Why Two Hallels?

(Introductory Call to Praise)

(1)Praise YHWH; for He is good, His steadfast love is eternal.

(2) Praise the God of gods, His steadfast love is eternal.

(3) Praise the Lord of lords, His steadfast love is eternal:

(4) Who alone works great marvels, His steadfast love is eternal;

(Creation)

(5) Who made the heavens with wisdom

(6) Who spread the earth over the water

(7) Who made the great lights:

(8) The sun to dominate the day

(9) The moon and the stars to dominate the night

(Exodus)

(10) Who struck Egypt through their first-born

(11) And brought Israel out of their midst

(12) With a strong hand and outstretched arm

(13) Who split apart the Sea of Reeds

(14) And made Israel pass through it

(15) Who hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Reeds

(16) Who led His people through the wilderness

(17) Who struck down great kings

(18) And slew mighty kings—

(19) Sihon, king of the Amorites

(20) Og, king of Bashan—

(21) And gave their land as a heritage

(22) A heritage to His servant Israel

(23) Who took note of us in our degradation

(24) and rescued us from our enemies

(25) Who gives food to all flesh

(26) Praise the God of heaven, His steadfast love is eternal.

QWhy is this section called the the "Great Hallel?

ARabbi Yoḥanan said: Because this passage states that the Holy One, Blessed be He, sits in the heights of the universe and dispenses food to every creature.

QAnd since we now have the Great Hallel, what's the reason that we still bother to say the other one? (Hallel, psalms 113-118)

ABecause the regular hallel contains these five matters:

1. The Exodus from Egypt
2. The splitting of the Sea of Reeds
3. The giving of the Torah
4. The resurrection of the dead
5. The pangs of the Messiah

1. The exodus from Egypt, as it is written: “When Israel came forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language” (Psalms 114:1).
2. And the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is written: “The sea saw it and fled; the Jordan turned backward” (Psalms 114:3).
3. The giving of the Torah, as it is written: “The mountains skipped like rams” (Psalms 114:4)
4. The resurrection of the dead, as it is written: “I will walk before the Lord in the lands of the living” (Psalms 116:9)
5. The pangs of the Messiah, as it is written: “Not to us, God, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalms 115:1). And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The verse “Not to us, God, not to us” and the entire psalm, including the verse “Why should the nations say, where now is their God?” (Psalms 115:2), is referring to the era of the enslavement of the kingdoms. Some say that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The verse “Not to us, God, not to us” is referring to the war of Gog and Magog.

And some say that the angel Gabriel recited: “And the truth of the Lord endures forever." :

When the evil Nimrod threw our father, Abraham, into the fiery furnace, Gabriel said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, I will descend and cool the furnace, and I will thereby save the righteous Abraham from the fiery furnace.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: I am unique in my world and Abraham is still unique in his world. It is fitting for the unique to save the unique.

And as the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not withhold reward from any creature who sought to perform a good deed, He said to Gabriel: You will merit the rescue of three of his descendants under similar circumstances.

Rabbi Shimon HaShiloni taught: When the evil Nebuchadnezzar threw Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, Yurkamo, the ministering angel of hail, stood before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him: Master of the Universe, I will go down and cool the fiery furnace, and I will save these righteous ones from the fiery furnace.

Gabriel said to him: The strength of the Holy One, Blessed be He, will not be evident in this manner, as you are the minister of hail, and everyone knows that water extinguishes fire. Your action would not be regarded as a great miracle. Rather, I, the ministering angel of fire, will descend, and I will cool the furnace from within, and I will burn it from the outside, and I will thereby perform a miracle within a miracle.

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: Descend!

At that time Gabriel began praising God and recited: “And the truth of the Lord endures forever!” (Psalms 117:2), referring the promise God had made over 1.5 thousand years before!

Rabbi Natan says: “And the truth of the Lord endures forever” was actually recited by the fish in the sea! It is in accordance with a statement of Rav Huna.

As Rav Huna said: The Israelites of the generation of the Exodus were of little faith.

And this statement is as Rabba bar Mari taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “But they were rebellious at the sea, even at the Sea of Reeds?” (Psalms 106:7)? This teaches that the Israelites rebelled against Moses at that time, saying: Perhaps, just as we are ascending from one side, so too the Egyptians are ascending from the other side!

The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the ministering angel of the sea: Spew out the dead Egyptians onto dry land.

The sea said before Him: Master of the Universe, is there a servant whose master gives him a gift and then takes it from him?

He said to him: I will give you one and a half times their number.

He said to him: Master of the Universe, can a servant be so brazen as to issue a claim against his master?

He said to him: The Kishon River will serve as a guarantor.

Immediately, the sea spewed them out onto the land, and the Israelites saw that they were dead, as it is stated: “And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore” (Exodus 14:30).

QWhat is this "one and a half times their number" that God promised?

AWith regard to Pharaoh, it is written: “Six hundred chosen chariots” (Exodus 14:7), whereas, with regard to Sisera, it is written: “Nine hundred iron chariots” (Judges 4:13).

When Sisera came to fight Israel, he came upon them with iron spears, whereupon the Holy One, Blessed be He, removed the stars from their orbits to fight against Sisera’s army, as it is written: “They fought from heaven, the stars in their courses fought against Sisera” (Judges 5:20). Once the stars fell upon them, these iron spears heated up and they went to cool them and wash themselves in the Kishon River.

At this point, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the Kishon River: Go and pay your guarantee!

Immediately, the Kishon River swept them away and cast them into the sea, as it is stated: “The Kishon River swept them away, that ancient river” (Judges 5:21).

QWhat is the meaning of the expression: “ancient river”?

AThe river that was appointed a guarantor from ancient times.

At that time, the fish of the sea began praising God and recited: “And the truth of the Lord endures forever!” in reference to God’s fulfillment of the promise He issued centuries ago.