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Hoshanah Raba This Sunday

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muman613:
I think I posted this once before, but it is appropriate for this week...

Here is a musical Hoshanah Raba service held in Hevron, near the Cave of the Patriarchs...

Tag-MehirTzedek:
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is only a kabbalistic concept.

muman613:

--- Quote from: Tag-MehirTzedek on October 05, 2012, 02:11:28 PM ---Correct me if I am wrong, but this is only a kabbalistic concept.

--- End quote ---

No, it is also referred to in the Talmud, the willow beating service...


--- Quote ---This day was also known as "the day of the beating of the aravah." The Mishnah (Sukkah 4:2) records: How was the mitzvah of aravah fulfilled? There was a place below Jerusalem called Motza. They would go down there and pick branches of willows and would then come and place them alongside the altar with the heads (of the willow branches) bent over the altar. They then sounded the shofar: a tekiah, a teruah, and a tekiah. Each day they would circle the altar once and say, "Ana Hashem Hoshiah Na (Please, G-d, bring us salvation), Ana Hashem Hatzlichah Na (Please, G-d, bring us success)"... On that day (i.e., Hoshana Rabbah) they circled the altar seven times. When they had finished they would say, "Beauty is yours, O altar, beauty is yours." As was done during the week was done on Shabbat (i.e., if Hoshana Rabbah fell on a Shabbat) except (that if it was Shabbat) they would gather them (the aravot) on the eve (of Shabbat) and place them in golden basins so that they would not become wilted.
--- End quote ---

Although some of the ideas do derive from mystical sources (i.e. Eliyahu Zuta):


--- Quote ---A reason for all this is found in the text Eliyahu Zuta, where it is explained that beating the hoshanot and causing the leaves to fall away symbolizes "the falling away of the sparks of Divine Judgment; and we cast it away as an end to the Days of Judgment." What does that mean? How do hoshanot --willow branches-- symbolize Divine Judgment? And how do we have the chutzpah to throw Divine judgment away?

The four species of plants used to celebrate the Succot festival are symbolic of the various Jews comprising the Jewish people: etrog/citron (which has both taste and aroma), lulav/palm branch (taste in the date fruit it produces, but no aroma), hadassim/myrtle (aroma only) and aravot/willow (neither taste nor aroma) -- symbolize different types of Jews who possess Torah learning (taste) and good deeds (aroma), one or the other, or nothing at all. All kinds of Jews make up the one Jewish nation, so all four species are united in the mitzvah commonly known as waving the lulav and etrog.

It is a well-known tradition that God judges us on Rosh Hashanah, and His judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur. The verdict, though, is still subject to appeal or modification during Succot until Hoshana Rabbah (the last day of Succot), which is the final day to ask, "Hosha Na," Please save, and it is the day Divine judgment for the year takes effect.

On Hoshana Rabbah, the final judgment day, we set aside the four species of plants, and we pick up the cluster of aravot -- willow branches; no taste, no aroma. It is a symbolic prayer, as if to say: "God, some Jews have learning and good deeds, but I? I confess that I can boast of neither. I am just a willow branch without taste or scent."

And we call these willow branches by the name "hoshanot" ("please save us"), because admitting the truth -- that we are not righteous, that we have nothing to boast about -- is the first step to be able to face God and ask him, "Hosha Na," Please save us.

Then we take these hoshanot, humble branches representing ourselves, and we beat them. The symbolism is clear: "God, yes, we are undeserving. But have we not suffered so much? National tragedy, personal tragedy, physical pain, emotional pain -- does this not make us deserving of Your compassion?"
--- End quote ---

So, the answer is really, yes and no, the day is discussed in the Talmud (The Aravot Service) and additional observations and ideas were presented by the mystics.

muman613:
See Sukkah 43b for more information:

http://halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Sukkah.pdf

Abaye raised an objection against  him: THE CEREMONIALS OF THE LULAB AND THE WILLOW [CONTINUED FOR] SIX [DAYS] OR SEVEN. Does not [this 26 imply that the willow is] as the lulab just as the [ceremonial of the] lulab is [performed] by its being taken, so is that of the willow performed by its being taken? 27  — What an argument! The  rite of each may have been carried out according to its own particular rules. 28

    Abaye raised a further objection against him: Every day they walked round the altar once, but on that day 29 they walked round it seven times. 30 Does not this mean, with the willow-branch? 31 No, with the lulab. 32 But did not R. Nahman state in the name of Rabbah b. Abbuha [that the circuit was made] with the willowbranch? — The other 33 answered him, He told you, ‘with the willow-branch’ and I say ‘with the lulab’.

    It was stated, R. Eleazar stated [that the circuit was made] with the lulab; R. Samuel b. Nathanciting R. Hanina stated [that it was made] with the willow-branch. And so said R. Nahman who had it from Rabbah b. Abbuha, With the willow-branch.

    Raba said to R. Isaac the son of Rabbah b. bar Hana, Come, O Son of the Law, and I will tell you of an excellent statement which your father made. With reference to what we have learnt, ‘Every day they walked round the altar once, and on that day they went round seven times’, 34 your father citing R. Eleazar stated, [This was done] with the lulab.

