Traditional Hallel (translation) | Passover haggadah by Sara Smith

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Nor for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but for your name’s sake give glory, because of your kindness and your truth. Why should the nations say: “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases! Their idols are silver and gold, the work

of human hands. They have a mouth, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have a nose, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throat. Those who make them shall become like them, whoever trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. You who revere the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. )Psalm 115:1-11(

The Lord who has remembered us will bless; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who revere the Lord, the small with the great. May the Lord increase you, you and your children. You are blessed by the Lord, who made the heaven and earth. The heaven is the Lord’s heaven, but he has given the earth to mankind. The dead cannot praise the Lord, nor can any who go down into silence. We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forever. Halleluyah! )Psalm 115:12-18(

I love that the Lord hears my supplications. Because he has inclined his ear to me, I will call upon him as long as I live. The cords of death encircled me; the pains of the grave have overtaken me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous and our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple;

I was brought low and he saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has been kind to you. You delivered me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living. I kept faith even when I cry out: “I am greatly afflicted.’ I kept faith even when I said in haste: “All men are deceitful.” )Psalm 116:1-11(

How can I repay the Lord for all his kind acts toward me? I will raise the cup of salvations, and call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his pious followers. O Lord, I am truly your servant; I am your servant, the son of your hand-maid; You has loosened my bonds. To you I sacrifice a thanksgiving offering, and call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of Jerusalem. Halleluyah! )Psalm 116:12-19(

Give thanks to the Lord, all you nations; praise him, all you peoples! For his kindness overwhelms us, and the truth of the Lord is forever, Halleluyah! )Psalm 117(

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His kindness endures forever.

Let Israel say: his kindness endures forever.

Let the house of Aaron say: his kindness endures forever.

Let those who revere the Lord say: his kindness endures forever. )Psalm 118:1-4(

From the straits I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me by placing me in a great expanse. The Lord is with me; I have no fear of what man can do to me. The Lord is with me among my helpers; I shall see the defeat of my foes. It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations have encompassed me; but in the name of the Lord, I routed them. They swarmed around me; but in the name of the Lord, I cut them down. They swarmed like bees about me, but they were extinguished like a fire of thorns; but in the name of the Lord, I cut them down. You pushed me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song; He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is heard in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The Lord’s right hand is raised in triumph; the Lord’s right hand does valiantly!” I shall not die, but live to relate the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has surely punished me, but he has not left me to die. Open for me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous may enter through it.

I thank you for you have answered me, becoming my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the major cornerstone. This the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; We will be glad and rejoice on it.

O Lord, please save us! O Lord, please save us! O Lord, let us prosper! O Lord, let us prosper!

Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord; We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God who has shown us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords, up to the altar-horns. You are my God, and I thank you; You are my God, and I exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His kindness endures forever.

All your works praise Thee, Lord our God; your pious followers who perform your will, and all your people the house of Israel, praise, thank, bless, glorify, extol, exalt, revere, sanctify, and coronate your name, our King. To Thee it is fitting to give thanks, and unto your name it is proper to sing praises, for Thou art God eternal.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the God above gods, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, His kindness endures forever.

To him who alone does great wonders, His kindness endures forever.

To him who made the heavens with understanding, His kindness endures forever.

To him who stretched the earth over the waters, His kindness endures forever.

To him who made the great lights, His kindness endures forever.

The sun to reign by day, His kindness endures forever.

The moon and the stars to reign by night, His kindness endures forever.

To him who smote Egypt in their firstborn, His kindness endures forever.

And took Israel out from among them, His kindness endures forever.

With strong hand and outstretched arm, His kindness endures forever.

To him who parted the Red Sea, His kindness endures forever.

And caused Israel to pass through it, His kindness endures forever.

And threw Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, His kindness endures forever.

To him who led His people through the wilderness, His kindness endures forever.

To him who smote great kings, His kindness endures forever.

And slew mighty kings, His kindness endures forever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites, His kindness endures forever.

And Og, king of Bashan, His kindness endures forever.

And gave their land as an inheritance, His kindness endures forever.

An inheritance to Israel his servant, His kindness endures forever.

Who remembered us in our low state, His kindness endures forever.

And released us from our foes, His kindness endures forever.

Who gives food to all creatures, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to God of all heaven, His kindness endures forever. )Psalm 136(

The soul of every living being shall bless your name, Lord our God the spirit of all flesh shall ever glorify and exalt your remembrance, our King. Throughout eternity Thou art God. Besides Thee we have no king who redeems and saves, ransoms and rescues, sustains and shows mercy in all times of trouble and distress. We have no King but Thee-God of the first and of the last, God of all creatues, Master of all generations, One acclaimed with a multitude of praises, He who guides His world with kindness and His creatures with mercy. The Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps; He rouses those who sleep and wakens those who slumber; He enables the speechless to speak and loosens the bonds of the captives; He supports those who are fallen and raises those who are bowed down. To Thee alone we give thanks.

Were our mouth filled with song as the ocean, and our tongue with joy as the endless waves; were our lips full of praise as the wide heavens, and our eyes shining like the sun or the moon; were our hands spread out in prayer as the eagles of the sky and our feet running as swiftly as the deer--we should still be unable to thank Thee and bless your name, Lord our God and God of our fathers, for one of the thousands and even myriads of favors which Thou hast bestowed on our fathers and on us. Thou hast liberated us from Egypt, Lord

our God, and redeemed us from the house of slavery. Thou has fed us in famine and sustained us with plenty. Thou hast saved us from the sword, helped us to escape the plague, and spared us from severe and enduring diseases. Until now your mercy has helped us, and your kindness has not forsaken us; mayest Thou, Lord our God, never abandon us. Therefore, the limbs which Thou has given us, the spirit and soul which Thou has breathed into our nostrils, and the tongue which Thou hast placed in our mouth, shall all thank and bless, praise and glorify, exalt and revere, sanctify and acclaim your name, our King. To Thee, every mouth shall offer thanks; every tongue shall vow allegiance; every knee shall bend, and all who stand erect shall bow. All hearts shall revere Thee, and men’s inner beings shall sing to your name, as it is written: “all my bones shall say: O Lord, who is like Thee? Thou savest the poor man from one that is stronger, the poor and needy from one who would rob him.” Who may be likened to Thee? Who is equal to Thee? Who can be compared to Thee? O Great, mighty and revered God, supreme God is the Master of heaven and earth. Let us praise, acclaim and glorify Thee and bless your holy name, as it is said: “A Psalm of David: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let my whole inner being bless His holy name.”

O God in your mighty acts of power, great in the honor of your name, powerful forever and revered for your awe-inspiring acts, O King seated upon a high and lofty throne!

By the mouth of the upright you shall be praised; By the words of the righteous you shall be blessed; By the tongue of the pious you shall be exalted; And in the midst of the holy you shall be sanctified.

In the assemblies of the multitudes of your people, the house of Israel, with song shall your name, our King, be glorified in every generation. For it is the duty of all creatures to thank, praise, laud, extol, exalt, adore, and bless Thee; even beyond the songs and praises of David the son of Jesse, your anointed servant.

Praise be your name forever, our King, who rules and is great and holy in heaven and on earth; for to Thee, Lord our God, it is fitting to render song and praise, hallel and psalms, power and dominion, victory, glory and might, praise and beauty, holiness and sovereignty, blessings and thanks, from now and forever.

haggadah Section: Introduction

Source: Free Siddur Project, adapted