בס"ד

THIS PSALM IS OURS

(Translated by Benjy Myers)

1.                  A Psalm for Yom Ha-Atzmaut

Psalm 107 was instituted by the Chief Rabbis zt”l Rabbi Herzog and Rabbi Uziel, as well as by Rabbi Frank and Rabbi Bar-Shaul and others, to be said as part of the service on the night of Yom Ha-Atzmaut, just as Hallel was instituted to be recited during the day itself. In their greatness, they exposed the intention of the composer of Psalms who composed a prophetic psalm for the generation of the redeemed of the Lord, who will gather them from all the exiles and bring them to their desired destination.

The key verses of the psalm are to be found at the beginning of the opening stanza:

Give thanks to the Lord for He is good /

For His steadfast love endures forever /

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so /

Whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy /

And gathered them out of the lands /

From the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.

The Children of Israel left Egypt and Babylon in a different manner from the way in which the psalm describes the exodus from under the subjugation of the nations of the world. Never before, until our generation, that of the Zionist redemption, have the redeemed of the Lord been gathered from the four corners of the globe. Therefore, this psalm was composed for us, by the Psalmist.

Even in light of its great importance, the psalm does not relate to the redemption through the coming of the Messiah (may he come speedily in our days), nor to the redemption through the rebuilding of the Temple (may it be built speedily in our days); not of the redemption through Torah nor of the complete Land; not of the Days to Come, nor of the restoration to life of the dead. Not of man’s ways of correcting, nor of the correction of the world in the Kingdom of God. All these are lofty ideals that are still distant from us, even though we await them every day and even though many songs and prophecies have been composed in anticipation – however, this psalm only relates to the redemption through the ingathering of the exiles, amassed with pain and cries, deliverance and salvation and songs of thanksgiving.

According to this psalm, there are four types of people who must give thanks. Jewish Law requires them to say the blessing of “HaGomel”, whether they were on their way to Israel, or – Heaven forbid – from Israel, or indeed on any other journey. However, according to the prophetic message of the psalm in its entirety, the “ones who went astray in the wilderness” are those who faced adversity in the wilderness, from Yemen to Aden, from Gondar to Khartoum, in Siberia and the plains of Russia, mainly on their way to the Land of Israel.

In this psalm, those who are “bound in affliction and iron” are the ones who did not go down the path of the redeemed, they are the ones who were incarcerated, jailed in prisoner camps and concentration camps. The ones that “go down to the sea in ships” are the boatloads of clandestine Jewish immigrants who tried to land on the shores of Israel, survivors of the camps and the gates of death. All this is so, for the verse speaks explicitly of the redeemed ones of the Lord who are gathered “from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south”. At the desired destination, the redeemed ones found a fruitful land “barren, because of the wickedness of those who dwell therein” and transformed it into a land “which yields fruits of increase”, and still their numbers were lessened and suppressed (“in wars?...!) “through oppression, affliction and sorrow” and they chanced upon the destructive ways of leaders – “He pours contempt upon nobles and causes them to wander in the wilderness” – before they learn to reflect upon the loving ways of God and increase their flock in the ways of the “righteous”.

No part of this prophetic song has remained unfulfilled in these generations, and all the righteous will look at this psalm, at the reality of renewal, at half a century of the State of Israel, at 100 years of Zionism, at 160 since the first buildings outside of the Old City in Jerusalem, and they shall sing a new song to the Lord, Hallelujah.

2.                  To Bless and to Thank

The Chatam Sofer[1] rules that a community can – and should – institute a festive day to mark a miracle that happened to them. He writes that the basis for the obligation to give thanks is Biblical,[2] and it is only the manner in which one gives thanks that is a Rabbinical dictate. Therefore, even on Purim and Chanukkah, one who does nothing to recall the miracles and to give thanks, transgresses a serious Biblical obligation.

