DailyHalacha.com for Mobile Devices Now Available

Click Here to Sponsor Daily Halacha
"Delivered to Over 6000 Registered Recipients Each Day"

      
(File size: 572 KB)
Hanukah – Reciting Hallel in a House of Mourning; Reciting “Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit”

Hallel is recited on all eight days of Hanukah, with a Beracha, even in a house of mourning, Heaven forbid. Even the mourner himself recites Hallel, with a Beracha, on each day of Hanukah.

It is customary to recite the 30th chapter of Tehillim – "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Habayit Le’David" – toward the end of the prayer service on each day of Hanukah, as this was the Psalm sung by the Leviyim each day during the eight-day rededication of the Bet Ha’mikdash at the time of the Hanukah miracle. Some communities have the custom to recite this chapter immediately after the Shir Shel Yom; after reciting "Bet Yaakob," they recite the daily Shir Shel Yom and then "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit." Others, however – and this was the practice in Halab (Aleppo, Syria) – recite the Psalm at the time the Sefer Torah is returned to the Hechal, immediately after reciting the verse of "Yehalelu."

During the eight days of the Temple’s rededication, the Leviyim sang only the Psalm of "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit," and not the standard Shir Shel Yom. Therefore, when we introduce the Shir Shel Yom on Hanukah, we omit the usual text of "She’ha’Leviyim Hayu Omerim Al Ha’duchan." We recite the first section of the introduction – "Hayom Yom…Be’Shabbat," in order to fulfill the Misva of remembering Shabbat each day (an obligation indicated by the verse "Zachor Et Yom Ha’Shabbat Le’kadesho"). But we omit mention of the Leviyim, since during Hanukah the Leviyim sang only the special Psalm for the Temple’s rededication, and not the standard daily Psalm. This is the ruling of the Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), as well as Hacham Ovadia Yosef, as mentioned in Yalkut Yosef (p. 200).

Some Siddurim note that when one recites "Aromimcha Hashem Ki Dilitani" before "Hashem Melech" in the morning (as is the custom of the Sepharadim), he should add during the Hanukah the first verse of that Psalm – "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit Le’David." In truth, however, this is incorrect. There is no need to add this verse at that this point in the prayer service, since we in any event recite the entire chapter later, as mentioned. Therefore, even during Hanukah, we recite "Aromimcha Hashem Ki Dilitani" before "Hashem Melech" without the first verse of "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit."

Summary: Hallel is recited with a Beracha each of the eight days of Hanukah, even in a house of mourning, and even by a mourner himself, Heaven forbid. Each day of Hanukah we add the Psalm of "Mizmor Shir Hanukat Ha’bayit"; some recite it after the Shir Shel Yom, while others recite it as the Torah is returned to the Hechal. We do not add the first verse of this Psalm before reciting "Aromimcha Hashem Ki Dilitani" before "Hashem Melech." When reciting Shir Shel Yom during Hanukah, we omit the phrase "She’ha’Leviyim Hayu Omerim Al Ha’duchan."

 


Recent Daily Halachot...
Who Performs the Pidyon Haben for a Firstborn Who Has Already Grown Up?
How Much Must One Give a Kohen for the Misva of Pidyon Haben?
Do Parents Recite a Beracha on the Occasion of the Birth of a Son?
Determining When to Perform a Pidyon Haben
Standing at a Wedding Ceremony, Berit Mila and Pidyon Ha'ben
The Sephardic Customs for Choosing a Name for a Newborn Baby
Which Mitzvah To Perform First When Multiple Mitzvot Are at Hand, including; Should A Pidyon HaBen Be Delayed Until After A Delayed Brit Milah
The Obligations and Exemptions from Eating At A Seuda of A Brit Milah
The Miracle of Birth Praised at a Brit Milah
The Complication Of Scheduling A Brit Milah For A Baby Born Via Cesarean Section Right Before Yom Kippur
Metzitza At The Brit Milah On Shabbat and The Issue of Lash
Should The Parents Name Their Newborn Boy If The Brit Milah Is Delayed Due To Sickness, and Counting 7 Full Days Until The Milah Once A Sick Baby Boy Is Healed
The Issue of Metzitza At A Brit Milah
Laws and Customs of Lag Ba’omer
Lag Ba'omer: Haircuts, Reciting She'hecheyanu, Weddings, and Listening to Music
Page of 239
3585 Halachot found