Sukkah 38b (לח:) — the Talmud in English

A great halakhic principle [

great and important halakhot ]

can be derived from the practice followed in reciting Hallel.

That is, from our practice in reciting Hallel, one can learn the primary form of the mitzva of reciting Hallel as instituted by the Sages, as will be explained: In their time, when people were not so proficient in reciting Hallel, one person would recite it and fulfill the obligation on behalf of the many, and they would respond after him, “Halleluya,” to every phrase. However, now that everyone is proficient in reciting Hallel, we do not practice fulfilling our obligation through the recitation of the prayer leader; rather, each person recites it for himself. Nevertheless, it is customary that in several places the congregation repeats after the prayer leader’s recitation—in “Give thanks” and in “Please, God, save us now.” From this we learn that the practice of repeating after the prayer leader was not instituted exclusively for those who are not proficient; rather, in certain places even those who are proficient and recite Hallel themselves should repeat after the prayer leader’s recitation, since the primary form of the enactment is that one person recites and the congregation repeats after him. Below it will be explained in which places even those who are proficient should repeat, in which places only those who are not proficient should do so, and in which places it was instituted that even those who are proficient should repeat, so that the halakha concerning how those who are not proficient fulfill their obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation will not be forgotten.

From the practice that

he

the prayer leader

says “Halleluya,” and they

the congregation remains silent, and afterward

says

they after him

“Halleluya,”

while he remains silent, and they do not begin reciting along with him in order, as they do throughout the rest of Hallel, we learn

from here that it is a mitzva to respond

after the prayer leader

“Halleluya”

at the beginning of Hallel, even for those who are proficient and recite it themselves!

And from the practice that

he says [

Psalms 113 ]

“Praise, servants of the Lord,” and they say

after him

“Halleluya,” from here

we learn

that if a great person recites it for him, he responds after him, “Halleluya.”

That is, the Sages instituted that the congregation say “Halleluya” once after the prayer leader, so that the halakha concerning one who is not proficient would not be forgotten: If he wishes to fulfill his obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation, he must respond “Halleluya” after every phrase that the prayer leader says.

And from the practice that

he says, “Give thanks to the Lord,”

and they remain silent,

and

afterward

they say

after him

“Give thanks to the Lord,”

while he remains silent, we learn

from here that

at the beginnings of passages

it is a mitzva to respond with the beginnings of the passages

themselves, rather than to say “Halleluya” as in the rest of Hallel. Therefore, here, when they repeat after him, they do not say “Halleluya,” but rather “Give thanks to the Lord.” [Even this is not required according to the letter of the law, since those who are proficient need not repeat after the prayer leader—not “Halleluya” and not the beginnings of passages—but this was practiced so that this halakha, which was stated for those who are not proficient, would not be forgotten.]

It was also stated: Rav Ḥanan bar Rava said:

At the beginnings of passages

it is a mitzva to respond with the beginnings of the passages

themselves.

And from the fact that

he says, “Please, God, save us now,” and they

respond after him and

say, “Please, God, save us now,”

even though this is not the beginning of a passage, we learn

from here that if

he was

a minor reciting it for him,

who cannot fulfill his obligation through his recitation,

they respond after him

word for word with everything

that he says.

Therefore, as a mere mnemonic, it was instituted that in “Please, God” the congregation repeat after the prayer leader word for word, even though this is not the beginning of a passage, and because those who are not proficient would not suffice with responding “Halleluya.”

And from the fact that

he says, “Please, God, grant success now,” and they

repeat after him and

say, “Please, God, grant success now,”

we learn

from here that if one wishes to repeat, he may repeat.

That is, since according to the letter of the law they fulfill their obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation and need not repeat after him, we learn that if the reader wishes to repeat sections of Hallel, he is permitted to do so. And in order to remind us of this halakha, it was instituted to repeat at least “Please, God, grant success now.”

All these matters that we have learned from our practice in reciting Hallel are not exclusive to these particular verses. The reverse could equally be learned: From “Please, God, save us now,” one could infer that one is permitted to repeat, and from “Please, God, grant success now,” that if a minor recited it for him, he must repeat after everything that the minor says. These expositions are not specifically derived from this verse rather than another; rather, the essential point is that all these practices were intended to teach us particular halakhot.

And from the fact that

he says, “Blessed is he who comes,” and they

do not repeat his words, but merely complete them and

say, “In the name of the Lord.” But

with regard to the words “Blessed is he who comes,” they rely on the recitation of the reader,

from here

we learn

the

law of

“one who hears is like one who responds.”

This is the fundamental law concerning those who are not proficient: If they heard the prayer leader’s recitation and directed their hearts to fulfill their obligation through his recitation, then even though they did not respond after him, they have fulfilled their obligation.

They asked Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba: If one heard

the prayer leader’s prayer

but did not respond [

read] after him,

what is the law?

Does he fulfill his obligation through his prayer by virtue of the principle that “one who hears is like one who responds”?

He said to them: The sages [

scholars]

and the teachers of children, [

teachers of young children,]

the leaders of the people

the heads of the people

and the preachers

and its expounders

said: One who heard but did not respond has fulfilled his obligation.

It was also stated: Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said in the name of bar Kappara: From where is it derived that one who hears

is

like one who responds? As it is written [

II Kings 22 ]:

“All the words of the book that the king of Judah read.” But did Josiah

the king of Judah

read them? But Shaphan

read them, as it is written: “And Shaphan read it before the king.” Rather, from here it is derived that one who hears

is

like one who responds,

since once Josiah heard Shaphan’s reading, it was considered as though he himself had read it.

The Gemara rejects this:

Perhaps after Shaphan had read them

he returned and

read

them again

to Josiah. But

without his having reread them, it would not have been considered that Josiah had read them by virtue of having heard them.

Rav Aḥa bar Ya’akov said: It cannot enter your mind [

that is, it is impossible to say this ]

! As it is written [

II Kings 22 ]:

“Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard,”

and since it is written

“when you heard,” and it is not

written

“when you read,”

it is clear that King Josiah did not read them himself, but heard them from Shaphan. And since we consider it as though he himself had read them, learn from this that one who hears is like one who responds.

Rava said: A person should not say, “Blessed is he who comes,”

and pause briefly,

and afterward [

and only afterward say ]

“in the name of the Lord,”

for if he does so, it appears that the mention of God’s Name was not said in connection with the beginning of his statement, and it is as though he is uttering the Name of Heaven in vain.

Rather,

he should say:

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” in one unit [

that is, together, without a pause].

Rav Safra said to him:

Rava said:

A person should not say, “May His great name,” and afterward, “be blessed,” but rather

he should say

“May His great name be blessed” in one unit

in a single uninterrupted sequence.