Thursday night is the night of Hoshana Raba, the final day of the week-long Sukkot holiday, on which Jews traditionally remain awake throughout the night and study Torah. Special study sessions will be held around the country and around the world, while tens of thousands more plan to simply study at home or with a friend.
In Jerusalem, the Orthodox Union's Israel Center is advertising an all-night Torah study session that will include a Sukkot sing-along, several lectures, and a 5 a.m. Friday morning prayer service for those who manage to learn through the entire night. The program will be conducted in English.
In the Binyamin region, many residents will gather in the town of Keida for a night of learning dedicated to Yair Hirsch, a local Jew who was recently wounded in a terrorist attack. Participants hope the merit of their study will speed Hirsch's recovery.
The Ramat Gan yeshiva will be open to the public beginning at 8 p.m. Teachers will lead study groups for men and women.
For Hebrew speakers, there will be open learning at the Netiv Meir yeshiva in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem. The evening will begin at 8:30 p.m. and include lectures from Rabbi Hanan Porat, Rabbi Yigal Kaminetsky and more, as well as performances from the yeshiva band and other singers.
A unique Hoshana Raba program will be held this year in a protest tent opposite the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem. There, victims of terrorist attacks have arranged a night of learning in memory of those who fell in the Yom Kippur War.
The evening's Torah study will focus on topics such as the position Jewish law takes on redeeming captives and releasing imprisoned terrorists. In addition to lectures on Torah topics, the night's events will include talks from former soldiers on the miracles they witnessed during the Yom Kippur War.