To Hallel or Not to Hallel?

Today is Yom Ha-Atzma-oot, Israel Independence Day. It was marked in our community by a celebration at the JCC. It was also observed, at Beth El, with special prayers.

When it comes to writing special prayers for modern Jewish events, the Conservative Movement is in the forefront. For instance, we have special prayers in the Siddur Sim Shalom for Yom Ha-Shoah, Holocaust Memorial Day; prayers that are not found in the Orthodox ArtScroll Siddur that we use for our daily minyan. (We elected to go with ArtScroll because it has interesting commentaries and good instructions on how to pray.) Sim Shalom also has a special “Al Ha-Nisim” (For the Miracles) prayer for Yom Ha-Atzma-oot. Al Ha-Nisim prayers are in all siddurim for the miracles of Hannukah and Purim, but not Israel Independence Day. Still, the person leading services this morning added the special Al Ha-Nissim for Israel Independence Day, switching to Sim Shalom to do so.

We also added Hallel (Psalms of Praise), usually reserved for “official” holidays. This is what the Movement recommends. Furthermore, we introduced the Hallel with the traditional blessing that ends, “Who has commanded us to recite the Hallel.” Interesting, though. How can we say “Who has commanded us”? The Torah, the Bible did not know about the modern state of Israel, so how can we say that Gd “commanded” us to offer these prayers on this day. We can say, “Who commanded us” for Sukkot – that’s from the Torah. But Israel Independence Day?

The answer is that the Rabbis of old had the power to connect the chain of tradition, dating back to the Torah, to modern situations and act as if the Torah “would have approved” had it known about it. Hannukah, for instance. We say the blessing “Who has commanded us to light Hannukah candles”, even though the holiday came after the Bible. More recently, the Rabbis decided that Israel is in fact a miracle, on par with those of Purim and Hannukah, and we should therefore say Hallel.

When we read about Israel in the paper, all the trials and tribulations, we sometimes forget, or overlook the miraculous nature of the place. After years and years and years of wandering and suffering, we have a home of our own. We have made the desert bloom. From the ashes of the Holocaust, from the helplessness of the decade before, Israel rose to stand proudly on its own two feet with a powerful army, a strong economy and more college students per capita than any country in the Middle East. And if these aren’t good reasons to praise Gd with Hallel, I don’t know what is…