HOSHANA RABBAH, SHEMINI ATZERET/SIMCHAT TORAH, AND THE TORAH READING V’ZOT HABRACHAH

  

HOSHANA RABBAH, SHEMINI ATZERET/ SIMCHAT TORAH, 

AND THE TORAH READING V’ZOT HABRACHAH

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HOSHANA RABBAH

 Jean-Frédéric Bernard, Procession des Palmes chez les Juifs Portugais, 1724.

הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא is the seventh day of Sukkot.

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

derived from the words hosha na—“bring us salvation, please”

 It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark during this procession.

The seven circuits bring to mind the seven circuits around the city of Jericho when the walls were flattened.

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Hoshana Rabbah is known as the last of the Days of Judgment, which begin on Rosh Hashnah. 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.

 This implies that during the time from Yom Kippur when a judgment for individuals is sealed, one can still alter their verdict and decree for the new year. It is also believed that the judgment for rain is sealed on the festival of Sukkot.

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Toward the conclusion of the Chag, five willow branches are beaten on the ground to symbolize the elimination of sin. This is also symbolic as a prayer for rain and success in agriculture.

There is no blessing said for this ritual.  The custom of beating the willow branches was started only in the times of Ezra by the three last prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

There is a Midrash  that the willow represents the common folk, unlearned and lacking exceptional deeds. 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. We do not strike the willow. We strike with the willow.” It is important to note that the willow represents the unlearned and not the evildoers.

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SHEMINI ATZERET

Shemini Atzeret “Eighth [day of] Assembly" is a holiday unto itself. It is celebrated along with Simchat Torah on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei in the Land of Israel. It directly follows the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which is celebrated for seven days, and thus Shemini Atzeret is literally the eighth day. It is a separate—yet connected—holy day devoted to the spiritual aspects of the festival of Sukkot.

Part of its duality as a holy day is that it is simultaneously considered to be both connected to Sukkot and also a separate festival in its own right.

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 Sukkot is considered a universal holiday, but Shemini Atzeret is only for the Jewish people. Moreover, Shemini Atzeret is a modest holiday, just to celebrate the special relationship between Hashem with His beloved nation.

Other than the seven circuits as done on Hashanah Rabbah

no specific rituals or ritual objects are connected t the Chag, making Shemini Atzeret unique in that regard among the festivals mentioned in the Torah.

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 The Land of Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain, are prominent during the Land of Israel's winter rainy season 

The rainy season starts just after the fall Jewish holidays. Because of that, and because the sukkah is no longer required on Shemini Atzeret, Jews begin to ask for rain starting with the Musaf Amidah prayer of Shemini Atzeret. The Yizkor memorial service is also recited in Ashkenazi synagogues on this day.

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SIMCHAT TORAH

Simchat Torah שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה “Rejoicing with/of the Torah", celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle

In the Land of Israel, the celebrations of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined on a single day, and the names are used interchangeably.

Simchat Torah celebration of today is of rabbinic origin and local custom. The reading of the first section of Genesis immediately upon the conclusion of the last section of Deuteronomy—as well as the name "Simchat Torah"—can be found in a 14th century halachic code called “The Tur”. It was written by Jacob ben Asher and later adapted in the Shulchan Aruch.

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The last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are read in the synagogue’s morning service. The morning service is also uniquely characterized by the calling up of each member of the congregation for an Aliyah. There is also a special Aliyah for all the children

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V'ZOT HABERACHAH, DEVARIM 33:1-34:12

The Torah draws to its close, the cycle is ending, with Parshat V'zot Habrachah, which is the only Parsha in the Torah not read specifically on a Shabbat. Because on the previous Shabbat we celebrate the Festival of Sukkot, V'zot Habrachah was not read.

Rather, V'zot Habrachah is read on Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, when every man in the synagogue gets called up to the Torah for an Aliyah -- even young children. The Parshah is repeated until everyone has received an Aliyah.

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