From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 1997 12:42 AM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: The Passover Haggadah
From: JUICE Administration <juice@virtual.co.il>
To: siddur@virtual.co.il
Subject: JUICE Siddur 9
==============================================================
World Zionist Organization
Student and Academics Department
Jewish University in CyberspacE
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
==============================================================
Course: THE PRAYER BOOK: A WINDOW ON JEWISH THEOLOGY
Lecture: 9/12
Lecturer: Barbara Sutnick and Rabbi Reuven Sutnick
Note: This lecture was orinaly given at Passover time. The following
discussion is directed at that season.
HALLEL AT PASSOVER: HOW IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT?
As I indicated last week, I want to take a detour from the
siddur to focus on a section of the Passover Haggadah, the book
that guides the seder ritual. (The word "SeDeR" comes from the
same Hebrew root as does SiDDuR -- prayer book. This root means
"order." Thus the Passover table ritual is named for the
practice of performing all of its many parts in a particular
order.) As this Lecture is launched into cyberspace, it is the
eve of Pesach (Passover), and the Haggadah itself is an important
document in the overall compendium of Jewish ritual. What is
more, it is traditional to study the Haggadah BEFORE the seder,
and then come to the table with many additional insights,
comments and questions to discuss. I therefore hope that you
will be able to bring some J.U.I.C.E to your table, in addition
to the grape juice!
I have heard it said that in the commentary literature,
there has been more written on the Haggadah than any other book!
The truth is that the Haggadah was designed to be fascinating,
and it does not disappoint. The basic premise of the Haggadah
is the telling of the Exodus from Egypt. Thus, we have in the
Haggadah a ritual which is not really prayer -- it is an object
lesson in Jewish history -- or is it?!? The second goal of the
Haggadah is to praise God for redeeming us in the past, present
and future. This Lecture will focus mainly on how the Haggadah
achieves this second goal. In so doing, we will draw on concepts
we have explored in past Lectures of this course (see Lecture 4
on Blessings, and Lecture 5 on Songs of Praise).
Now, with eight instalments in the course behind us, it
should be no secret that I like to complicate things before
arriving at conclusions. The connection between prayer and
history is another one of those perplexing elements that
characterize Jewish ritual, conceptually and technically. For
example, we have the biblical commandment to recite the story of
the Exodus each year at the Passover seder (Exodus 13:8).
However, the historical discussion that comprises much of the
seder is cast in a highly ritualized context, making it
inaccurate to describe it as pure telling. Conversely, during
the rest of the year, the kiddush recited over wine on Friday
nights contains the words "a remembrance of the Exodus from
Egypt." In the case of the Haggadah, history is tempered with
prayer; in the kiddush, prayer is tempered with history! Of
course, there is the matter we discussed last week: in the
Haggadah we also invoke attributes of God because they document
God's historical propensity to grace us in the ways described.
For the Haggadah, the subtle logic which characterizes Jewish
prayer technique is grounded in history!
Turning to the Haggadah, did you know that the Hallel which
we discussed in Lecture 5 of this course figures prominently in
the seder? Did you know that the Hallel which appears in several
forms in the siddur is completely restructured in the Haggadah?
In fact, we eat our meal between Psalm 114 and Psalm 115! Did
you know that according to some scholars, parts of Hallel were
written specifically for Passover? Did you know that in Hallel,
as well as the Haggadah, the historical account of the Exodus is
told?(1) For all this and more, read on.
Many famous Jewish songs from summer camps and popular
religious music take their words from Psalms 113-118 (basic to
Hallel). These are some of the most popular words in all of
Psalms. Now -- when it comes to the incorporation of these
psalms into Jewish prayer ritual, Hallel takes three forms. They
are: 1) the complete Hallel, which is recited on Festivals; 2)
the shortened Hallel, which is recited on the New Moon and the
Intermediate Days of Pesach; and 3) the special Passover Hallel
which is recited on the eve of the seder, as part of the
Haggadah. To appreciate the differences, look at the chart below
(remember, "beracha" = "blessing"):
COMPLETE HALLEL PASSOVER HALLEL
Opening Hallel Beracha
Psalm 113 Psalm 113
Psalm 114 Psalm 114
Beracha: "Redeems Israel"
Beracha on Wine (2nd of 4 cups)
Washing Hands with Beracha
HaMotzi/Matza/Maror
Hillel's Sandwich/The Meal
Afikomen
Blessing after Meal
Beracha on Wine (3rd of 4 cups)
Pour out Your wrath (plus Psalms)
Psalm 115:1-11 Psalm 115:1-11
Psalm 115:12-18 Psalm 115:12-18
Psalm 116:1-11 Psalm 116:1-11
Psalm 116:12-19 Psalm 116:12-19
Psalm 117 Psalm 117
Psalm 118:1-4 Psalm 118:1-4
Psalm 118:5-20 Psalm 118:5-20
Psalm 118:21-24 Psalm 118:21-24
Psalm 118:25 Psalm 118:25
Psalm 118:26-end Psalm 118:26-end
Closing beracha paragraph...
