This is Rabbi Shapiro. I'd like to mention the importance of Hoshana Rabbah. It's not a regular day. It's not like a regular day of Sukkos or even a regular day of שמחת בית השואבה. Hoshana Rabbah is something very, very special. There's a pasuk that says in Yeshayah: ואותי יום יום ידרושון, that Hashem says there are two days when people search for me, look for me. And it says in Yerushalmi: זו תקיעה וערבה, that refers to Rosh Hashanah when we blow tekiot, and refers to Hoshana Rabbah when we take the aravah and we use the aravah. And the mefarshim explain that it means that in these two days, Rosh Hashanah and הושענא רבה, ידרושון, all the Yidden search for Hashem. Why? Because Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the judgment, and Hoshana Rabbah is the חתימת גזר דין. Hoshana Rabbah is the end when Hashem seals the decree, the verdict for the year.

It also says in Zohar in a few places that the seventh day of Sukkos is the end of the din, the judgment Hashem has for the world. And that's when the Aibershter writes the פתקין, writes the צעטלאך, the קוויטלאך, the צעטלאך, which is when you seal the גזר דין, the verdict. And that's why people wish each other—in Lubavitch you don't actually have that minhag, but the velt does, and actually the Rebbe himself mentioned it quite a few times—that we wish each other Gute kvitlech. You should have a Gut kvitel. A kvitel means a צעטל, a note. You have good notes. And the Rishonim write that Hoshana Rabbah is the day of the חתימת הדין, which is the seal when the Aibershter seals the din like Yom Kippur. That says in Shibolei HaLeket and other places. And one of the reasons is—there are other reasons—one of the reasons is because it says סוכות השם judges concerning the water, what how much water we should get through the year, and what effect each of etc., etc. So therefore the end of Sukkot is the end of the judgment of the water, and also it's the end of the pouring of the water on the mizbeach, and most of the life of a person depends on water, and therefore Hoshanah Rabbah is so important. Also it says that when the Gemara says that there are three sefarim open in front of Hashem on Rosh Hashanah, and it's sealed and that in those three sefarim goes in tzaddikim what should happen, and reshaim what should happen, and beinonim. And it says that it's sealed on Yom Kippur, so Yom Kippur the Eibershter gives the seal, but Hoshanah Rabbah is the תכלית הכפרה, it says. That's the real, real kaparah. That's more than other places, other times. And that is because we already went through Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and Hashem forgave us for all the aveirot, and the last thing that we did is we went to the sukkah, and the sukkah is like galut, it's like exile, you leave your house and you go into the sukkah. So galut is mechaper. Anyway, the bottom line is that when it comes to Hoshanah Rabbah, it's like Rosh Hashanah, like Yom Kippur, it has all these qualities, but in a different way, but still it has all these qualities. And that's why it's very and very important what were supposed the minhagim that we do on Hoshanah Rabbah.

Therefore, I want to encourage everyone that one of the minhagim is that tonight after chatzot, at 1:00, we say the whole Tehillim. First, after Ma'ariv, some time till we get to the Tehillim, every person has to read through Mishneh Torah, has to read through Chumash Devarim, and then there are a few pieces of Zohar that we also say, which is we have in the Tikkunim, and in those pieces of Zohar it talks about Hoshanah Rabbah being the day of the גזר דין, etc., etc. That's when Hashem seals the גזר דין, and we want to be good and do everything correct when Hashem looks at us to see how he should seal the גזר דין, the verdict for the whole year. So it's very important to say Tehillim, and that's the reason why we stay up and say Tehillim, because we have to say Tehillim. When you're standing in front of a court case, you have to stay In case, you have to say Tehillim. Hashem that you should be come out in the best way possible. So that's how we say Tehillim, so it's important everyone should come to Tehillim. Not so convenient, it's middle of the night, then next morning you have to get up, but we have to do it because this helps that the Eibershter would sign and seal for us for a good year, Shana tova umetuka. This is the end of the גזר דין. And also important obviously to come to minyan and say all the hoshanos. That's why we say so many hoshanos where we ask Hashem to help us. Hoshana Rabba means the Rebbe taytsh normally it means because we say a lot of pieces of hoshana. Every day we say one piece, and here we say a lot, so it's Hoshana Rabba, but the Rebbe taytsh Hoshana Rabba means the hoshana, which means help, the Eibershter helps us, raba, a lot. There's a great help that we get from the Eibershter.

So we have to come to davenen, and also not to forget that after davenen, sometime during the day, you have to have a Yom Tov meal. Just like you sit down on Yom Tov, you have a meal with the family, like a regular Yom Tov meal, you have to have a Yom Tov meal on Hoshana Rabba. It's not like some people know that Hoshana Rabba is like every other day that you eat you eat a sandwich if tuna tuna fish, you eat some peanut butter or something. It's a Yom Tovdige meal that you have to have, and it's very important, because by doing that, we show the Eibershter how guaranteed we feel that we're going to get a good year, and that's why we celebrate, we make a Yom Tovdige seuda. Someone doesn't do it, chas veshalom, it sounds as if he doesn't really care or he doesn't believe it, etc., etc. Anyway, it's a מנהג ישראל, all the generations, that you have to have a Yom Tov meal on Hoshana Rabba, so I'm encouraging everyone to do all these things, because this is a very, very important time of the year. And the Eibershter should give us a chasima and gmar chasima tova, and take gute kvitlech, we should have a shana tova umetuka, in all ענינים, בגשמיות וברוחניות גם יחד.