Therefore, one who only recites Psalm 107 on Yom Ha-Atzmaut or only says “Al HaNissim” but does not say Hallel, transgresses a Rabbinical commandment. This ruling is that of the Chief Rabbis of the Land of Israel and others who instituted the saying of Hallel at the time of the founding of the State, and whose decision was based entirely on the Talmud, the Prophets and Psalm 107. However, one who behaves on 5^th Iyyar as if it was an ordinary day and as if nothing had happened, as if God did not perform for us wonders, miracles and victories, transgresses a Biblical commandment according to the Chatam Sofer. It is regarding these people that my Rabbi and teacher, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah HaCohen Kook zt"l used to quote the following passage:

“For who has despised the day of small things”:[3] What is the cause that the tables of the righteous are despoiled in the Hereafter?[4] It is because of the smallness of faith that was in them, for they did not trust in the Holy One, blessed be He.[5]

3.                  Friday, Shabbat and Hallel

On those years when 5^th Iyyar falls on either a Friday or Shabbat, the official festivities and ceremonies take place on the Thursday preceding, out of honour for Shabbat and in order to limit its desecration. The essence of the importance of reciting Hallel belongs, in my opinion, to 5^th Iyyar, the day that the State of Israel was declared within the boundaries of the Land of Israel and the time when the gates of return were thrown wide open before the incoming of the exiles without the restrictions of the foreign powers who had ruled continuously over 1800 years since the destruction of Betar.

Therefore, those who have the custom to recite the blessing over Hallel, and those who recite Hallel at night, should do so on the 5^th as part of a congregation,[6] and on the Thursday, Hallel should be recited without the blessing.

However, if there will not be a quorum on the 5^th, one should recite Hallel with a blessing on the Thursday, similar to the reading of the Megillah on Purim.[7] This should certainly not lead to the community breaking up into separate factions, each reciting Hallel on a different day, for there is a strong prohibition against such divisions.

There is great significance to 5^th Iyyar, for Rabbi Maimon zt”l and others have already associated it with the sequence of “AT BASH”,[8] whereby the seventh day of Pesach corresponds with the letter Ayin that is the first letter of the word “atzmaut” – independence. On the seventh day of Pesach the war at the splitting of the sea took place, where God fought for the Jewish People as they could not fight for themselves due to their weakness and lowly spirits. Those who understand the implicit message behind this will understand why, as a result of their lack of fighting spirit and action, the Jewish People never fully attained independence from Egypt all the days of the First Temple, and which is why they continually wished to return to Egypt.[9] They will now also understand the need to say Hallel on 5^th Iyyar, when the miracle of our independence is finally – after more than 3000 years – completed.

To summarise, there are two opinions as to when Hallel should be said. The first, prevalent, opinion is that Hallel should be recited on the Thursday preceding Yom Ha-Atzmaut if 5^th Iyyar falls on either Friday or Shabbat. The second opinion, by which I hold, is that Hallel with a blessing should be recited in public on 5^th Iyyar, and without a blessing on the preceding Thursday.

This notion is in my humble opinion, and, until such time as the Chief Rabbinate of Israel (who are the highest ruling religious body in the State of Israel) decide otherwise, I will stand by it. If they decide otherwise, I will set aside my opinion in favour of theirs, and we will be subject to their ruling.

4.                  The Customs of the Gentiles? (And What about Suits?)

Those who question the nationwide siren in memory of those who fell on the 'altar' of our independence, claiming that it follows the custom of the gentiles and that it is the custom of the Jews to recite Psalms etc., are completely mistaken - both halachically and in reality - and they have no basis for their claim.

