Hallel Part 1

          I truly love Hallel. It’s a time for us to praise Hashem, and reach our spiritual high through music, dancing, and intense concentration and focus. We pray a full Hallel on the first two days of Pesach, and a (slightly) abridged version the rest of the holiday. But on Seder night, everything you ever learned and knew about Hallel goes out the door. Because we sat it twice. Not once. Twice. No, we do not repeat every part of the Hallel. Actually, we split up between the Seder sections of “Magid” and “Hallel.”

          Unlike every other Hallel where we stand up, we recite this Hallel while seated. Usually, we stand to attest to Hashem’s eternal greatness. However, on this Seder night, many actions are taken to ensure our freedom and relaxation, and the sages did not want to burden us by having us stand to sign Hallel (Beit Yosef 422:7).

          The source for saying Hallel in the Seder is Pesachim 95a, were we learn that people recited Hallel while offering the Korban Pesach back in the time of the Beit Hamikdash. Additionally, as I stated before, the generic reason for reciting Hallel is to praise Hashem – here it is to proclaim it as a song.

          Additionally, the splitting up of Hallel allows us to sing over all four cups of wine (Manhig 90), because the Haggadah should be more than just story-telling, and one must accompany singing praise with drinking wine, as it says in Shoftim 9:13, “But has the vine replied, ‘Have I stopped yielding my new wine which gladdens God and men that should go and wave among the trees?”

  • Kiddush
  • First half of Hallel
  • Birkat Hamazon
  • Second Half of Hallel

          The Abarbanel teaches us another reason the Hallel is split up. Part 1  - our focus –we say right before the blessing of “Asher Ge’alanu – who has redeemed us” blessing, before eating the matzah. Both commemorate miracles and redemptions of the past, and the first two chapters of Hallel mention the Exodus from Mitzrayim. The splitting and crossing of the seas, and the giving of the Torah. All are miracles from the past, while the second half of “Seder Hallel” refers to miracles which will happen in the (hopefully near) future. We discuss and hope for the Meshiach to come speedily, appropriately right after we greet Eliyahu at the door.

And no, we do not shake the Lulav.


haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu