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During this holiday of Pesach, the joyous prayer of Hallel is recited, as it is on all holidays of the year except for the solemn days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. On Purim, the reading of the book of Esther itself is considered as being a form of Hallel. The Hallel comes in two forms: full Hallel and an abbreviated form that omits two of its prayers. This latter form is called ?half Hallel? though in reality it is eighty percent Hallel. On Shavuot, Succot, Shmini Atzeret, Chanuka and the first days of Pesach, the full Hallel is recited. On Rosh Chodesh and the final six days of Pesach, only the half Hallel is recited. The reason for only half Hallel on Rosh Chodesh is fairly simple. Rosh Chodesh is, after all, not a holiday and according to Maimonides and other halachic deciders the recitation of Hallel on Rosh Chodesh is based on custom and not on law. However, why the two different versions of Hallel on Pesach? Why is only the abbreviated form used on the latter days of the holiday?
The matter is discussed at length in the works of the rabbis and scholars of Israel. I wish to concentrate on one view that is particularly emphasized by Rabbi Meir Simcha HaKohen, the rabbi of Dvinsk, Latvia, eighty years ago. The seventh day of Pesach is the anniversary of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and the drowning of the Egyptian army that pursued them into the waters. Many Egyptians lost their lives on that day. Jews do not celebrate the loss of human life; even of those who are evil and were our oppressors. We celebrate our deliverance and escape from mortal danger, but our joy is tempered - half Hallel - due to the loss of life of the Egyptians. We would have preferred to have been left alone to travel out of Egypt and not pursued by Egyptians who wished to kill us. We would have recited full Hallel on a bloodless escape from the Egyptians, but that was not the case and therefore any unrestrained exultation on our part is out of place.
The same thought applies to our celebration of Chanuka. The rabbis placed the emphasis of the holiday on the miraculous pitcher of oil and the light of the menorah in the Temple. There is no special celebration of the military victories of the Hasmoneans and no mementos of the terrible and bloody defeats inflicted on the Syrian Greeks. We celebrate our deliverance and independence, but take very little relish in the necessity of having killed thousands of our enemies in order to obtain our deliverance. Therefore, the centerpiece of the holiday is the menorah and the oil and not the terrible war that preceded it. The same idea is reflected in the holiday of Purim. The celebration of the date of the holiday is on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, but not on the thirteenth of Adar. This latter date is the actual date of the war of self-defense that the Jews fought against their enemies, which resulted in thousands of their persecutors being killed. The celebration is on the days - the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar - that the Jews felt free and saved, but not on the day of the killing itself. King David, who was the righteous king of Israel and saved the Jewish people from its centuries-old enemies such as the Philistines and Amalek, nevertheless was not to build the Temple. The Temple is not built by war, no matter how necessary and justified. Solomon, whose name represents peace and who fought no wars during his reign, was the builder of the Temple.
This Pesach is undoubtedly a modern day half HallelPesach. We are in the midst of a bloody war. Many Jews have died, but many Arabs have also died. We are heartsick not only at our terrible losses, but at the needless loss of life that the cynicism of Yasser Arafat has brought upon his own people. When the Lord will help us to end this terrible war, we will recite Hallel, but it will be only a half Hallel.
Shabat Shalom v'Chag Sameach.
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Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com).
The matter is discussed at length in the works of the rabbis and scholars of Israel. I wish to concentrate on one view that is particularly emphasized by Rabbi Meir Simcha HaKohen, the rabbi of Dvinsk, Latvia, eighty years ago. The seventh day of Pesach is the anniversary of the crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and the drowning of the Egyptian army that pursued them into the waters. Many Egyptians lost their lives on that day. Jews do not celebrate the loss of human life; even of those who are evil and were our oppressors. We celebrate our deliverance and escape from mortal danger, but our joy is tempered - half Hallel - due to the loss of life of the Egyptians. We would have preferred to have been left alone to travel out of Egypt and not pursued by Egyptians who wished to kill us. We would have recited full Hallel on a bloodless escape from the Egyptians, but that was not the case and therefore any unrestrained exultation on our part is out of place.
The same thought applies to our celebration of Chanuka. The rabbis placed the emphasis of the holiday on the miraculous pitcher of oil and the light of the menorah in the Temple. There is no special celebration of the military victories of the Hasmoneans and no mementos of the terrible and bloody defeats inflicted on the Syrian Greeks. We celebrate our deliverance and independence, but take very little relish in the necessity of having killed thousands of our enemies in order to obtain our deliverance. Therefore, the centerpiece of the holiday is the menorah and the oil and not the terrible war that preceded it. The same idea is reflected in the holiday of Purim. The celebration of the date of the holiday is on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, but not on the thirteenth of Adar. This latter date is the actual date of the war of self-defense that the Jews fought against their enemies, which resulted in thousands of their persecutors being killed. The celebration is on the days - the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar - that the Jews felt free and saved, but not on the day of the killing itself. King David, who was the righteous king of Israel and saved the Jewish people from its centuries-old enemies such as the Philistines and Amalek, nevertheless was not to build the Temple. The Temple is not built by war, no matter how necessary and justified. Solomon, whose name represents peace and who fought no wars during his reign, was the builder of the Temple.
This Pesach is undoubtedly a modern day half HallelPesach. We are in the midst of a bloody war. Many Jews have died, but many Arabs have also died. We are heartsick not only at our terrible losses, but at the needless loss of life that the cynicism of Yasser Arafat has brought upon his own people. When the Lord will help us to end this terrible war, we will recite Hallel, but it will be only a half Hallel.
Shabat Shalom v'Chag Sameach.
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Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com).
