Adventures rabbah on Hoshana Rabbah

Taking a lulav, cane, and umbrella into the subway without injuring anyone was certainly a great (rabba) adventure. I need more hands! :)

Then, when my "kaddish minyan" went outside to the sukkah to knock the leaves off our aravot (willow) bundles, someone commented, "This is getting really strange." So I threw in my two cents: "Of course it's strange--this is Hoshana Rabbah!" :) Hoshana Rabbah is certainly one of our more unusual Chol HaMoed days, as you can see from the details toward the end of this post.

For the record, I've officially given up trying to follow one of those "Hoshanot road-maps" that explain the order in which you're supposed to recite the Hoshanot ("If Thursday is the first day of Sukkot, the order is: Aleph, Bet, Chet, Hay, Vav, Daled"). I always lose my place (assuming that I'd ever found it), thereby confirming my reputation as someone with no sense of direction(s). :) I just make the seven circles while carrying my lulav and etrog, chiming in "Hoshana Na" at the appropriate times.

Eventually, I'll have to have a transliteration-correction party--Hoshana ends with the letter Aleph, while Rabbah ends with the letter Hay, so, according to the rules of transliteration (such as they are), Hoshana should not be written with an H at the end, but Rabbah should be written with an H at the end.

Chag Sameiach, everyone!