The Two Hallels of Pesach

Not "whole" and "half"

Pesach

by Rabbi Avi Billet

There are two Hallels (paragraphs dedicated uniquely to praising God) in the book of Tehillim (Psalms). One is called Hallel Mitzrayim (The Egyptian Hallel), and the other is called Hallel HaGadol (the Great Hallel).

Hallel Mitzrayim is the one we are most familiar with, Tehillim 113-118, while Hallel HaGadol is defined differently by different early Rabbinic authorities. Basically everyone agrees that it includes Tehillim 136 (Tosefta Taanit 2:17, Sofrim 18:3), while how far it extends in the chapters before and after Chapter 136 is debated in the Talmud Pesachim 118a. One view extends it into 135, while another view includes some (or perhaps all) of the Shir Hamaalots, which are chapters 120-134.

In Mesekhet Sofrim (ibid), the passage talks about the special “Song of the day” which is to be recited on the different holidays of the year. Hallel HaGadol (ch. 136) is designated as the special song of the last day of Pesach.

Before debating over the definition of Hallel HaGadol, the Talmud tells us in the name of Rabbi Tarfon that for the 4th cup of wine at the Seder, we recite all of Hallel (meaning Hallel Mitzrayim), and we also say Hallel HaGadol.

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi notes that there are 26 verses in Hallel HaGadol, corresponding to the 26 generations from Adam until the Torah was given, noting how “the world was sustained through God’s kindness for 26 generations” before the world changed with the Torah having been given to the Jewish people. The refrain ending each line in 136, “ki l’olam chasdo” – that His kindness endures forever, could also be understood to mean that His kindness is for the world (note to grammarians: I am aware that there is a difference between a “patach” and a “shva na” under the lamed!).

Perhaps this is why it is called the “Great” Hallel – because it talks so much about the greatness of God, Whose name has the numerical value (gematria) of 26 as well.

Both Hallels are part of our Haggadah. We say the full Hallel Mitzrayim – though broken up between “Maggid” and “Hallel” – at the Seder, and we also say Hallel HaGadol.

In its own way, one can argue that Hallel HaGadol (136) parallels Dayenu in the sense that a number of statements about God’s greatness are declared, concluding with a phrase that emphasizes God’s greatness, kindness to our people, and a reason to give thanks.

All told, both Hallels cover a range of topics and reasons to give thanks to God – mostly for the events of the past, but, in the case of the end of Hallel HaGadol, even until today. The conclusion of “God gives bread to all flesh” and “Give thanks to the God of the Heavens” are verses that indicate God’s role in our lives until this day.

Hopefully everyone has a place for the Seder and plans for the holiday. And hopefully through our recitations of these Hallels, which we should view as a privilege rather than as a burden tagged on to the end of the Seder, after the meal, we can come to an appreciation of the good we have in our lives. It is not always easy to see, between terror and anti-Semitism which continue to devastate our people around the world, and the struggles and difficulties many face on a day to day basis (in relationships, financially, etc.), that God is in our lives.

Hopefully, when we sit down at the Seder and thank all those who helped put it together, we can also give thanks and Hallel to God for sustaining us until this time, and having given us the opportunity to once again sing His praises because we appreciate the role He plays in our lives, every day. Even when things are bleak, there is good to be found. Both Hallels are meant to remind us of God’s role in the past redemptions, in our current sustenance, and hopefully in the not-too-distant future, in the final redemption.