but WITHOUT B'RACHA (some
Haggadahs omit this passage at
this point)
Psalm 136 (The Great Hallel)
Nishmat Kawl Chai
HaEl B'Ta'atzumot Uzecha
Shochen Ad
U'v'Mak'halot Riv'vot
Yishtabach (which beracha concludes
Yishtabach is disputed)
B'racha:Melech M'hulal Closing Hallel Beracha:Melech
Batishbachot M'hulal Batishbachot
(if not recited above)
Try to print this chart out. It clearly demonstrates how
the Passover Hallel is embellished, and will be handy to refer
to during the remainder of this Lecture. If we look very
closely, we will see that Psalms 113 and 114, which constitute
the opening verses of all three versions of Hallel, are here
recited WELL BEFORE the body of Hallel, i.e. before eating
Matzah, Marror and the Meal. If you look at the "Order of the
Passover Seder" which is found in the very beginning of the
Haggadah before Kiddush, you will notice something interesting.
We read:
1 Kadesh (Kiddush)...
11 Pesach Meal
12 Afikomen
13 Grace after Meals
14 Recite HALLEL...
In other words, according to prescribed seder order, Hallel comes
after the meal. If so, placing Psalms 113 and 114 BEFORE the
meal effectively separates it from the rest of Hallel! What is
more, on Passover evening, the opening blessing which
acknowledges that we are commanded to recite Hallel, is omitted
entirely. This further indicates that on Passover night, Psalms
113 and 114 which are usually preceded by the blessing, are not
part of Hallel. Thus, the Passover seder departs significantly
from the basic structure of Hallel. (Remember, opening and
closing Hallel with a blessing would be a clear expression of the
legal requirement to recite Hallel as a unit -- to make Hallel
a set ritual.)
Rabbi Y. Yacobson (N'tiv Binah, IV, 68) describes the
phenomenon this way:
Our sages placed the Passover meal in the middle of Hallel:
say part of Hallel before eating, and part after. This
teaches that the meal itself...must be (eaten) in purity
and holiness (like Hallel), and therefore does not
constitute an interruption, since everything is a single
continuum.
I have often felt that a snack in the middle of Hallel might be
a welcome addition to the lengthy holiday service! However,
underlying R. Yacobson's comment are several difficulties: a)
Jewish rituals, particularly those with an opening and closing
blessing, like the standard (non-Passover) Hallel, may not be
interrupted; b) eating is considered an interruption of prayer;
and c) Psalms 113 and 114 are always part of Hallel, so it is
difficult to see them as anything other than part of this
coherent unit. His solution: the sages departed from all the
applicable norms of Jewish ritual laws concerning prayer in order
to teach us to behave at the Passover seder! NOT!! I think that
if the editors of the Haggadah had wanted to make this point they
would have done so directly.
Again, I return to my bold contention: the traditional
beginning to Hallel, Psalms 113 and 114, do NOT open the Hallel
at the seder. Part of the strangeness of the Passover Hallel is
the absence of the opening blessing. If the blessing were there,
it would be clear where Hallel started. A number of reasons have
been suggested as to why it is appropriate that the opening
blessing "LiKro et HaHallel" (Blessed...You have commanded us to
recite Hallel") is missing. First, the correct time for Hallel
is daytime. Passover marks the only time in the Jewish year that
Hallel is recited at night. Second, the time of redemption which
Pesach celebrates was during the day. Therefore, reciting Hallel
at night at best ANTICIPATES the next day and the redemption we
commemorate. Hence, according to some, what we are doing at
night is simply reciting a series of songs of praise. The
omission of the blessing for Hallel would show then, that on
Pesach, Hallel is customary but by no means obligatory.
Prof. Louis Finkelstein, in "The Origin of Hallel" (HUCA,
vol.23, pt. 2) describes the Passover ritual from times before
the Haggadah came into the form we know today:
"When the teaching (i.e. telling the Passover story) had
been completed, the company sang Psalms 113-114 in honor of
the festival. They then recited grace, and indulged in what
today might be called "community singing." The doors of the
houses, closed during the meal, so as to separate the
various companies from one another, were opened wide for
this informal singing. This custom is still recalled in the
ceremony of opening the door after the Grace following the
meal." (p.323)
There are several interesting points in Prof. Finkelstein's
historical reconstruction. He implies that Psalms 113 and 114
are an obligatory part of the Haggadah, because of their specific
relevance to the Exodus (read 'em and you will see). In
contrast, the balance of Hallel was sung spontaneously, after the
meal.
Finkelstein's explanation solves some of our problems:
Hallel was originally not part of the Haggadah in its entirety.
Psalms 113 and 114 were included because of their specific
historical content, not because of their connection to Hallel.
