(ה)...בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יהוה לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם. *לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִין לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ, לְפָאֵר, לְרוֹמֵם, לְהַדֵּר, לְבָרֵךְ, לְעַלֵּה, וּלְקַלֵּס, לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ אֶת כָּל הַנִּסִּים הָאֵלּוּ, הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת, מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו, הַלְלוּיָהּ:*
(ו) עַד הֵיכָן הוּא אוֹמֵר, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, עַד אֵם הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, עַד חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ מָיִם...
(ז) מָזְגוּ לוֹ כוֹס שְׁלִישִׁי, מְבָרֵךְ עַל מְזוֹנוֹ. רְבִיעִי, גּוֹמֵר עָלָיו אֶת הַהַלֵּל...
(ו) עַד הֵיכָן הוּא אוֹמֵר, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי אוֹמְרִים, עַד אֵם הַבָּנִים שְׂמֵחָה. וּבֵית הִלֵּל אוֹמְרִים, עַד חַלָּמִישׁ לְמַעְיְנוֹ מָיִם...
(ז) מָזְגוּ לוֹ כוֹס שְׁלִישִׁי, מְבָרֵךְ עַל מְזוֹנוֹ. רְבִיעִי, גּוֹמֵר עָלָיו אֶת הַהַלֵּל...
(5) ...In every generation a person is obligated to see themself as if they went out of Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13), "You will tell your child on that day, saying, "Because of that which Hashem did for me in my going out from Egypt." Therefore, we are obligated to acknowledge and to exol and to praise and to glorify and to exalt and to beautify and to bless and to elevate and to sing praises to the One who performed for our ancestors and for us all these miracles, who took us our from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mouring to a festival, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption. And we will say before God Hallelujah!
(6) How
far does one say? The House of Shammai say, "Until The happy mother of children," by the House of Hillel say, "Until To a fountain of waters."
(7) The third cup is poured. One blesses over food (Birkat Hamazon). The fourth: one completes over it Hallel...
(6) How
far does one say? The House of Shammai say, "Until The happy mother of children," by the House of Hillel say, "Until To a fountain of waters."
(7) The third cup is poured. One blesses over food (Birkat Hamazon). The fourth: one completes over it Hallel...
Questions to think about:
What does it mean to be thankful?
How do we show gratitude?
Do we show true gratitude in the moment or after an event is over?
We have just retold the story of the exodus from Egypt and we are told that we are to imagine ourselves as if we were taken out of Egypt. If you imagine that for yourself how does it make you feel?
What does it mean to be thankful?
How do we show gratitude?
Do we show true gratitude in the moment or after an event is over?
We have just retold the story of the exodus from Egypt and we are told that we are to imagine ourselves as if we were taken out of Egypt. If you imagine that for yourself how does it make you feel?
הַלֵּל זֶה מִי אֲמָרוֹ? רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, אֶלְעָזָר בְּנִי אוֹמֵר: מֹשֶׁה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אֲמָרוּהוּ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁעָלוּ מִן הַיָּם. וַחֲלוּקִין עָלָיו חֲבֵירָיו לוֹמַר שֶׁדָּוִד אֲמָרוֹ. וְנִרְאִין דְּבָרָיו מִדִּבְרֵיהֶן. אֶפְשָׁר יִשְׂרָאֵל שָׁחֲטוּ אֶת פִּסְחֵיהֶן וְנָטְלוּ לוּלְבֵיהֶן וְלֹא אָמְרוּ שִׁירָה?! דָּבָר אַחֵר: פִּסְלוֹ שֶׁל מִיכָה עוֹמֵד בִּבְכִי, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹמְרִים אֶת הַהַלֵּל?
This Hallel-who said it? R. Yose says, "Elazar my son says, 'Moshe and Israel said it when they exited the Sea. But his colleagues disagreed with him and said that David said it. But his view makes more sense than theirs: Is it possible that Israel slaughtered their Pesah offerings and took their lulavim and didn't recite song?
(מו) "וְנֶאֱמַר לְפָנָיו שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה הַלְלוּיָהּ" — צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר הַנּוּ"ן שֶׁל "וְנֶאֱמַר" בְּסֶגוֹ"ל, וְיִהְיֶה פֵּרוּשׁוֹ שֶׁכְּבָר אָמְרוּ לְפָנָיו מֹשֶׁה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּצֵאתָם מִמִּצְרַיִם "שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה", דְּהַיְנוּ שִׁירַת הַיָּם, וְגַם יֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים שֶׁמֹּשֶׁה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָמְרוּ אֶת הַהַלֵּל.
"And a new song was said before [God], Hallelujah!" One must say the nun of vene'emar with a segol, and its meaning is that Moshe and Yisrael already said a new song on their way out from Egypt, i.e. the Song of the Sea. And some also say that Moshe and Yisrael said Hallel.
Psalm 114: The Maggid Ends, The Earth Trembles by Rabbanit Leah Sarna
But how do we decide how much Hallel to say before the meal? This is the debate of Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. Dr. Joseph Tabory in The JPS Commentary on the Haggadah writes:
"There was a fundamental difference between the houses in the understanding of the paschal meal. The Shammaites assumed that the meal was not a celebration of the Exodus but rather a reenactment of the first paschal meal. The Hillelites answered that the Shammaites were being inconsistent. According to their reasoning, they should not recite the blessing of redemption either (p.48)."
Beit Hillel, in these arguments, takes hold of the shape of the seder. We are not reenacting the night of the Passover in all of its details; we are celebrating it. Our celebration needs to feel personal and relevant, but our Maggid is a telling of the complete story, through to the end – even if, according to the original timing, the Israelites would not have left yet. And when we tell that complete story, it concludes in a particular way, with Psalm 114.What makes Psalm 114 the proper culmination of the Maggid?
Famously, Rav Hai Gaon describes the Hallel of the whole night as song – "בתורת אומר שירה". The Ran uses this articulation as a way of justifying the division of Hallel on the seder night (Ran on the Rif Pesachim 26b). This is not your standard Hallel, this is a Hallel of Song, and the rules are different. Rabbi Yitzchok Zev HaLevi Soloveitchik ztz”l writes that the Hallel of Song is the Hallel of someone who has personally undergone a miraculous redemption (חידושי מרן רי"ז הלוי חנוכה פרק ג הלכה ו). By the end of the Maggid, even though we are not reliving the Exodus to the minute as Beit Shammai might have liked, we have experienced a full redemption, and we are singing out our Hallel as a semi-spontaneous praise that simply cannot wait until after the meal.
Discussion Questions:
When something good happens in your life who do you thank for it? How do you thank them?
When something good happens in your life who do you thank for it? How do you thank them?
מִן־הַמֵּצַר קָרָאתִי יָּהּ, עָנָנִי בַמֶּרְחַב יָהּ. יהוה לִי, לֹא אִירָא – מַה־יַּעֲשֶׂה לִי אָדָם.
From the strait I have called, Lord; He answered me from the wide space, the Lord. The Lord is for me, I will not fear, what will man do to me?
*Min-ha'meitzar karati ya, anani bamerhav ya. Adonai li, lo ira - mah-ya'aseh li adam.*