Hoshanah Rabbah. The hoshanah is made up of small willow twigs tied together with strips of willow bark. It is used in the synagogue on the morning of Hoshanah Rabba (The Great Hoshanah), the seventh day of Sukkot. The procession around the bimah is repeated seven times. At the last, with a petition for forgiveness of sins, each worshipper strikes his branch a few times on the desk or bench before him until a few leaves have fallen off, and then throws the twig away. This is intended as a symbol of the resurrection of life after death, since the denuded branches of a tree take on new foliage in due season.