הַֽלְלוּיָ֨הּ ׀ הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
Alléluia! Rendez hommage à l’Éternel, car sa grâce dure à jamais.
Midrash Tehillim
"I have loved the Lord." This is equivalent to the creation of Your world. In the beginning, it is written (Genesis 1:1) "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And in the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 26:7) "And you shall make curtains of goats' hair." On the second day, let there be a firmament and let it divide. In the Tabernacle, it is the partition. On the third day, let the waters gather together. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 30:18) "And you shall make a bronze basin, and its base also of bronze, for washing." And water shall be put therein. On the fourth day, let there be luminaries. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 25:31) "And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold." On the fifth day, let the waters bring forth living creatures. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 25:18) "And you shall make two cherubim of gold." On the sixth day, let man be created. In the Tabernacle, it is written (Exodus 28:1) "And take unto yourself Aaron your brother." On the seventh day, they finished and consecrated it. And in the Tabernacle, it is written (Numbers 7:1) "And it came to pass on the day that Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle." This is the meaning of what is written (Deuteronomy 4:26) "I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day." To hear [this] in the voice of gratitude. Rabbi Avin said: This [Psalm] contains elements of the past and elements of the future. (Psalm 106:1) "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good."
Vayikra Rabbah
Four opened with vows; three made unreasonable requests but the Holy One blessed be He responded favorably, and one made an unreasonable request and the Omnipresent responded to him unfavorably. These are they: Eliezer, servant of Abraham; Saul; Yiftaḥ; and Caleb. Eliezer made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be that the girl to whom I shall say: Tilt your jug please…[it is she You have confirmed for Your servant, for Isaac]” (Genesis 24:14). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Had a Canaanite maidservant or a prostitute emerged, would you have said: “It is she You have confirmed for Your servant, for Isaac” (Genesis 24:14)? But the Holy One blessed be He acted on his behalf and arranged for Rebecca to [come to] him.
Caleb made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “Caleb said: To whoever smites Kiryat Sefer and captures it, I will give Akhsa my daughter to him as a wife” (Joshua 15:16). The Holy One blessed be He responded to him: Had a Canaanite, a mamzer, or a slave captured it, would you have given him your daughter? What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He arranged for his brother to capture it, as it is stated: “Otniel ben Kenaz, [brother of Caleb,] captured it” (Joshua 15:17).
Saul made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be that the man who smites him, the king will enrich him with great wealth, and he will give him his daughter” (I Samuel 17:25).15Saul offered his daughter in marriage to the man who would smite Goliath. The Holy One blessed be He said: Had an Amonite, a mamzer, or slave killed him, would you have given him your daughter? The Holy One blessed be He arranged for David [to kill Goliath], and [Saul] gave him his daughter Mikhal.
Yiftaḥ made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be, that whatever emerges from the doors of my house […I will offer it up as a burnt offering]” (Judges 11:31). The Holy One blessed be He said: Had a camel, a donkey, or a dog emerged, would you have presented it as a burnt offering? The Holy One blessed be He responded to him unfavorably and arranged for his daughter [to emerge] for him.
“It was upon his seeing her that he rent his garments” (Judges 11:35) – he could have had his vow dissolved and gone to Pinḥas. He said: I am a king; shall I go to Pinḥas?16Yiftaḥ considered it beneath his dignity for him to have to go to Pinḥas to dissolve his vow. Pinḥas said: I am the High Priest and the son of a High Priest; shall I go to this ignoramus? In the meanwhile, that miserable one17Yiftaḥ’s daughter; see Judges 11:35–40. died, and both of them were liable for her blood. Pinḥas, the Divine Spirit left him. That is what is written: “Pinḥas son of Elazar had been the chief official over them in the past; the Lord was with him” (I Chronicles 9:20). Yiftaḥ’s limbs fell off one by one and were buried. That is what is written: “He was buried in the cities of Gilead” (Judges 12:7). It is not written, “In the city of Gilead,” but rather, “in the cities [of Gilead].” It teaches that his limbs fell off one by one, and he was buried in many places.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish and Rabbi Yoḥanan: Reish Lakish said: He was obligated to give money and to sacrifice upon the altar.18When Yiftaḥ’s daughter emerged, he should have just taken a sum of money corresponding to her value and used it to purchase animals for sacrifice. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He was not obligated to give money, as we learned: An item that is fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall be sacrificed; an item that is not fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall not be sacrificed atop the altar.19Thus, his vow did not take effect at all upon his daughter. Some add, based on Tanḥuma, that the text here should state: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: If you bring your valuations before Me, I consider it as though you sacrificed your souls [nafshotekhem] before Me. That is why it is stated: “If a man articulates a vow in accordance with the valuation of persons [nefashot] to the Lord” (Etz Yosef). Moreover, anyone who vows and fulfills his vow, merits to pay his vow in Jerusalem. That is what is written: “I will pay my vows to the Lord” (Psalms 116:18). Where? “In the courtyards of the house of the Lord, in your midst, Jerusalem. Halleluya” (Psalms 116:19), and it says: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness is forever” (Psalms 118:1).
