"Please, O LORD, save us now; please, O LORD, prosper us now!" (The cry of "Hoshana" from which the final grand day gets its name, Hoshana Rabbah). - Psalm 118:25

Sukkot ends today at Nightfall. The 7th and last day of the festival is called Hoshanah Rabba, the “Great Hoshana.” This is a High Shabbat (Sabbath), so is especially important to God. It is is also the start of the regular Shabbat (Sabbath for the Jews, the real Sabbath) so special indeed.

So what have traditional Jews been doing every day during Sukkot? Going to Church and praying, shaking the Four Kinds in the Synagogue, reciting the full Hallel, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113–118. Today we will use Psalm 117 at the candle-lighting as it is the most significant for Sukkot, but I will share the full Hallel ones throughout the prayer pages today. While doing this they circle the synagogue's reading table (with the Torah on it) waving the 4 kinds, and they pray for God's provision for the coming year.

Today however they add to that the hoshanah, a series of 7 liturgical poems calling upon God to rescue, the Jewish people, primarily by sending rain. They parade around the synagogue reciting all 7 today. It is customary for the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the synagogue's Torah ark during the procession. In a few communities, a shofar is sounded after each circuit. At the conclusion of the 7 processions, a special ritual is conducted in which the branches of the willow (the lulav) are struck upon the ground. This is a symbolic attempt to rid themselves of any remaining sins (the leaves representing these transgressions) that might influence God’s decision to send the seasonal rains.

We Christians are lucky all we have to do is Confess our sins, and apologize to God for them. The jumping off place for that is the Confession prayer at Terse today. The Jews will also today enjoy eating kreplach (ground beef- or chicken-filled dough, folded into triangles), during a festive lunch meal. Sukkot ends at nightfall, and the regular Shabbat and the 1 day feast of Shemini Atzeret begins.