Go Bibi! You are the best Prime Minister Israel has ever had!
The reason I picked to have The Hallel out of all prayers in this homepage, is because it is my favorite prayer. First is the prayer that is read before reading The Hallel. Also, following The Hallel is a commentary on it.
Blessed be You, O God our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us by His
commandments and commanded us to read the Hallel.
Psalm 113
Verses 1-9
Hallelujah.
O servants of the Lord, give praise;
praise the name of the Lord.
Let the name of the Lord be blessed
now and forever.
From east to west
the name of the Lord is praised.
The Lord is exalted above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the Lord our God,
who, enthroned on high,
sees what is below,
in heaven and on earth?
He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts up the needy from the refuse heap
to set them with the great,
with the great man of His people.
He sets childless women among her household
as a happy mother of children.
Hallelujah.
Psalm 114
Verses 1-8
When Israel went forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of strange speech,
Judah became His holy one,
Israel, His dominion.
The sea saw them and fled,
Jordan ran backward,
mountains skipped like rams,
hills like sheep.
What alarmed you, O sea, that you fled,
Jordan, that you ran backward,
mountains, that you skipped like rams,
hills like sheep?
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turned the rock into a pool of water,
the flinty rock into a fountain.
Psalm 115
Verses 1-18
Not to us, O Lord, not to us
but to Your name bring glory
for the sake of Your love and Your faithfulness.
Let the nations not say,
"Where, now, is their God?"
when our God is in heaven
and all that He wills He accomplishes.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see;
they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell;
they have hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk;
they can make no sound in their throats.
Those who fashion them,
all who trust in them,
shall become like them.
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
O you who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and shield.
The Lord is mindful of us.
He will bless us;
He will bless the house of Israel;
He will bless the house of Aaron;
He will bless those who fear the Lord,
small and great alike.
May the Lord increase your numbers,
yours and your children's also.
May you be blessed by the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.
The heavens belong to the Lord,
but the earth He gave over to man.
The dead cannot praise the Lord,
nor any who go down into silence.
But we will bless the Lord
now and forever.
Hallelujah.
Psalm 116
Verses 1-19
I love the Lord
for He hears my voice, my pleas;
for He turns His ear to me
whenever I call.
The bonds of death encompassed me;
the tourments of Sheol overtook me.
I came upon trouble and sorrow
and I invoked the name of the Lord,
"O Lord, save my life!"
The Lord is gracious and beneficent;
our God is compasssionate.
The Lord protects the simple;
I was brought low and He saved me.
Be at rest, once again, O my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
You have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the Lord
in the lands of the living.
I trust [in the Lord];
out of great suffering I spoke
and said rashly,
"All men are false."
How can I repay the Lord
for all His bounties to me?
I raise the cup of deliverance
and invoke the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all His people.
The death of His faithfull ones
in grievous in the Lord's sight.
O Lord,
I am Your Servant,
Your servant, the son of Your maidservant;
You have undone the cords that bound me.
I will sacrafice a thank offering to You
and invoke the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all His people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in the midst of Jerusalem.
Hallelujah.
Psalm 117
Verses 1-2
Praise the Lord, all your nations;
extol Him, all you peoples,
for great in His steadfast love toward us;
the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
Hallelujah.
Psalm 118
Verses 1-29
Praise the Lord, for He is good,
His steadfast love is eternal.
Let Israel declare,
"His steadfast love is eternal."
Let the house of Aaron declare,
"His steadfast love is eternal."
For those who fear the Lord declare,
"His steadfast love is eternal."
In distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and brought me relief.
The Lord is on my side,
I have no fear;
what can man do to me?
With the Lord on my side as my helper,
I will see the downfall of my foes.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in mortals;
it is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in the great.
All nations have beset me;
by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down.
They beset me, the surround me;
by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down.
They have best me like bees;
they shall be extinguished like burning thorns;
by the name of the Lord I will surely cut them down.
You pressed me hard,
I nearly fell;
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my strength and might;
He has become my deliverance.
The tents of the victorious resound with joyous shouts of deliverance,
"The right hand of the Lord is triumphant!
The right hand of the Lord is exalted!
The right hand of the Lord is triumphant!"
I shall not die but live
and proclaim the works of the Lord.
The Lord punished me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
Open the gates of victory for me
that I may enter them and praise the Lord.
This is teh gateway to the Lord--
the victorious shall enter through it.
I praise You, for You have answered me,
and have become my deliverance.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our sight.
This is the day that the Lord has made--
let us exult and rejoice on it.
O Lord, deliver us!
O Lord, let us prosper!
May he who enters be blessed in the name of the Lord;
we bless you from the House of the Lord.
The Lord is God;
He has given us light;
bind the festal offering to the horns of the altar with the cords.
Your are my God and I will praise You;
Your are my God and I will extol You.
Praise the Lord for He is good,
His steadfast love is eternal.
Amen!
Commentary
I have decided to comment on Psalm 114, since it is my favorite Psalm of The Hallel. Psalm 114 deals with The Exodus from Egypt. It was one of the most beautiful pieces of literature that there is. First it gives the background of The Exodus. It tells how Judah becomes the holy kingdom after the split of Israel and Judah, and Israel just being God's dominion. Then it starts talking about the crossing of The Red Sea. It talks about all the miracles asociated with The Exodus. It deals with The Red Sea fleeing from us, The Jordan River running backward when The Jews crossed it into Israel under the leadership of Joshua, and Moses recieving The Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Concerning Mount Sinai, it talks about the Earthquakes caused by God talking. This is suggested in mountains skipping like rams, and hills like sheep. Then it asks The Red Sea, Jordan River, the mountains, and hills what alarmed them to perform those miracles. Then it tells The Earth to tremble at the presence of The Lord, the presence of The God of Jacob, who turned the a rock into a pool of water, refering to when God turned the rock into water when Moses hit it in The Book of Numbers. Shalom!
© 2003 jonathanshabbat@yahoo.com
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