This is due to four reasons:

      1.                   There is no nation, no country, where the entire people stop their individual daily routines at the sound of a long siren in remembrance, as opposed to the mournful blast of a trumpet at military ceremonies. The official moments of silence such as those that were held in Britain between the two World Wars – which form the basis of their claim – or the ones that have taken place in Hiroshima since the Atom Bomb was dropped there, cannot be considered the "Custom of the Gentiles". This is because it does not have any gentile-religious basis, and is used solely as a sign of honour and as a marking of importance.[10]

2.                   It has been clearly explained by Rabbi Zolty zt"l in his essay[11] that according to the majority of halachic decisors, the prohibition of the Customs of the Gentiles does not apply “unless it has a side of idolatry to it”. Also, the fact that Rabbi Zolty wished to be strict in accordance with the opinion of the Vilna Gaon, was later dismissed by Rabbi Henkin.[12] It is important to note that anyone who wears a hat, a suit and especially a tie (that is very much a sign of importance and rite) is being lenient with regards to “their laws”, and thus cannot be strict with himself regarding the same halacha when it comes to the siren. He is acting in a confusing manner and is negating his own customs.

             3.                   Even those who are strict regarding “their laws”, should surely be lenient because of “Kevod Malchut” – the honour due to the state, (that is, Israel and all its people[13]).

          4.                   The siren of remembrance is even closer to the original customs of Israel than the reciting of Psalms. From the words of Maimonides[14] we see that there is no difference between the blasts of the trumpet, the shofar and the siren.[15] The idea is that the piercing sound should arouse our hearts to the judgement that is being brought to bear upon the world and to seek forgiveness from God. All that Rashei Yeshivot need to instruct their students is that during the siren, one should not only concentrate in remembrance of the fallen, but that one should also concentrate on repentance, in order that there be no more casualties from our midst. I have heard from a number of my Rabbis zt"l that one should remain quiet during the siren, even if one is in the middle of praying!

5.                  The Customs at the Festive Meal and the First Fruits

I received from my father and teacher zt"l the custom of beginning the festive meal on Yom Ha-Atzmaut with the verses recited at the bringing of the first fruits to the Temple: “It shall be when you come to the land...”. [16] There is great significance to this, for this section contains the verses that we say at the Pesach Seder, beginning with: “an Aramean tried to destroy my father”. The Mishna in Pesachim[17] states that one should recite this passage “until he finishes the entire section”. However, we, in all the traditional versions of the Haggadah finish at the end of verse 8 (after the four phrases of redemption) and do not continue to verse 9: “And He brought us to this place...”, which is a clear contradiction to the Mishna that forms the basis for the Haggadah and the Seder.

One explanation that has been widespread amongst scholars and researchers since the days of Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffman is that in Israel, during the time of the Mishna, they would recite the whole passage, including “And He brought us...”. However, in exile, they could not recite this part due to their distance from “the place”.[18] According to this opinion, there is room for us nowadays to complete the whole passage, also at the Seder. However, it is possible that already at the time of the Talmud and the Geonim they did not wish to deviate from the story of the exodus at the Seder, and left the end of the passage to the time of the bringing of the first fruit, that is, from Shavuot onwards.

According to this opinion, when will we complete this section and recite aloud: "And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey"? The answer is when the Temple is rebuilt (may it be speedily in our days), we will say it when we bring the first fruits. However, until then, it does not seem proper that we do not recite this verse before God who has once again given us this land, and when we have merited to build within it a state.

Reciting this passage on the night of Yom Ha-Atzmaut is to be seen as a form of completion, and as a remembrance of the fact that we will indeed once again bring the offering of the two loaves, [19] both of which are specifically leaven, [20] and the offering of the first fruits on Shavuot. The situation in which we find ourselves today is clearly an expression of this completion. We are in the midst of the Omer on the long road between redemption and total independence, between the giving of the Torah and settling of the Land: “It is the redemption from the servitude of the nations that is the essence, and the exodus from Egypt is secondary to that”.[21] It did not occur to our Sages that the order should be different, and even more so it did not occur to them not to talk of the miracles of the redemption from the servitude of the nations - these being the very miracles of our independence - that according to our Sages is the essence!

My thanks to Rabbi Yehudah Zoldan and to Rabbi Avi Wolfish for their comments and assistance.