Caleb made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “Caleb said: To whoever smites Kiryat Sefer and captures it, I will give Akhsa my daughter to him as a wife” (Joshua 15:16). The Holy One blessed be He responded to him: Had a Canaanite, a mamzer, or a slave captured it, would you have given him your daughter? What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He arranged for his brother to capture it, as it is stated: “Otniel ben Kenaz, [brother of Caleb,] captured it” (Joshua 15:17).
Saul made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be that the man who smites him, the king will enrich him with great wealth, and he will give him his daughter” (I Samuel 17:25).15Saul offered his daughter in marriage to the man who would smite Goliath. The Holy One blessed be He said: Had an Amonite, a mamzer, or slave killed him, would you have given him your daughter? The Holy One blessed be He arranged for David [to kill Goliath], and [Saul] gave him his daughter Mikhal.
Yiftaḥ made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be, that whatever emerges from the doors of my house […I will offer it up as a burnt offering]” (Judges 11:31). The Holy One blessed be He said: Had a camel, a donkey, or a dog emerged, would you have presented it as a burnt offering? The Holy One blessed be He responded to him unfavorably and arranged for his daughter [to emerge] for him.
“It was upon his seeing her that he rent his garments” (Judges 11:35) – he could have had his vow dissolved and gone to Pinḥas. He said: I am a king; shall I go to Pinḥas?16Yiftaḥ considered it beneath his dignity for him to have to go to Pinḥas to dissolve his vow. Pinḥas said: I am the High Priest and the son of a High Priest; shall I go to this ignoramus? In the meanwhile, that miserable one17Yiftaḥ’s daughter; see Judges 11:35–40. died, and both of them were liable for her blood. Pinḥas, the Divine Spirit left him. That is what is written: “Pinḥas son of Elazar had been the chief official over them in the past; the Lord was with him” (I Chronicles 9:20). Yiftaḥ’s limbs fell off one by one and were buried. That is what is written: “He was buried in the cities of Gilead” (Judges 12:7). It is not written, “In the city of Gilead,” but rather, “in the cities [of Gilead].” It teaches that his limbs fell off one by one, and he was buried in many places.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish and Rabbi Yoḥanan: Reish Lakish said: He was obligated to give money and to sacrifice upon the altar.18When Yiftaḥ’s daughter emerged, he should have just taken a sum of money corresponding to her value and used it to purchase animals for sacrifice. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He was not obligated to give money, as we learned: An item that is fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall be sacrificed; an item that is not fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall not be sacrificed atop the altar.19Thus, his vow did not take effect at all upon his daughter. Some add, based on Tanḥuma, that the text here should state: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: If you bring your valuations before Me, I consider it as though you sacrificed your souls [nafshotekhem] before Me. That is why it is stated: “If a man articulates a vow in accordance with the valuation of persons [nefashot] to the Lord” (Etz Yosef). Moreover, anyone who vows and fulfills his vow, merits to pay his vow in Jerusalem. That is what is written: “I will pay my vows to the Lord” (Psalms 116:18). Where? “In the courtyards of the house of the Lord, in your midst, Jerusalem. Halleluya” (Psalms 116:19), and it says: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness is forever” (Psalms 118:1).
Midrash Tehillim
Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting. Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord, or can proclaim all His praises? As it is written in Psalms 40:6, "Many wonders and deeds You have done, O Lord my God; none can compare with You. If I were to proclaim and declare them, they are more than can be numbered." Rabbi Elazar ben Pedat said, "See what is written in Psalms 136:4, 'To Him who alone does great wonders, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.' What is written after this? 'To Him who made the great lights, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.' This teaches us that sustenance is as important as the splitting of the Red Sea. Just as we cannot live without sustenance, we also cannot live without miracles and wonders. If a person were lying on a bed and a snake was on the ground before him, and when he stood up, the snake ran away, he would not know what miracle the Lord had done for him. Only God knows the wonders and miracles that He does for us. Therefore, it says in Psalms 40:6, 'Many wonders and deeds You have done, O Lord my God; none can compare with You.' It is like two men, one strong and one weak. The weak man cannot praise the strength of the strong man, for he does not know his strength. But the strong man, who knows his own strength, can praise the strength of the strong man. So we say, 'Who can speak of the mighty deeds of the Lord?' Rabbi Samuel said, 'Who can speak of the Lord's praises like us, who are engaged in Torah study day and night?'" [or Therefore, it is said, "Who can recount the mighty acts of the Lord?" Rabbi Shmuel said, "Who can recount such as we, who are occupied with Torah for all our needs."]