הוֹד֣וּ לַיהוָ֣ה כִּי־ט֑וֹב כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ׃
Chwalcie Boga bo dobry, bo na wieki łaska Jego.
Midrash BeChiddush
Since I did not merit writing new insights into the Seder after the meal except for the Psalm which is called Hallel HaGadol (Ps. 136) I debated whether I should include it with the Haggadah or not. Afterwards, I said, since it is a passage pertaining to the event, I will give thanks with my whole heart and I will speak of God’s kindness, for they are forever. Rabbi Foa
הוֹדוּ לַיי כִּי טוֹב “Give thanks to HaShem for God is good...” (Ps. 136) The Sages call this psalm Hallel HaGadol since in it one praises God who feeds, sustains and maintains the world according to a Torah of living-kindness for 26 generations319There are 26 praises in Hallel HaGadol, for the twenty six generations. from the creation until the giving of the Torah. Actually, according to (the principles of) justice God should have turned the world back to chaos after Adam and Cain sinned. But the Exodus from Egypt was essential to the receiving of the Torah, as is stated, “And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain,” (Ex. 3:12) and the essence of this psalm is about the loving-kindness that God showed to maintain the world even without the Torah, we continue to praise and celebrate how God took us out of Egypt. At the proper time, one should praise God with this song of praise.
ואולם. However, one should note the connection between these praises and the 26 generations (between creation and Sinai). Even though the numbers (of verses and generations) are the same, I might have thought that the 26 generations was referring (to the generations) from the birth of Peretz to (King) Tzidkiyahu during which God watched over Israel with a Torah of loving-kindness and did not pour out wrath upon them, casting them out, even though they rebelled against from the time that Jacob’s sons died and Egypt enslaved them. In every generation the people angered God.
אמנם However, the Psalms are true and their words are true, and one should not part from their words, for, “The mysteries of HaShem are for those who fear Him; to them He makes known His covenant.” (Ex. 25:14) For one cannot say that the Holy Spirit was on the tongue of King David, (and his words) refers to the generations from Peretz to King Tzidkiyahu, for then the world would have returned to chaos, and there was more loving-kindness from that time forward because God did not wipe them out. It is better to say that the verses of this Psalm were for the 26 generations in which there was no Torah yet. From that time forward, loving-kindness was unnecessary because Torah helped maintain the world.
God performed many acts of loving-kindness in the world besides those that are mentioned in Scripture such as, the manna, the well and above all of them the giving of the Torah. It is fitting to give a reason why it mentions these events as opposed to others. נ"ל Each of the verses (of Psalm 136) refers to one of the 26 generations which preceded the giving of the Torah. King David wished to praise God in the name of the Jewish people and thank HaShem for the acts of Kindness performed for them. (King David) begins with the creation of the world because God created the world for them, as Scripture states, “In the beginning (b’reishit) God created,” (meaning) ‘For the sake of Israel, who are called Reishit, God created…’ God suffered the world for 26 generations even though none of them were unfit, since in the end Israel would receive the Torah. The first verse is for the generation of Adam. He said, “Praise (hodu) HaShem; for He is good,” (Ps. 136:1) David praises God who forgave Adam’s sin. This is what the Midrash states; The Sabbath defended Adam, keeping him from dying. As a result Adam said, “A psalm. A song; for the Sabbath day.” (Ps 92:1) The Sabbath then said to him, “It is good to praise (lihodot) HaShem…” (Ps. 92:2) And so he did.320See Midrash Tehilim/Shochar Tov Psalm 92 Further, the sages asked in a Midrash , “What is the meaning of: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good” (Ps. 136:1)? It means giving thanks to HaShem’s who exacts one’s debt, (the punishment for a person’s sins and wickedness,) in accordance with the goodness of each individual. God punishes each person based on his means. He punishes a wealthy person by taking his ox, and He punishes a poor person by means of his sheep. He punishes the orphan by taking away his egg, and He punishes the widow by means of her chicken…” 321See BT Pesachim 118a The translation is taken from Sefaria. The rich person is the first human being, Adam, had the strength to bear the punishment which was meted out to him because Adam was fastidious and enjoyed all the pleasures in the Garden of Eden. When Adam went out from the Garden to work the land with his hands and suffer greatly before he could eat - it is a wonder he didn’t die. But Adam developed great strength from all of this suffering. That is why he was called, “the rich person who paid with “bulls with horns and hooves.” (Ps. 69:32)
הוֹדוּ לַיי כִּי טוֹב “Give thanks to HaShem for God is good...” (Ps. 136) The Sages call this psalm Hallel HaGadol since in it one praises God who feeds, sustains and maintains the world according to a Torah of living-kindness for 26 generations319There are 26 praises in Hallel HaGadol, for the twenty six generations. from the creation until the giving of the Torah. Actually, according to (the principles of) justice God should have turned the world back to chaos after Adam and Cain sinned. But the Exodus from Egypt was essential to the receiving of the Torah, as is stated, “And when you have freed the people from Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain,” (Ex. 3:12) and the essence of this psalm is about the loving-kindness that God showed to maintain the world even without the Torah, we continue to praise and celebrate how God took us out of Egypt. At the proper time, one should praise God with this song of praise.
