit for each day of Sukkot, until the seventh day, when seven circuits are performed. Afterward, special piyyutim—poems—are recited, followed by the beating of five willow branches, hoshanot.
Several scholars have compared the practice to the conquest of Jericho, when God orders Joshua to complete one circuit around the city walls for six days, followed by seven circuits on the seventh day. After the seventh circuit, the priests blew the shofar, the soldiers shouted, and the fortification walls came tumbling down. Just as Joshua conducts the ritual to summon Divine assistance in the conquest of Jericho, so, too, do we summon Divine assistance to plead for rain and our continued survival.
According to Jewish mystical tradition, though God seals our decree on Yom Kippur, the Book of Life is not yet published until Hoshana Rabbah, meaning that we may continue to plead for emendations to the Book of Life until we summon the Divine presence on this Day.
May our actions on this day prove us worthy of the Divine presence we summon, and may we all discover that we’ve been published for life, blessing, and joy in the coming year.
—Rabbi Josh Knobel