English translation — פורים ב

Sicha on <pg>167</pg>

A.

We learn in the Gemara<sup>1</sup>

(regarding the reason for the prophets' enactment to read the Megillah on Purim)

: "And from servitude to freedom we recite song

(at the Exodus from Egypt they recited song at the sea<sup>2</sup>.

Rashi),

from death to life, all the more so.

If so, let us also recite Hallel,

(and he answers<sup>3</sup>)

because we do not recite Hallel over a miracle that occurred outside the Land.

The Exodus from Egypt, which was a miracle outside the Land, how did we recite song?

(and he resolves)

As it was taught: Before Israel entered the Land, all lands were qualified to recite song,

once Israel entered the Land, all lands were not qualified to recite song.

Rav Nachman said: This reading is Hallel

(the reading of the Megillah is Hallel).

Rava said<sup>4</sup>

Granted, there

(at the Exodus from Egypt)

we praise servants of the Lord<sup>5</sup>

and not servants of Pharaoh

(for they went out to freedom.

Rashi),

but here, we praise servants of the Lord and not servants of Achashverosh?

We are still servants of Achashverosh

(for they were redeemed only from death.

Rashi)

".

And it is found,

that there are three reasons why they did not institute saying Hallel on Purim: a)

because the miracle of Purim was outside the Land [of Israel].

b)

the reading of the Megillah is in place of Hallel<sup>6</sup>.

c)

because it is impossible to say<sup>7</sup>

"Praise, servants of the Lord,

(and not servants of Achashverosh)

",

for "we are still servants of Achashverosh."

That is,

that according to the first and third reasons there is no obligation to say Hallel,

whereas according to the second reason they are obligated in Hallel,

except that they fulfill the obligation of Hallel through the reading of the Megillah

(and according to the opinion of the Meiri<sup>8</sup>

the practical difference in halachah,

regarding one who does not have a Megillah,

that according to the reason "its reading is Hallel" he is obligated in the reading of Hallel).

And superficially it is necessary to understand the reason of the Gemara "But we are still servants of Achashverosh"

(And Rashi explains that "they were redeemed only from death")

— behold the question of the Gemara still stands in its place: "And from servitude to freedom we say song,

from death to life not all the more so."

And is it because the situation does not correspond to the verse "These are the servants of the Lord" that this exempts a person from praising the Lord for His redemption "from death to life"

(which is greater than redemption "from servitude to freedom")?

And it must be said,

that the concept of "servants of the Lord" pertains to the very saying of Hallel,

for when this condition is lacking it prevents saying Hallel,

for only the reading of the Megillah was instituted because of the kal vachomer "And from servitude to freedom we say song,

from death to life not all the more so",

but for saying Hallel one needs a state of "servants of the Lord".

2.

And behold, in the Gemara there it continues "between according to Rava and between according to Rav Nachman it is difficult

[And in Rashi: "between according to Rava,

who said for this we do not say Hallel because they were still servants of Achashverosh,

if not for that we would say it.

Between according to Rav Nachman,

who said reading the Megillah is in place of Hallel"]

And it was taught: from when they entered the Land, all lands were not permitted to say song,

(And he answers)

since they were exiled, they returned to their original fitness".

And it implies,

that also according to the view of Rava it is possible an obligation of Hallel also after<pg>168</pg>

that Israel were exiled for a miracle that occurred outside the Land

("they returned to their original fitness").

And superficially it is perplexing,

behold according to the view of Rava,

all the time that they were not redeemed "from slavery to freedom" they do not recite Hallel,

and if so how is it possible that there is an obligation of Hallel after "they were exiled" and they are found in a situation of "still slaves"

(and as it is explicit in the Ran<sup>9</sup>

that "this reasoning of Rava suffices for any miracle performed outside the Land while Israel is in exile")<sup>10</sup>?

3.