ואולם. However, one should note the connection between these praises and the 26 generations (between creation and Sinai). Even though the numbers (of verses and generations) are the same, I might have thought that the 26 generations was referring (to the generations) from the birth of Peretz to (King) Tzidkiyahu during which God watched over Israel with a Torah of loving-kindness and did not pour out wrath upon them, casting them out, even though they rebelled against from the time that Jacob’s sons died and Egypt enslaved them. In every generation the people angered God.
אמנם However, the Psalms are true and their words are true, and one should not part from their words, for, “The mysteries of HaShem are for those who fear Him; to them He makes known His covenant.” (Ex. 25:14) For one cannot say that the Holy Spirit was on the tongue of King David, (and his words) refers to the generations from Peretz to King Tzidkiyahu, for then the world would have returned to chaos, and there was more loving-kindness from that time forward because God did not wipe them out. It is better to say that the verses of this Psalm were for the 26 generations in which there was no Torah yet. From that time forward, loving-kindness was unnecessary because Torah helped maintain the world.
God performed many acts of loving-kindness in the world besides those that are mentioned in Scripture such as, the manna, the well and above all of them the giving of the Torah. It is fitting to give a reason why it mentions these events as opposed to others. נ"ל Each of the verses (of Psalm 136) refers to one of the 26 generations which preceded the giving of the Torah. King David wished to praise God in the name of the Jewish people and thank HaShem for the acts of Kindness performed for them. (King David) begins with the creation of the world because God created the world for them, as Scripture states, “In the beginning (b’reishit) God created,” (meaning) ‘For the sake of Israel, who are called Reishit, God created…’ God suffered the world for 26 generations even though none of them were unfit, since in the end Israel would receive the Torah. The first verse is for the generation of Adam. He said, “Praise (hodu) HaShem; for He is good,” (Ps. 136:1) David praises God who forgave Adam’s sin. This is what the Midrash states; The Sabbath defended Adam, keeping him from dying. As a result Adam said, “A psalm. A song; for the Sabbath day.” (Ps 92:1) The Sabbath then said to him, “It is good to praise (lihodot) HaShem…” (Ps. 92:2) And so he did.320See Midrash Tehilim/Shochar Tov Psalm 92 Further, the sages asked in a Midrash , “What is the meaning of: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good” (Ps. 136:1)? It means giving thanks to HaShem’s who exacts one’s debt, (the punishment for a person’s sins and wickedness,) in accordance with the goodness of each individual. God punishes each person based on his means. He punishes a wealthy person by taking his ox, and He punishes a poor person by means of his sheep. He punishes the orphan by taking away his egg, and He punishes the widow by means of her chicken…” 321See BT Pesachim 118a The translation is taken from Sefaria. The rich person is the first human being, Adam, had the strength to bear the punishment which was meted out to him because Adam was fastidious and enjoyed all the pleasures in the Garden of Eden. When Adam went out from the Garden to work the land with his hands and suffer greatly before he could eat - it is a wonder he didn’t die. But Adam developed great strength from all of this suffering. That is why he was called, “the rich person who paid with “bulls with horns and hooves.” (Ps. 69:32)
Rabbeinu Bahya
Midrash Tanchuma Shemini 8 points out that four animals are mentioned here in four separate verses to allude to four different empires which will play host to the Jewish people in exile. Verse four speaks of גמל, the camel, a reference to the Babylonian exile; we have a hint of this in Psalms 137,8 בת בבל השדודה אשרי שישלם לך את גמולך שגמלת לנו, “fair Babylon you predator, a blessing on him who repays you in kind what you have inflicted on us.” [The letters of the word גמל, “camel, appear twice in that verse. Ed.]
