Pesah
in the Synagogue
On the first
two and last two days of Pesah, the synagogue services follow the Festival
pattern. As on the Sabbath (and unlike weekdays), the amidah contains
only seven brakhot. The middle brakhah of the Festival amidah is a prayer
that the holiday (in the present case, "this Festival of Matzot, the
season of our freedom") will be a joyous one and an occasion for the
strengthening of our Judaism. Tefillin are not worn in the morning,
and the preliminary morning service is lengthened as on the Sabbath.
Hallel is chanted, the Torah is read (with five aliyot) and musaf is
recited. The Festival musaf recalls the pilgrimages to Jerusalem made
in ancient days and expresses the hope that this aspect of our national
life will be restored, as, indeed, is beginning to happen in our time.
On the first
morning of Pesah, we stop saying "mashiv haruah umorid hagashem" ("who
makes the wind blow, and the rain fall") as part of the amidah, and,
to mark this transition from the "winter" to the "summer" liturgy, we
insert the prayer for dew (tal) in the repetition of the musaf amidah.
In recognition of the vital nature of the orderly progression of seasons,
the shaliah tzibbur (reader) wears a kittel for this service, and musical
motifs from the High Holidays are used. The prayer for dew is most often
recited in a poetic version composed by Rabbi Eleazar Hakallir, one
of the greatest liturgical poets, who lived in Eretz Yisrael in the
8th century.
The services
for Hol Hamoed Pesah (the Intermediate Days) combine weekday and Festival
patterns. The weekday amidah, with the addition of the Festival prayer
"yaaleh v'yavo", is recited at shahrit, minha, and maariv, but the full
Festival musaf is said. The Torah is read each morning, with four aliyot.
Some people do not put on tefillin on Hol Hamoed, others do put them
on, but remove them before Hallel (and the latter is our practice -
GLB).
On Shabbat
Hol Hamoed, the Intermediate Sabbath, the Sabbath amidah, with the addition
of "yaaleh v'yavo", is said at shahrit, minha, and maariv, and the Festival
musaf is used, with special additions for the Sabbath.
On the eighth
day of Pesah, Yizkor, the memorial service, is recited.
Hallel, Psalms
ll3-ll8, is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. On the third through
the eighth days of Pesah, Hallel is recited in an abbreviated form.
The customary explanation for this practice is that it was on the seventh
day of Pesah that the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea, and our
joy is diminished by the reflection that our salvation was accomplished
at their expense. Thus, we do not say the full Hallel on this day. Then,
in order that Hol Hamoed not appear to be more significant than the
seventh day, which is a full holiday, we abbreviate Hallel on those
days as well.
There are
readings from two Torah scrolls on each day of Pesah, as follows: First
day - Exodus l2:21-5l and Numbers 28:l6-25 Second day - Leviticus 22:26-23:44
and Numbers 28:l6-25 First Intermediate day - Exodus l3:l-l6 and Numbers
28:l9-25 Second Intermediate day - Exodus 22:24-23:l9 and Numbers 28:l9-25
Third Intermediate day - Exodus 24:l-26 and Numbers 28:l9-25 Fourth
Intermediate day - Numbers 9:l-l4 and Numbers 28:l9-25 Intermediate
Sabbath - Exodus 33:l2-34:26 and Numbers 28:l9-25 Seventh day -Exodus
l3:l7-l5:26 and Numbers 28:l9-25 Eighth day - Deuteronomy l5:l9-l6:l7
(on Sabbath, Deuteronomy l4:22-l6:l7) and Numbers 28:l9-25
The order
of readings for the intermediate days depends on which day of the week
Pesah begins.
These readings
all mention Pesah or the Exodus do in some way. The reading from the
second scroll details the offerings made in the Temple. The prophetic
readings (haftarot) for Pesah are:
First day
- Joshua 3:5-7, 5:2-6:1, 6:27 (The first Passover observed in the Land
of Israel) Second day - II Kings 23:l-9, 2l-25 (the revival of Passover
in the time of King Josiah). Intermediate Sabbath - Ezekiel 36:37-37:l4
(the vision of national revival). Seventh day - II Samuel 22:l-5l (the
song of David, complementing the song of Moses in the Torah). Eighth
day - Isaiah l0:32-12:6 (the return of Jews to the Land of Israel in
the days of the Messiah).
On Shabbat
Hol Hamoed Pesah, Shir Hashirim (the Song of Songs) is chanted after
shahrit. This book, attributed to King Solomon, is, on the surface a
collection of romantic, often daring, poetry. The traditional interpretation
makes it a reference to God's love for the Jewish people, in terms of
which the period of the Exodus was thought to be the honeymoon. In the
words of Jeremiah, "I accounted to your favor the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride, in how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a
land not sown."
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