Hallel is a multifaceted prayer which incorporates pirkey tehilim that describe gratefulness and

praise often spontaneous arising at salvation. The prayer includes both the mention of trials and
tribulations as well as the reflection on the salvation from god. It is a prayer where there are
occasions where its recitation is a mitzvah a commandment and other times when its recital is
spontaneous song of joy and thankfulness. (see the griz on the rambam hilchot chanukah gimmel
vav) . The hallel as a song is sourced from the pasuk in yeshaya referring to the hallel of leiyl haseder
as a song – “ ‫ "השיר יהיה לכם כליל התקדש חג‬:)‫ כט‬,‫ישעיהו (ל‬.

Rav Dov Zinger has recently pointed out on his sicha about Hallel
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g1fL27TqDg&t=135s – Sicha while he was hospitalized with
COVID-19 at Hadassah hospital) – Hallel was written by a ‫( בעל רוח הקודש‬naarator/poet) who was
and is still in severe distress while he wrote the perakim of Hallel. Furthermore, the grammar of
Hallel is at times very interesting with a frequent switching between past perfect, imperfect and past
imperfect tenses. Amos Chacham explains in Da’at Mikrah (Mossad Harav Kook) on Tehilim that this
was done so the same Perek in Tehilim could be used both as a ‫ תפילה בעת צרה‬and as a ‫תפילת שבח‬
(prayer of thanksgiving) on the Hatzalah from such calamity. 1 With that in mind we would like to
both use the name Hallel as an expression of thanks for all the chessed that has been shown us as a
family particularly with the blessings of hallel joining the family, that Penina and Hallel are healthy,
that the family as a whole is healthy, that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a relative minimal and
resolving impact in Israel and on our family at this time while at the same time use as a Tefilla for the
‫ רפואה וגאולה‬of the communities still being affected by this pandemic.

Moriah is of course one of the names of Yerushalayim (har hamoriah) and has a number of meanings
as well. The word ‫ מוריה‬is used two times in ‫ תנ"ך‬once as the location for ,‫עקדת יצחק (בראשית כ"ב‬
)‫ ב‬and is the name used for ‫ הר הבית‬in Divrei Hayamim when Shlomo commences the building of
the beit hamikdash (‫ א‬,'‫)דה"ב ג‬. The Midrash in Bereishit Rabba (55:7 2) gives multiple explanations
of the word Moriah. One is one of “‫ – ”הוראה‬which identifies Yerushalayim in general and the Beit
Hamikdash in particular as the world center for teaching Torah and the residence of the Beit Din
Ha’Gadol. In this sense the name Moriah reflects the words of Yeshayahu ha’Navi - " ‫כי מציון תצא‬
‫"תורה ודבר ה' מירושלם‬. Another explanation is ‫ "למקום שיראה יצאה לעולם‬- ‫"לשון יראה‬. In this
explanation the Har ha-Moriah emphasizes that Har Habayit is the central place for ‫התגלות השכינה‬
‫בעולם‬.3 Both these meanings to a large degree identify the Beit Hamikdash as a continuation of Har
Sinai as stated explicitly by the first Ramban in Parshat Teruma. Therefore, Moriah is a powerful
manifestation of the period between Yom Yerushalayim, where we celebrate the return of
Yerushalayim and Har Habayit and Shavuot where we celebrate Matan Torah 4 and is particularly
fitting for a girl who was born in ‫ ירושלים עיר הקודש‬during this crucial period.

1
The Gemara in Pesachim 117a expresses a similar idea as well
2
https://www.sefaria.org.il/Bereishit_Rabbah.55.7?lang=he
3
For a further discussion of the names of Har Hamoriah see this article by Rav Yitzchak Levi -
https://www.etzion.org.il/he/%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%A8-8-
%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%94-
%D7%92-%D7%94%D7%A8-%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%94-
%D7%96%D7%99%D7%94%D7%95%D7%99%D7%95-%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%95
4
See this shiur by Rav Yitzchak Levi who identifies the six day war as one of the major episodes of ‫התגלות של‬
‫ הקב"ה‬in recent history. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3CvC2X8LTw