Thus, no blessing is necessary. The balance of Hallel came into
the seder at a later time, not as Hallel, but as spontaneous
songs of praise. What else should we sing in honor of redemption
if not the songs of Hallel? What else was chosen by the modern
Israeli rabbinate for singing on Israel Independence Day and
Jerusalem Day if not the songs of Hallel? And why after the
meal? Do you like to sing on an empty stomach? Then as today,
Jewish vocal spontaneity expressed itself AFTER eating, when
stomachs were full -- not after an hour of telling and teaching!
Joke time:
An elderly Jewish man was brought into the arena before the
Roman Emperor, where without the aid of shield or sword he
was to take on a hungry lion. The lion charged. Just as it
was about to gobble up its victim, the Jew whispered
something in its ear. At this point, the lion suddenly
turned tail, leaped over the fence and ran off into the
forest. As was customary in such cases, the victorious
combatant was brought in front of the Emperor to receive his
freedom. "How did you do that? What did you say to the
lion," the Emperor asked. "Simple", the Jew answered, "I
told him that after dinner there would be speeches."
But how do we explain the fact that the portion of
Hallel recited after the meal ends with the official, concluding
blessing? How do we explain the fact that in the Order of the
Seder, the Hallel is listed as a requirement? Both of these are
indications that Hallel, as a unit, is appropriately recited on
the night of Passover.
The truth is, Jewish prayer ritual is not a single rite
practised in the same way by all Jews (not even all Orthodox
Jews). According to the Sephardic rite and to the customs
emanating from the (hasidic) siddur of Rabbi Isaac Luria, Hallel
is recited in the synagogue as part of the evening service,
before the seder, including the opening blessing. Naturally,
this reduces the necessity of reciting the blessing in question
at the seder (since the obligation to recite Hallel has already
been fulfilled in synagogue.) Others argue that even if the
Hallel is not recited in the synagogue on the eve of Passover (as
per the Ashkenazic rite), the blessing is still not appropriate,
since Hallel at the seder is not recited continuously. Finally,
others argue that the blessing "ga'al yisrael" (Redeemer of
Israel), recited before the second cup of wine, serves as an
opening blessing for Hallel (Abudraham).
Rabbi Yaakov b. Asher (the Baal HaTurim) refers to a "Who's
Who" of rabbinic authorities who actually recited the blessings
of Hallel twice during the seder, once before the meal and once
after. He offers as well as his own version of the historical
development of the practices surrounding Hallel on the night of
the seder(2). To summarize his view, he sees reciting in the
synagogue as a late innovation designed to avoid the
above-mentioned problems with Hallel at the seder, problems which
were firmly entrenched by the time this new custom was devised!
Yet, I am struck by one crucial point: no one challenges
that the Passover Hallel must be divided! If the Rabbis could
institute the "custom" of reciting Hallel in synagogue the night
of Pesach, (to the thunderous accolade of the Baal HaTurim) and
even prescribe a blessing there, why couldn't they simply put
Hallel back together? After all, reuniting the standard unit of
Hallel is not nearly as bold an innovation as placing Hallel
where it does not belong (evening service)!
The astounding argument from silence is that all the
rabbinic authorities quoted seem to accept that the Hallel at the
seder is to be divided. Better yet, Psalms 113 and 114 have a
different role and a different origin from the balance of the
Hallel psalms recited at the seder.
As I mentioned earlier, Professors Finkelstein and Daniel
Goldschmidt (Critical Edition of Haggadah and Commentary) both
suggest that Psalm 114 may have been composed especially for
Passover. Taken with Psalm 113 as an introduction, they together
form an appropriate paean for the holiday. This is the reason,
they suggest, that they are separated from the rest of the
Hallel: historically, 113 and 114 alone from Hallel were
included as part of the Haggadah. Psalm 113 and 114 form a type
of "mini-Hallel" unto themselves, which deals directly with the
subject of the Exodus. After the meal, it is as if we recite a
SECOND Hallel.
How different is Hallel this night of Passover from all
the other times it is recited during the year!?! Its unity is
lost, but in the process we sing Hallel twice (3)! It is recited
once without all its blessings and once with (4)!! It is recited
once continuously and once with the meal in between!!! Perhaps,
like the many mysteries of the Haggadah, Hallel provides us with
food for thought. If any interesting thoughts about Hallel
should come out of the discussion at your seder, please e-mail
them to me after the holiday.
Have a Happy and Kosher Pesach!
(1) Now, how many questions was that?
(2) Regarding the blessing of Hallel, there is major
disagreement: Ritzv"a used to bless twice, once before eating and
once after eating; such was the practice of R. Meir of
Rottenberg, and so wrote R. Hai, R. Tzemach and R. Amram (Gaon).
But Ri"tz Giat and my Father wrote it is wrong to bless at all,
since we divide it (Hallel) into two, before the meal and
after...And there are places where they customarily read Hallel
in the synagogue publicly TO AVOID HAVING TO BLESS UPON IT AT THE
TIME OF THE HAGGADAH -- how great and pleasant is this custom!!!
(Tur, Orach Chayim #473)
(3) cf. dipping vegetables twice!
(4) cf. washing hands, once without a blessing and once with!
* * * * *