Hoshana Raba: Magic Words

 Hoshana Raba: Magic Words

I think that Hoshana Raba is the festival of magic words. Hoshana, Mivasser

 

Hoshana Raba is the last intermediate day of Sukkoth.  Sukkoth (like Passover 6 months earlier /later) is a week long holiday with full holy days ( days that have restrictions on “work”  and have special prayer service that usurps the usual daily service) and "intermediate” days ( days when we eat in the sukkah, make some additions to the usual prayers, but do not significantly limit activities.)  The prayer service for Hoshana Raba incorporates more of the holy day material, but remains everyday in the essentials. The Hoshana Raba service includes the most extensive hoshana service. 

Every day of Sukkoth ( except the Saturday), the men of the Orthodox congregation take up the four species ( lulav, ethrog, hadassim and aravoth) and march around the synagogue  reciting responsively an alphabetical list  of two or three word phrases with the chorus of hoshea na after each phrase. The themes of these marches are appeals to Gd’s mercy.  On Hoshana Raba, we march around seven times, reciting a full alphabetical list for each circuit and add a few more complex (and darker) lists (hosannas). After the march, there are more alphabetical and reverse alphabetical poems with refrains that are related to the word hoshana. Finally there is a plea for salvation with the refrain “mivasser.,” announcement. This refrain is a bit incongruous. 

The day after Hoshana Rabba is Shemini Atzereth, the eighth day of (holy) assembly. It is a holiday that follows Sukkoth.  The highlight of Shemini Atzereth is the announcement of a transition in the daily prayer to now include a recognition of rain.  We are entering the rainy season (in the land of Israel) and prosperity depends on adequate rain.  Drought means disaster. Wasser  (pronounced vasser) is the Yiddish (and German) word for water.  The mem, (מ) in mivasser can mean  “from” (its usage in Hebrew that is sometimes used in Yiddish)  or, its pronunciation as  may  can, by itself mean water (in Hebrew).  The Hoshana Raba service ends  with a call for water, a prayer for rain. 

The word Hoshana, a contraction of hashea na, means “save us, please.” Hoshana was prominent in the Coen Brothers’ movie A Serious Man. A memorable scene describes finding the word  hoshana (הוֹשִׁיעָה־נָּא) (goys teeth)  inscribed  ( in Hebrew) inside a man’s teeth.  The scene is funny because it touches on the remoteness of the ancient beliefs. For me, balancing  between a lost worldview, magic, and meaninglessness is an intense struggle. I think that there are additional axes beyond these three.. 

Hoshana Raba and its marches, poetry and incantations, comes at the end of  the season of Selichoth.  Ashkenazic Orthodox Jews begin waking early  to recite selichoth, prayers of repentance, before the morning service, a week before Rosh Hashana ( the New Year day of judgement).  Most of these  selichoth were written before the 11th Century in a poetical Hebrew dialect  and are  very hard to understand. They are often alphabetical. They have that magical aspect, so understanding the words is not the important part.  Maybe it never is. 

Magic from words is a common experience. Poetry is magical words. The plea of the attorney can free the accused.  The jargon of medicine can give the illusion of understanding and hope.

AI large language models create pseudo-human responses from pieces of words ( tokens).  A few words from the President can destroy the world in a nuclear war. 

Words are magic. Watch a one year old learn to use them and you will see.