And one can say the explanation of all this:

All three reasons mentioned above for why they did not institute reciting Hallel on Purim,

their foundation is in one point — that the miracle of Purim was not an open miracle

[for we do not find in all the details of the miracle of Purim any matter of changing the natural order and nullifying the custom of the world<sup>11</sup>,

and only that it was "seen<sup>12</sup>

in the intellect that all the causes were above nature"],

whereas the institution of reciting Hallel is only for a miracle that is open specifically<sup>13</sup>.

And even to the extent that they said<sup>14</sup>

"One who recites Hallel every day, behold he is a blasphemer and reviler",

for even though we thank G-d every day in prayer<sup>15</sup>

"for Your miracles that are with us every day",

behold that He, blessed be He, performs miracles for us "every day" — nevertheless this does not obligate reciting Hallel

(and on the contrary,

"One who recites Hallel every day etc.'"),

because they are not open miracles,

and reciting Hallel is specifically for an open miracle,

as above<sup>16</sup>.

However, there is a fundamental difference between "Your miracles that are with us every day" and the miracle of Purim,

for "Your miracles that are with us every day" are the kindnesses that come through natural conduct,

and they are called "Your miracles" because in truth even the conduct of nature is a matter of miracles

(and as explained in many places,

that nature itself is "miracles<sup>17</sup>

many, constant and frequent etc.'"),

but not so the miracle of Purim, for its entirety is miraculous conduct,

except that the miracle was clothed in natural ways<sup>18</sup>.

And therefore there is room for discussion whether there is an obligation to recite Hallel on Purim: From the aspect of the miracle that occurred in the Purim event — it is possible that there is an obligation to recite Hallel¹⁹,

<pg>169</pg>

Whereas from the aspect of the garment of nature in the miracle of Purim — it can be said that they are exempt from Hallel

(in the manner of the absence of reciting Hallel every day).

And based on this we can explain the opinion of Rav Nachman: "Its reading is Hallel,"

one can say,

that his intention is not that they did not institute saying Hallel on Purim because they already instituted reading the Megillah and therefore there is no need

(also)

for saying Hallel — rather, saying Hallel on Purim is not possible except through reading the Megillah: by itself, a person does not perceive the miracle of the Purim event in a way that obligates him to say Hallel

(which is specifically for a revealed miracle as above),

but only through reading the Megillah can he praise God for this miracle — for since it is one of the twenty-four sacred writings,

a part of the Torah of truth and "Torah is light,"

behold, in it and through it the truth of the matter is illuminated and felt,

that this was a miracle from the Holy One, blessed be He

(and only clothed in garments of nature).

And this is what R. Nachman said: "Its reading is Hallel,"

meaning that in the reading of the Megillah, the saying of Hallel is dependent and also included.

[And the practical difference,

according to this reasoning,

is that even one who does not have a Megillah does not say Hallel.

And this is in accordance with what is written in the later authorities&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;

that "from the silence of the words of the poskim it is implied that there is no Hallel on it at all,"

but they explained,

that since the Sages did not institute Hallel on Purim,

there is no place for saying it even if he does not have a Megillah.

And according to the above, this goes further,

that ab initio, saying Hallel on Purim is not possible except through reading the Megillah alone].

4.

And behold the reason of the matter,

that on the miracle of Purim it is impossible to say Hallel because it is a miracle clothed in nature,

is to be explained in two ways:

a)

This is from the side of the object of the miracle,

that a miracle clothed in nature is not in the category of a miracle sufficient to obligate saying Hallel

(as in natural conduct,

even though it too is "Your miracles that are with us every day",

which does not obligate saying Hallel,

and on the contrary,

it is forbidden to say Hallel on this conduct).

b)

This is due to the deficiency of the person,

for since it is difficult for a person to recognize the miracle in this conduct, therefore it is impossible to establish and obligate the recitation of Hallel on this.

