October 12, 5-8pm in Mitten’s Sukkah
We're gathering on the last night of Sukkot to celebrate the Harvest, known as Hoshana Rabbah. On Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Sukkot, the priests of the Temple used to circle the altar seven times with willow branches, praying for rain with poetic stanzas known as Hoshanot (Mishnah Sukkah 4:2), and laying 18-foot willow branches around the altar. Even today, many people still follow this mystical, earth-based “custom of the prophets” to pray for rain (Sukkah 44b:5) — taking five willow branches, reciting a special prayer, and beating the bundle of willows on the ground five times (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 664:4; Mishnah Berurah 664:16–19).
Rabbi Pesach Wolick reflects on the powerful sound of this ritual: “Imagine the sound of a synagogue full of aravot hitting the floor. The sound is almost identical to a hard rainfall. The aravot — willows of the brook [Leviticus 23:40] — require abundant water, and they're hitting the ground like rain creates the sound of rain.” Together in community we'll meet the willows in song, embodied prayer and dance!
October 12, 5-8pm in Mitten’s Sukkah
We're gathering on the last night of Sukkot to celebrate the Harvest, known as Hoshana Rabbah. On Hoshana Rabbah, the final day of Sukkot, the priests of the Temple used to circle the altar seven times with willow branches, praying for rain with poetic stanzas known as Hoshanot (Mishnah Sukkah 4:2), and laying 18-foot willow branches around the altar. Even today, many people still follow this mystical, earth-based “custom of the prophets” to pray for rain (Sukkah 44b:5) — taking five willow branches, reciting a special prayer, and beating the bundle of willows on the ground five times (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chaim 664:4; Mishnah Berurah 664:16–19).
Rabbi Pesach Wolick reflects on the powerful sound of this ritual: “Imagine the sound of a synagogue full of aravot hitting the floor. The sound is almost identical to a hard rainfall. The aravot — willows of the brook [Leviticus 23:40] — require abundant water, and they're hitting the ground like rain creates the sound of rain.” Together in community we'll meet the willows in song, embodied prayer and dance!
