Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Today, on Yom Ha'Atzmaut, will you have recited Hallel or not? This question was unfathomable prior to 1948.

Traditionally, we recite Hallel on the Pilgrimage Festivals: Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot/Shemini Atzeret. At a later period, a partial Hallel became associated with the latter days of Pesach and Rosh Chodesh. When it comes to reciting the full Hallel, the Pilgrimage Festivals share one thing in common - Israel, harkening back to the annual harvest cycle in ancient times.

When it came to affixing liturgy to Chanukah and Purim, Hallel was instituted for Chanukah, since the narrative took place in Israel. Hallel was not instituted for Purim, being a Diaspora holiday. Some suggest that the reading of the Megillah in the morning service is in lieu of Hallel.

For religious Zionists, the recitation of Hallel on Yom Ha'Atzmaut makes a lot of sense. For those of us who see the establishment of the State of Israel as being miraculous, the recitation of Hallel puts this day along side Chanukah. While neither is a Biblical Yom Tov officially, Hallel is recited on Chanukah in full with the blessings that precede and follow the actual paragraphs from the book of Psalms. Should Yom Ha'Atzmaut in our era be any less than Chanukah in its liturgical evolution over 2000 years ago?

This year, we celebrate the seventy second year of Israel's independence. It was pointed out to me that even the English date this year is in celebration of Yom Ha'Atzmaut, as 4/28/2020 (the night when Yom Ha'Atzmaut began) added up equals 72. Now isn't that worthy of a full Hallel?

Rabbi Howard Morrison