Mekits redumim (He Who Awakens the Sleepers)

Will not God seek this out (Psalms 44:22), for He knows the hidden matters of the heart. All my days I made every effort to sanctify the great and awesome day of Hoshana Rabbah, its night and day alike. For it is more blessed than all other days, and holier than all other times. As on this night, the Holy One, blessed be He, sits on His royal throne, and the King signs with his great signet the sentence meted out to mortals. Our rabbis have said many great things about this day. With all my strength, I offered numerous prayers and supplications on this night, and in the day. I prevented the members of my household from engaging in any matters of levity and laughter, as the service of the blessed Lord cannot reside in a place of jest. Likewise, the inhabitants of this good place, Luzzara, who always acted in an upright manner and their footprints trace an even path, along a holy route—as I prepared their signposts for them so they could follow the path of God, they and their children through prayers, supplications, and good customs on each Sabbath and every festival—God also spoke with them [see Numbers 12:2] that they should be mindful and prepare themselves for the arrival of this sacred day. They all stood up, like one man with a single heart, and said to me, “Please arise, for we have set our eyes on this purpose: compose for us a fine and worthy order to be recited before dawn of the honorable and awesome day of Hoshana Rabbah, on which all the books¹ are sealed, and sentences are delivered into the hand of every claimant and accuser. Please let us awaken the mercies of the Most High, so that He will take pity upon us, save us, and seal us in the books of life, forgiveness, and atonement.”

When I heard their good words, and realized that all they had said was well spoken [see Deuteronomy 5:24], I girded my loins like a man and brought forth my good intentions from theory into practice and composed for them an order, in accordance with the tradition of the holy Sephardic congregations, who have the custom on this day to recite passages requesting forgiveness and supplications at the morning watch, together with the and He passed by before Him section (Exodus 34:6–7) and confessions. I also composed an order to be recited after prayers—The Lord, He is God (1 Kings 18:39), seven times, as the Tur [Jacob ben Asher (1269–1343)] wrote. Moreover, before anything else, I elected to present to them the certainty of words of truth [see Proverbs 22:21], as derived from scholars, scribes, and books, with regard to this day, the day of Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of the festival of Sukkot, as it is worthy of a great crown, renown, and more. Is this day not the day of the willow branch [see m. Sukkah 4:5], and its night and day are closely aligned to the night and the very day of Yom Kippur. It has been called the Night of the Great Sealing. And now, I hereby present its meaning before you, from any sources in which I could find some mention of it, as it is in this manner that we will discover and pursue knowledge of this day and its worth, for the benefit it provides is very great. We shall be vigilant and careful regarding the preservation of its honor, and shall observe it in accordance with its commandments and laws, and then we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation [see Isaiah 25:9]. [ . . . ]

I will cite a proof for this matter from a certain common person who spoke reliably and uttered an absolute truth, offhandedly. For he was riding upon a horse by the light of the moon, early in the morning, in order to go to a large city where he could pray in a quorum, when he suddenly noticed that his horse’s head cast no shadow. Since the light of the moon was behind him, he could see himself riding on a horse, with his head, but the horse lacked a head. It indeed transpired that within a few days the horse collapsed, broke down, and died. This is exactly what the sage said, that the heads of chickens which are about to be slaughtered do not have a shadow. Now, in accordance with the statement of R. Bahya, which we cited at the start of this section, we should believe that this is the case for other animals as well, as the same reason applies to all. For there is no herb or creature down below that does not have an angel above appointed over it [Bereshit Rabbah, Va-yer’a, par. 10:6, to Genesis 2:1], and when it is nearly time for it to disappear, his shade is removed from it [see Numbers 14:9]. Now, it is true that the Lord preserves man and beast [see Psalms 36:7], but the sage Tsiyuni² wrote as follows:

He further wrote at length there on other matters, take a look and see the nature of the various trials—the wise will find them pleasing and will receive a good blessing. Some of these refer to the night of Hoshana Rabbah, and indeed we must believe the trial mentioned by the sage [Menaḥem] Recanati [late thirteenth century], and the God of truth will establish the truth for us.

According to all that has been stated above, based on the words of sages and scribes, on the night of Hoshana Rabbah a man who will die during that year has no shadow. Now, although their statements require no support, listen to what I will relate to you, which happened in my home, within my own walls: in the year 5367 [1616], a certain man from the city of Ferrara was in my house, eating at my table; let us call him Hizkiah. It came to pass, at midnight, on the night of Hoshana Rabbah, the sexton was on his way to the synagogue to light candles and to call upon the watchers for the morning, as was his custom. When he knocked on the door of the house, this Hizkiah went to look out of a window that was open onto the public thoroughfare. Since the moon was shining, my sons, who were in that room attending the willow branches, could see Hizkiah’s shadow, and it did not have a head. They said to Hizkiah, “Go back,” thinking that they might have made a mistake [see Genesis 43:12], but when they returned to look from the window which reflected the moon, they again saw it without a head. As soon as it was morning, my sons said what had happened, but did not say anything to him, so as not to bring bad fortune upon him, and also to avoid frightening him. Within a couple of months, that man fell ill and died, before the start of Kislev; blessed be He and blessed be His name. [ . . . ]

The Order of the Morning Watch

For the Day of Hoshana Rabbah

As arranged by myself, Ḥen Ari, in fulfillment of the request of God-fearing men

One recites the Order of the Morning Watch of that day, until Bless my soul (Psalm 104), followed by Kaddish and Barekhi Atsulah³ etc. Then one should say Psalm 100, followed by “The kindness of the Lord,” a piyyut I arranged, based on the Thirteen Principles of Faith, which appears in Ayelet ha-shaḥar, page 149. After that, one should recite “Lord, O King.”

Regarding those who have the custom to say on this day the Order of those watching for the morning, as on the other days of ḥol ha-mo‘ed, they should recite this order with the omission of “Lord, O King” and “Give thanks.”