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Paragraph Seven “All you nations; Praise God! Sing compliments, all you peoples! For His kindness overpowers us, and God’s Truth is forever. Hallelukah!” Rabbi Shimon, the son of Rabbeinu Hakadosh (R. Yehudah HaNassi), asked his father, “Which nations are meant by ‘All you nations; Praise God!’ and which peoples by, ‘Sing compliments, all you peoples!’? Rabbi Yehudah replied, “The nations are all those who oppressed the Children of Israel, and the peoples are those who did not oppress them.” All these peoples said, “If they who oppressed the Children of Israel sing praise to the Holy One, Blessed is He, we, who did not oppress them should sing all the more!” Hence it is said, “All you nations; Praise God! Sing compliments, all you peoples!” The Children of Israel also said, “Even more should we sing His praise! And they went on to say, “For His kindness overpowers us, and God’s Truth is forever.” True to what? True to the covenant made with the patriarchs, as it is said, “Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob…” (Lev. 26:42) – Midrash Tehillim 117:2 Rabbi Yehudah taught that this short psalm addresses the redemptions that have already taken place, i.e. ‘Those who have oppressed Israel,’ and the Final Redemption, i.e. ‘Those who have not oppressed the Children of Israel. All previous redemptions were in the merit of the Patriarchs and God’s covenant with them. We, who want to call on their merit and on the Covenant, must pray. This is the idea of “Praying before we are in trouble,” meaning we must constantly call on the Patriarch’s merit and the Covenant in order to be protected and saved. We have just completed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and hopefully experienced a level of Redemption and freedom. We sing this paragraph of Hallel as a prayer that the joy, redemption, and freedom we experienced over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, will continue to showered upon us throughout the year. Paragraph 7 – Four Species Hallel: “All you nations; Praise God! Sing compliments, all you peoples! For His kindness overpowers us, and God’s Truth is forever. Hallelukah!” The previous paragraph described how we can thank God. Our expressions of gratitude, when real, lead to universal gratitude. In Birchat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals, “Nodeh,” or, “We thank,” is immediately followed by, “Yitbarach shimcha bifi kol chai,” “Your Name will be blessed in the mouths of all living things. In the Amidah, “Modim,” “We are thankers,” is immediately followed by, “V’chol Hachaim yoducha,” “All living things will thank You.” This paragraph takes the gratitude expressed in the previous chapter and expands it to the entire world. We shake the Four Species in all directions to call on all of God’s creations to join us in blessing His Name, singing His praises, and thanking Him. Paragraph 7 – Shabbat Chol HaMoed Hallel: “All you nations; Praise God! Sing compliments, all you peoples! For His kindness overpowers us, and God’s Truth is forever. Hallelukah!” Although Shabbat honors the Seventh Day of Creation of all things, the Covenant of Shabbat is not universal, but particular to those who are connected with the Covenant of Torah. Torah is the path to bring all of creation to the Universal Shabbat of Olam Habbah, the World to Come. The Succot Mussaf Offerings honor all the nations of the world and invite all to the House of Prayer for All Nations. The Succah itself reminds us of the Beit Hamikdash, the universal place that brings blessing to the entire creation. Shabbat Succot is the time when Universal Time meets Universal Place, and we strive to become the Universal Human Being, connecting all dimensions to the Ultimate Source of Life. We sing this paragraph today to celebrate the special opportunity offered by this day of complete connection between people, place and time. Paragraph Eight “I called to the Creator of Heaven and Earth from a tight spot, and He answered me broadly. God is with me, I have no fear; what can people do to me? God is with me to help me, so I can confront my enemies.” This paragraph celebrates our successful judgment on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when we were confronted by our accusers, our enemies, and our own mistakes. The laws of Succot demand joy, specifically the joy of confidence that we received a wonderful judgment. Paragraph 8 – Four Species Hallel: “All the nations surrounded me but I survived them in God’s Name. They surrounded and encircled me but I survived them in God’s Name. Though they surrounded me like a swarm of bees, they were snuffed out like burnt thorns. I survived them in God’s Name. “ We shake the Four Species in all directions to fight off all those who surround and encircle us to hurt us. Paragraph 8 – Shabbat Chol HaMoed Hallel: “This is the day God made; let us sing and be happy with it.” The Talmud applies this verse to the day when David, the rejected son of Yishai, was anointed as the future king of Israel. All the troubles of his past, all the fluctuations in the life of Samuel the prophet, disappeared in a moment when the future was clear and filled with expectation. It was not the end of a story, but a beginning. The very first Shabbat would have been the beginning of the future rather than the conclusion of the week, had Adam not sinned. This concept of choice between Shabbat as a conclusion or a beginning is part of the nature of each Shabbat, as it is for Succot, the Festival of Gathering in the Harvest. We can look back on all our hard work and breathe in relief that our harvest was successful, the conclusion of the agricultural year, or, we can celebrate that we are prepared for the future. Our storehouses are full. We are ready to face the future with confidence, and say on this Shabbat-Succot Day of Beginnings; “This is the day God made; let us sing and be happy with it.” Author Info: Learn & discover the Divine prophecies with Rabbi Simcha Weinberg from the holy Torah, Jewish Law, Mysticism, Kabbalah and Jewish Prophecies.
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