Chazal tell us that Chanukah was instituted as a day
of both hallel and hoda’ah. The Sefas Emes
asks: don't these two expressions mean the same thing – giving thanks to G-d. Why do Chazal use both expressions when one would suffice?
Sefas Emes answers that hallel and hoda’ah in fact mean
different things. Hallel is praise for what
everyone recognizes immediately as a miraculous, wonderful outcome; hoda’ah is what
you realize to be good only upon reflection and the passage of time. In the story of Chanukah, the defeat of the Greeks
and the miracle of the menorah were immediately appreciated as great events that required the
recitation of hallel. But that’s only
half of the picture. Chazal are telling
us that the subjugation by the Greeks, which at the time seemed to be a
horrible gezeirah, is something that also needs to be appreciated as chasdei
Hashem. That perspective only
comes with time and reflection; that perspective gives rise to hoda'ah (more in the Sefas Emes here, and see this post on the
relationship between viduy and hoda’ah that he alludes to.)
For some, the storm passed with
little damage and it was possible to say hallel immediately afterwards. For others, hopefully this is a day of hoda’ah,
of coming to grips with the loss incurred and being able to see chasdei Hashem
in retrospect.
Thus, the gemora says לשנה אחרת קבעום...בהלל והודאה Not שנה הבאה but שנה אחרת
ReplyDeleteThe process of truly internalizing this can take years.
sorry to spoil the vort "great unknown" but l'fee the chiluk between halel and hodaa only hodaa should be mentioned in that quote. how do you make sense of lshana acheres kvaum legabay hallel.
DeleteExcellent point. On another level, the final conquest of the Greeks did not occur for several more years [or so I recall from Artscroll sources] , and thus Hallel may have been inappropriate at that point. Akatai Avdei Yovon, so to speak.
DeleteOf course, there is another problem: the war was primarily against the mis'yavnim. Look around: the mis'yavnim apparently won.
BTW, I don't recognize the concept of spoiled verter. I spent enough years having some of my gems shot down, vivisected, stapled, spindled, mutilated, and otherwise dissed, that I'm quite comfortable with it. In fact, I was overjoyed when one of my talmidim would do it.
brisker rav says there are 2 types of hallel: hallel of shirah when you experience the nes, and hallel that comes afterwards as a commemoration of the nes.
ReplyDeleteI think Reb Chaim Brisker says there's another type of praise, ואני בחסדך בטחתי יגל לבי בישועתיך, which he understands to mean that one is certain of the ישועה so he rejoices beforehand.
ReplyDelete