Sukkah 38b — the Talmud in English

A great halakha

[Great and important halakhot]

can be heard from the practice of the Hallel.

That is, from our practice in reciting the Hallel one can learn what is the principal form of the mitzva of reciting the Hallel, as the Sages instituted it, and as will be explained: In their time, when people were not so expert in reciting the Hallel, one person would recite and discharge the many from their obligation, and they would answer after him, “Halleluyah,” after every matter. However, now that everyone is expert in reciting the Hallel, we do not practice fulfilling our obligation through the recitation of the prayer leader; rather, each one recites for himself. Even so, it became customary that in several places they repeat after the prayer leader’s recitation—in “Give thanks” and in “Please, Hashem, save now”—and from here we learn that what they would repeat after the prayer leader is not specifically a halakha for those who are not expert, but that in some places even those who are expert, who recite for themselves, must repeat after the prayer leader’s recitation, for this is the principal form of the institution: that one person recites and the congregation repeats after him. Below it will be explained in which places even those who are expert must repeat, and in which places only those who are not expert must do so; and in which places they instituted that even those who are expert should repeat, so that the halakha for those who are not expert should not be forgotten—how they fulfill their obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation.

From the fact that it became customary that

he

the prayer leader

says “Halleluyah,” and they

the congregation remains silent, and afterward

say

they after him

“Halleluyah,”

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

from here that it is a mitzva to answer

after the prayer leader

“Halleluyah”

at the opening of the Hallel, even those who are expert and recite it themselves!

And from the practice that

he says

[Psalms 113]

“Praise, servants of Hashem,” and they say

after him

“Halleluyah,” from here

we learn

that if a great person recites it for him, he answers after him “Halleluyah.”

That is, the Sages instituted saying “Halleluyah” once after the prayer leader, so that the halakha would not be forgotten for one who is not expert: if he wishes to fulfill his obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation, he must answer “Halleluyah” after each and every matter that the prayer leader says.

And from the fact that

he says: “Give thanks to Hashem,”

and they remain silent,

and

afterward

they say

after him

“Give thanks to Hashem,”

and he remains silent, we learn

from here that

at the beginnings of sections

it is a mitzva to answer the beginnings of the sections

themselves, and not to say “Halleluyah” as in the rest of the Hallel. Therefore, here, when they repeat after him, they do not say “Halleluyah,” but rather “Give thanks to Hashem.” [And even this, according to the strict law, we do not need to say, since those who are expert do not need to repeat after the prayer leader—neither “Halleluyah” nor the beginnings of the sections—but they became accustomed to do so so that this halakha, which was stated for those who are not expert, should not be forgotten.]

It was likewise stated: Rav Hanan bar Rava said:

At the beginnings of sections

it is a mitzva to answer the beginnings of the sections

themselves.

And from the fact that

he says: “Please, Hashem, save now,” and they

answer after him and

say: “Please, Hashem, save now,”

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

from here that if

he was

a minor reciting it for him,

who does not fulfill his obligation through his recitation,

they answer after him

word for word everything

that he says.

Therefore, as a mere sign, they instituted that in “Please, Hashem” they should repeat after the prayer leader word for word, even though this is not the beginning of a section, and because of those who are not expert, answering “Halleluyah” is sufficient.

And from the fact that

he says: “Please, Hashem, grant success now,” and they

repeat after him and

say: “Please, Hashem, grant success now,”

we learn

from here that if one comes to repeat, he repeats.

That is, since according to the strict law they fulfill their obligation through the prayer leader’s recitation and do not need to repeat after him, we learn that if the reciter wishes to repeat the Hallel, he has permission to do so. And in order to remind us of the halakha, they instituted repeating at least “Please, Hashem, grant success now.”

And all these matters that we learned from our practice in the Hallel are not specifically so; likewise, the opposite can be learned—from “Please, Hashem, save now,” that he has permission to repeat, and from “Please, Hashem, grant success now,” that if a minor recited it for him, he must repeat after everything that he says. These derivations are not learned specifically from this verse and not another; rather, the essential point is that all these matters came 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 only complete them and

say: “In the name of Hashem.” But

with regard to the words “Blessed is he who comes,” they rely on the recitation of the one who recites it for them,

from here

we learn

the

law

of one who hears is like one who answers.

And this is the essential law for those who are not expert: if they heard the prayer leader’s recitation and directed their hearts to fulfill their obligation through his recitation, even though they did not answer after him, they have fulfilled it.

They asked Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba: He heard

the prayer leader’s prayer

but did not answer

[read] after him

what is the law?

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

He said to them: The sages

[Sages]

and the scribes

[teachers of children],

and the heads of the people

the heads of the people

and the expounders

and its expounders

said: He heard but did not answer—he has fulfilled his obligation.

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

is

like one who answers? As it is written

[II Kings 22]:

“All the words of the scroll that the king of Judah read,” and 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: one who hears

is

like one who answers;

since Josiah heard Shaphan’s reading, the matter is considered as though he himself had read it.

The Gemara rejects this:

Perhaps after Shaphan read them,

he went back and

read

this again

Josiah. But

if he did not go back and read it, Josiah would not have been considered to have read them on account of his hearing them?

Rav Aha bar Yaakov said: It cannot enter your mind

[That is, it is impossible to say this]

! For it is written

[there, II Kings 22]:

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

and since it is written

“when you heard,” and not

is it 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 read them, learn from this that one who hears is like one who answers.

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

and pause slightly,

and afterward

[and only afterward say]

“in the name of Hashem,”

for if he does so, it appears that the mention of the Name of Hashem was not said upon the beginning of his words, and it is as though he utters the Name of Heaven in vain,

but

he should say:

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of Hashem” together

[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

he should say

“May His great Name be blessed” together

in a single uninterrupted sequence.