Pesachim

What is ‘THE GRACE OF SONG’? Rab Judah said: ‘They shall praise Thee, O Lord our God’; while R. Johanan said: ‘The breath of a living [etc.]’1 Our Rabbis taught: At the fourth he concludes the Hallel and recites the great Hallel this is the view of R. Tarfon. Others say: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.’2 What comprises the great Hallel? Rab3 Judah said: From ‘O give thanks’ until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’4 While R. Johanan said: From ‘A song of ascents’ until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’5 R. Aha b. Jacob said: From ‘for the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself’6 until ‘the rivers of Babylon.’ And why is it called the great Hallel? — Said R. Johanan: Because the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in the heights of the universe and distributes food to all creatures.7 R. Joshua b. Levi said: To what do these twenty-six [verses of] ‘Give thanks’8 correspond? To the twenty-six generations which the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His world; though He did not give them the Torah, He sustained them by His love.9 R. Hisda said:10 What is meant by the verse, O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good?11 Give thanks unto the Lord who exacts man's debts by means of His goodness:12 the wealthy man through his ox and the poor man through his sheep,13 the fatherless through his egg and the widow through her fowl. R. Johanan said: Man's sustenance involves twice as much suffering as [that of] a woman in childbirth. For of a woman in childbirth it is written, in pain [be-’ezeb — thou shalt bring forth children],14 whereas of sustenance it is written, in toil [be-’izzabon — shalt thou eat].15 R. Johanan also said: Man's sustenance is more difficult [to come by] than the redemption, for of redemption it is written, the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil,16 thus a mere angel [sufficed], whereas of sustenance it is written, the God who hath fed [shepherded] me.17 R. Joshua b. Levi said: When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, ‘Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee,’18 tears flowed from his eyes, and he pleaded before Him, ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Shall I and my ass eat out of the same crib!’ But as soon as He said to him, ‘In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,’19 his mind was set at rest. R. Simeon b. Lakish said: Happy are we that we did not remain subject to the first! Abaye observed: Yet we have still not [altogether] escaped from it, for we eat herbs of the field.20 R. Shizbi said in the name of R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah: A man's sustenance is as difficult [to provide] as the dividing of the Red Sea, for it is written, Who giveth food to a flesh,21 and near it, To Him who divided the Red Sea in sunder.22 R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah said: A man's excretory organs [when blocked up] are as painful as the day of death and [as difficult to overcome]23 as the dividing of the Red Sea, for it is said, The prisoner hasteneth to be loosed; [and he shall not go down dying into the pit, neither shall his bread fail];24 and that is followed by [For I am the Lord thy God,] who stirreth tip the sea, that the waves thereof roar.25 Again. R. Shesheth said on the authority of R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah: He who despises the Festivals26 is as though he engaged in idolatry, for it is said, Thou shalt make thee no molten gods,27 which is followed by, The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.28 R. Shesheth also said on the authority of R. Eleazar b. ‘Azariah: Whoever relates slander, and whoever accepts slander, and whoever gives false testimony against his neighbour, deserve to be cast to dogs, for it is said, ye shall cast to the dogs,29 which is followed by, Thou shalt not take up a false report,30 which may be read tashshi.31 Now since there is the great Hallel, why do we recite this one?32 Because it includes [a mention of] the following five things: The exodus from Egypt, the dividing of the Red Sea, the giving of the Torah [Revelation], the resurrection of the dead, and the pangs of Messiah.33 The exodus from Egypt, as it is written, When Israel came forth out of Egypt;34 as the dividing of the Red Sea: The sea saw it, and fled;35 the giving of the Torah: The mountains skipped like rams;36 resurrection of the dead: I shall walk before the Lord [in the land of the living];37 the pangs of Messiah: Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us.38 R. Johanan also said: ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us’ refers to the servitude to [foreign] powers. Others state, R. Johanan said: ‘Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us’ refers to the war of Gog and Magog.39 R. Nahman b. Isaac said: [Hallel is recited] because it contains [an allusion to] the deliverance of the souls of the righteous from the Gehenna, as it is said, I beseech Thee, O Lord, deliver my soul.40 Hezekiah said: Because it alludes to the descent of the righteous41 into the fiery furnace and their ascent from it. ‘Their descent,’ for it is written, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us: [this] Hananiah said; ‘But unto Thy name give glory’ was said by Mishael; For Thy mercy, a rid for Thy truth's sake, by Azariah; Wherefore should the nations say?42 by all of them. ‘Their ascent from the fiery furnace,’ for it is written, O praise the Lord, all ye nations;43 [this] Hananiah said; Laud Him, all ye peoples, was said by Mishael; For His mercy is great toward us,44 by Azariah; ‘And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever,’ by all of them. Others maintain [that] it was Gabriel who said, ‘And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.’ [For] when the wicked Nimrod cast our father Abraham into the fiery furnace, Gabriel said to the Holy One, blessed be He: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Let me go down, cool [it], and deliver that righteous man from the fiery furnace.’ Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to him: ‘I am unique in My world, and he is unique in his world: it is fitting for Him who is unique to deliver him who is unique. But because the Holy One, blessed be He, does not withhold the [merited] reward of any creature, he said to him, ‘Thou shalt be privileged to deliver three of his descendants.’45 R. Simeon the Shilonite lectured: When the wicked Nebuchadnezzar cast Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the fiery furnace, Yurkami, Prince of hail,46 rose before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said to Him: ‘Sovereign of the Universe! Let me go down and cool the furnace and save these righteous men from the fiery furnace.’ Said Gabriel to him, ‘The might of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not thus [manifested], for thou art the Prince of hail, and all know that water extinguishes fire. But I, the Prince of fire, will go down and cool it within the great Hallel. their own merit but only through God's love. suffering. remained subject to the first,’ that is, and thus been spared the sweat of the brow in search for a livelihood. Thereupon Abaye observes — we still retain part of this advantage in that there are wild herbs which provide food without toil.] bearing false testimony against another person. v. Sanh., Sonc. ed. p. 31 n. 10]. Rashbam deletes this phrase, holding that the whole follows from the verse as it stands.