In verse five, the Torah speaks of the שפן, hyrax.” (it has short ears and hoofed feet).This is a reference to the exile under the Greeks which forbade the study and practice of Torah as we know from Amos 8,11: “a time is coming, declares my Lord G’d, when I will send a famine upon the land; not a hunger for bread or thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.” It is also written in verse 12 of that chapter: “men shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.” [The connection of the above verse to שפן is not clear, there is also a variant in the Tanchuma relating the above verse to the hare, ארנבת, Ed.]
Concerning the hare, ארנבת, mentioned in verse six, this is a reference to the exile under the Medes, (Ahasverus) which treated the Jewish people as a פאה, the corner of a field the farmer must leave unharvested allowing all comers to help themselves. This is what almost happened under Haman, the regent of that empire. The name of the wife of King Talmay was ארנבת, hare. [Ptolemaus of Egypt, one of the heirs of Alexander’s empire who staked a claim to the land of Israel as part of his share, and was defeated by Antiochus. He commissioned translation of the Bible from Hebrew to Greek. That day was considered a black day in Jewish history by the scholars of the Talmud, Ed.]
The pig,חזיר, mentioned in verse 7 is a reference to the Roman empire, the fourth exile, the one which we still endure. David says in Psalms 80,14: “wild boars gnaw at it and creatures of the forest feed on it.” The word חזיר in that verse is a reminder of the Romans and their Satanic origin, the forest being considered where Satan has its lair. The words וגרה לא יגר, “it does not chew the cud,” is taken as a hint that this is the last exile, i.e. it will not repeat itself. Whereas these animals appear in separate verses in our chapter, in Deut. 14 where the gist of this legislation is repeated, the first three animals mentioned here appear in a single verse except for the pig. The message is that although the first three exiles occurred at different times they have something in common, i.e. the period that they lasted was relatively short. The present exile is in a totally different category equivalent to all the previous exiles combined. David arranged four separate Thanksgivings in Psalms to acknowledge our salvation from each of these exiles in chapter 136 known as הלל הגדול, “the great Hallel.” He commences with the words “Praise the Lord for He is good, His steadfast loves is eternal.” This line referred to our being redeemed from the Babylonian exile. The second verse “Praise the G’d of G’ds, His steadfast love is eternal,” is an expression of gratitude for our having been redeemed from the exile of the Greeks; the third verse, i.e. “Praise the Lord of lords, His steadfast love is eternal,” refers to our redemption from the exile of the Medes. David uses the expression הודו, ”praise!” in three successive verses to allude to the three animals Moses mentioned in verses 4-5-6 in our chapter. In the last verse of this “Hallel hagadol” where he concludes with the words הודו ל-אל השמים, this is a reference to the redemption from the yoke of the Romans. Seeing that he had foreseen all these exiles and their redemptions by means of his Holy Spirit, he mentions the word השמים, seeing that of that final redemption it is stated in Psalms 96,11 ישמחו השמים ותגל הארץ, “both the heavens and the earth will rejoice then.” [That psalm which commences with the words שירו לה' שיר חדש, clearly speaks of the final redemption as it will be different from the weaker שירה חדשה which earmarked the thanksgiving for the Exodus from Egypt. Ed.]
In verse five, the Torah speaks of the שפן, hyrax.” (it has short ears and hoofed feet).This is a reference to the exile under the Greeks which forbade the study and practice of Torah as we know from Amos 8,11: “a time is coming, declares my Lord G’d, when I will send a famine upon the land; not a hunger for bread or thirst for water, but for hearing the words of the Lord.” It is also written in verse 12 of that chapter: “men shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.” [The connection of the above verse to שפן is not clear, there is also a variant in the Tanchuma relating the above verse to the hare, ארנבת, Ed.]
Concerning the hare, ארנבת, mentioned in verse six, this is a reference to the exile under the Medes, (Ahasverus) which treated the Jewish people as a פאה, the corner of a field the farmer must leave unharvested allowing all comers to help themselves. This is what almost happened under Haman, the regent of that empire. The name of the wife of King Talmay was ארנבת, hare. [Ptolemaus of Egypt, one of the heirs of Alexander’s empire who staked a claim to the land of Israel as part of his share, and was defeated by Antiochus. He commissioned translation of the Bible from Hebrew to Greek. That day was considered a black day in Jewish history by the scholars of the Talmud, Ed.]