And it can be said,

that this is the difference between the two reasons that there is no obligation of reciting Hallel at all on Purim —

(a)

because we do not recite Hallel on a miracle that occurred outside the Land [of Israel],

(b)

we are still servants of Achashverosh:

According to the first reason, this is because of the object of the miracle: It is known that in Divine providence there is a distinction between the Land of Israel and outside the Land,

for concerning the Land of Israel it is said&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;

"The eyes of the Lord your God are upon it from the beginning of the year until the end of the year",

that Divine providence there is in a revealed manner,

but in outside the Land, Divine providence is hidden there in the garments of nature&lt;sup&gt;22&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore this opinion holds that a miracle performed in outside the Land

(where there is no revealed providence,

therefore also the miracle is clothed and hidden in nature&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;)

is not of the type of miracle that obligates the recitation of Hallel.

&lt;pg&gt;170&lt;/pg&gt;

And Rava holds,

that after they were exiled, the place of outside the Land does not negate the possibility of reciting Hallel&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;,

and the deficiency is on the part of the person,

"We are still servants of Achashverosh",

that in order to recite Hallel one must be "servants of the Lord and not servants of Achashverosh",

for only one who is in the level of "servants of the Lord" can feel the miraculous conduct in a miracle that is clothed in nature.

But when Israel are subjugated to the nations of the world,

they cannot attain this feeling, and consequently there is no place for reciting Hallel.

5.

And we must explain the matter in the service of man:

The difference between the Land of Israel and outside the Land in man himself is the distinction between the matters of his soul and the matters of his body²⁵,

that in the soul of man, which is "a part of G-d from above literally"²⁶

the Divine light is felt in revelation

(in the manner of the concept of "the eyes of the L-rd your G-d are upon it"),

but not so in the matters of the body, which is "outside" this revelation.

And this is the content of the first opinion that we do not recite Hallel for a miracle that occurred outside the Land [of Israel],

for the recitation of Hallel is the praise for a Divine revelation,

and this pertains only to the aspect of the soul of man,

which senses this revelation,

and not the body.

And based on this, we can explain

(in the inner dimension of the matters)

the opinion of Rava that we do not recite Hallel for the miracle of Purim because "we are still servants of Achashverosh," and nevertheless he holds "since they were exiled, they returned to their original fitness":

This that "we are still servants of Achashverosh" is only regarding matters of the body,

but not so regarding matters of the soul,

behold from the time of the giving of the Torah the Jewish people became "servants of the L-rd" forever²⁸,

and as is explicit in the verse²⁹

"For to Me the children of Israel are servants,

My servants they are",

and as our Sages of blessed memory said³⁰

"My document preceded"

[And as the saying of the Rebbe, my father-in-law, of blessed memory, in the name of his father³¹,

that "only our bodies were given into exile and subjugation to the kingdoms,

but our souls were not delivered to exile and subjugation to the kingdoms"].

And therefore Rava did not negate the definition of Hallel during the time of exile,

because matters of the soul were not harmed by the exile,

and in them it is possible to have praise; and only on the miracle of Purim,

which was clothed in nature,

it is impossible to have praise^*31,

because in connection to nature

(namely physical things,

and in man himself — matters of the body³²),

"we are servants of Achashverosh".

And Rav Nachman holds "this reading is Hallel",

that through the power of Torah it is possible for a person to draw down Divine revelation also into matters of nature,

that even in them the light of holiness will be felt.

And in the service of man — when he serves God in all his physical matters in a manner that "all your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven" and "in all your ways&lt;pg&gt;171&lt;/pg&gt;

דעהו",

then he draws into them a revelation of G‑dliness in the manner of the matters of his soul.

And this is also the inner interpretation of the Sages' statement³³

"connecting redemption to redemption",

that they must connect the redemption of Purim to the redemption of Passover,

that the redemption of Passover,

which came through "the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to them and redeemed them"³⁴

and with open miracles,

caused that the children of Israel be "servants of the L‑rd and not servants of Pharaoh",

and the ultimate intention is to connect and draw this "redemption" also into the redemption of Purim,

that even in matters of nature it should be felt that in essence they are matters of miracles,

Witnesses of the fulfillment of the promise³⁵

"And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken,"

in the true and complete redemption,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the Purim talk of 5722)