    He raised an objection against him: The rite of the lulab overrides the Sabbath on the first day, 35 and that of the willow-branch on the last day. 36  On one occasion the seventh day of the [ceremonial of the] willow-branch fell on a Sabbath, and they brought saplings of willows on the Sabbath eve and placed them in the courtyard of the Temple. The Boethusians, 37 having discovered them, took and hid them under some stones. 38 On the morrow some of the ‘amme ha-arez 39 discovered them and removed them from under the stones, and the priests brought them in and fixed them in the sides of the altar. [The reason for hiding the willows was that] the Boethusians do not admit that the beating of the willow-branch 40 overrides the Sabbath. 41 Thus 42 we see clearly that [the performance of the willow ceremonial is] in the taking of it? 43 — This is a refutation. Then why should it 44 not override [the Sabbath]? 45 — Since with us 46 it does not override [the Sabbath] 47 it does not override it with them 48  either. 49

    But is there not the first day of the Festival on which [the rite of the lulab] does not override the Sabbath for us, 50 but does it for them? 48

muman613:
This particular Gemara was referred to by Rabbi Avraham Kook and a story about it posted on IsraelNationalNews...


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/12257#.UG9m7IpGHSE

Hoshana Raba:: The Role of the Lowly Willow

Sometimes one can learn much from the lowly and humble, seemingly simple folk.
From HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zts"l
Succoth: The Role of the Lowly Willow

You have to feel sorry for the poor aravah, the willow branch waved together with the other three species of the arba'ahminim on Succoth. It lacks the fragrance of the etrog and the myrtle, and, unlike the date-palm, it has no fruit. The willow has come to represent the simple folk who are neither learned in Torah nor respected for numerous good deeds.

And yet, according to an ancient oral tradition, the aravah becomes the star of the show on Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of the Succoth holiday. When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the kohanim would raise tall willow boughs around the altar. In synagogues nowadays, after waving all four species, we set aside the other three species and raise the willow alone. And then, at the end of the Hoshanah prayers, the congregants beat the willow on the floor.

Why does the lowly willow merit this special attention? And what is the meaning of the age-old custom of striking the floor with willow branches?

Sabbath Desecration in Jaffa

Rav Kook related the following story one holiday evening in his sukkah. The incident took place in Jaffa, where Rav Kook served as chief rabbi from 1904 to 1914. One Shabbat day, a secular photographer came and disturbed the Sabbath peace in a religious neighborhood. In total disregard for the local religious sensibilities, he set up his tripod and camera in the middle of the street and began taking pictures.

This public desecration of the Sabbath deeply angered the local residents. One man who was particularly incensed by the photographer's insensitivity took a pail of water and thoroughly soaked the Sabbath-desecrater. Naturally, the photographer was indignant. He was so confident in the justice of his cause that he registered a complaint against the water-douser - at the beit din (religious court) of the rabbi of Jaffa, Rav Kook.

Rav Kook told the photographer, "I see that you fail to understand the severity of desecrating the Sabbath in public, but you should realize that your action was a serious affront to the community. You entered a neighborhood of Sabbath-observers and offended them deeply.

"Or course, the correct course of action for the residents would have been to rebuke you verbally. Perhaps you would have understood the seriousness of your actions and stopped. Had that man consulted with me first, I would have advised him not to throw water on you.

'However, he didn't ask, but reacted spontaneously. You should know that on occasion, such impulsive reactions are justified. When people disregard societal norms and cross accepted boundaries, regardless of the implications for others, it is often the spontaneous reaction that most effectively prevents future abuse.

"Such an occasion took place when the Israelites were in the desert and Pinchas responded, not accordingly to the normative halachah, but as a zealot: "Kena'im pogim bo" ('Zealots punish them' - Num. 25:6-8; Sanhedrin 82a). If Pinchas had asked beforehand, he would have been instructed not to kill Zimri. But since his act was done sincerely and served to prevent future violations, his zealous deed was approved after the fact."

The Boethusians and the Willow

What about the willow and Succoth? Rav Kook continued his explanation that evening:

The lowly willow represents the common folk, unlearned and lacking exceptional deeds. Yet, these 'willows' are blessed with an abundance of common sense and are unencumbered by sophisticated calculations. As a result, they have filled important roles in the history of the Jewish people.

In Talmudic times, there was a sect called the Boethusians who disagreed with many of the rulings of the Sages. One disagreement concerned the willow ceremony. The Boethusians prohibited observing this ceremony on the Sabbath. One year, when Hoshanah Rabbah fell on the Sabbath, the Boethusians took the willows and covered them with stones. They knew the Rabbis would not permit moving the stones on the Sabbath since stones are muktzeh (various categories of objects, such as stones, money, and work tools, that the Rabbis prohibited to be handled on the Sabbath in order to safeguard the sanctity of the day).

On Shabbat morning, however, some simple folk who were ignorant about the prohibition of muktzeh pulled out the willow boughs from under the stones. Then the kohanim were able to raise the willows alongside the altar (Sukkah 43b).

Why does the Talmud emphasize that this praiseworthy act was performed by common folk? By covering the boughs with stones, the Boethusians had placed the Sages in a quandary. If the willow boughs were not used, the Boethusians could cite this as proof that the rabbis had conceded to their opinion that willows should not be raised on the Sabbath. On the other hand, if the rabbis decided to move the stones, the Boethusians could have announced that the rabbinic prohibition of muktzeh had been abolished.

Fortunately, the problem never materialized. The simple Jews resolved the dilemma in their own typical manner. They did not ask questions; rather, alarmed by the scandal, they responded by simply removing the willows from under the stones.

The Role of the Willow

The custom to hit the floor with willows does not mean that we wish to 'punish' the willow, as is often thought, for its lack of Torah and good deeds. Rather, it is meant to demonstrate that the willow is also a force to be reckoned with - 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.

(Silver from the Land of Israel. Adapted from Mo'adei HaRe'iyah, pp. 111-113, sent to Arutz Sheva by Rabbi Chanan Morrison.)

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