The pig,חזיר, mentioned in verse 7 is a reference to the Roman empire, the fourth exile, the one which we still endure. David says in Psalms 80,14: “wild boars gnaw at it and creatures of the forest feed on it.” The word חזיר in that verse is a reminder of the Romans and their Satanic origin, the forest being considered where Satan has its lair. The words וגרה לא יגר, “it does not chew the cud,” is taken as a hint that this is the last exile, i.e. it will not repeat itself. Whereas these animals appear in separate verses in our chapter, in Deut. 14 where the gist of this legislation is repeated, the first three animals mentioned here appear in a single verse except for the pig. The message is that although the first three exiles occurred at different times they have something in common, i.e. the period that they lasted was relatively short. The present exile is in a totally different category equivalent to all the previous exiles combined. David arranged four separate Thanksgivings in Psalms to acknowledge our salvation from each of these exiles in chapter 136 known as הלל הגדול, “the great Hallel.” He commences with the words “Praise the Lord for He is good, His steadfast loves is eternal.” This line referred to our being redeemed from the Babylonian exile. The second verse “Praise the G’d of G’ds, His steadfast love is eternal,” is an expression of gratitude for our having been redeemed from the exile of the Greeks; the third verse, i.e. “Praise the Lord of lords, His steadfast love is eternal,” refers to our redemption from the exile of the Medes. David uses the expression הודו, ”praise!” in three successive verses to allude to the three animals Moses mentioned in verses 4-5-6 in our chapter. In the last verse of this “Hallel hagadol” where he concludes with the words הודו ל-אל השמים, this is a reference to the redemption from the yoke of the Romans. Seeing that he had foreseen all these exiles and their redemptions by means of his Holy Spirit, he mentions the word השמים, seeing that of that final redemption it is stated in Psalms 96,11 ישמחו השמים ותגל הארץ, “both the heavens and the earth will rejoice then.” [That psalm which commences with the words שירו לה' שיר חדש, clearly speaks of the final redemption as it will be different from the weaker שירה חדשה which earmarked the thanksgiving for the Exodus from Egypt. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
והנה היא לאה, “and lo and behold it was Leah.” Our sages (Megillah,13) ask the obvious question: “had she not been Leah up until now?” What did the Torah mean by writing “and here it was Leah?” They answer that Yaakov had supplied Rachel with a secret code to protect himself precisely against the duplicity practiced by Lavan under the wedding canopy when the girl’s face is veiled so the groom cannot see her. When Rachel became aware of what her father was doing, she realized that her sister was going to be publicly shamed. She therefore decided to spare Leah the embarrassment and told her of the secret code. Bereshit Rabbah 71,5 phrases it thus: “Rachel made silence her trademark (vocation); as a result all her sons were able to keep secrets, on the other hand, Leah made gratitude her trademark (vocation); as a result we find that all her sons are recorded as confessing errors and giving thanks to G’d. Binyamin, a son of Rachel knew that Joseph had been sold but he kept the secret. Saul, a descendant of Binyamin is reported in Samuel 10, 16 as ואת דבר המלוכה לא הגיד לו not telling even his uncle that Samuel had told him he would become king. [The uncle had been aware that Saul had had an interview with Samuel the Seer and titular head of the nation. The prophet had told him not to worry, that the asses had been located. Ed.] Another descendant of Rachel who was distinguished by keeping silent at crucial times was Queen Esther who obeyed Mordechai’s instructions not to reveal her identity even when such a refusal resulted in the King threatening to depose her.” (Esther 2,20).
Leah’s son Yehudah confessed that he had been wrong in bringing Tamar his daughter-in-law to trial as a whore. Moreover, The Torah credits him with giving thanks to the Lord (49,8), and we find David, Yehudah’s most illustrious descendant composing innumerable hymns to G’d including Psalms 136,1 in which he asks the Jewish people to give thanks to the Lord. Another descendant of Yehudah, Daniel, was in the habit of praying to G’d as a way of giving thanks to Him (Daniel 6,11).
Leah’s son Yehudah confessed that he had been wrong in bringing Tamar his daughter-in-law to trial as a whore. Moreover, The Torah credits him with giving thanks to the Lord (49,8), and we find David, Yehudah’s most illustrious descendant composing innumerable hymns to G’d including Psalms 136,1 in which he asks the Jewish people to give thanks to the Lord. Another descendant of Yehudah, Daniel, was in the habit of praying to G’d as a way of giving thanks to Him (Daniel 6,11).