On Wednesday, April 22, Israel365 Action and Hayovel will host an online musical performance of Hallel, celebratory verses from Psalms, to mark Israel Independence Day (Yom HaAtzmaut) and to praise God for the creation of the state of Israel.
Hallel is a collection of Psalms 113-118, which are said at joyous times. It is recited on the three pilgrimage festivals, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, which are based on the Exodus from Egypt and the fulfillment of God’s covenant with the forefathers concerning the Land of Israel. The special service is also recited on Hanukkah, which commemorates Israel’s successful war of independence against the Hellenists and the rededication of the Temple. A later custom arose of saying an abbreviated version on Rosh Chodesh, the new month.
A year after the establishment of the State of Israel, the Chief Rabbinate ruled that Hallel should be recited on Israel’s Independence Day, but today there is fierce debate among different branches of religious Jews over its recitation on that day.
Religious Zionist authorities, such as Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and his son Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, viewed the establishment of the state as a divine act of redemption (atchalta de’geulah) similar to the Exodus from Egypt. Since Hallel is traditionally recited to thank God for miraculous salvation (like on Hanukkah), they argue it is appropriate here as well, marking the survival and sovereignty of the Jewish people after exile and persecution.
Some rabbis accept that the day has religious significance but are uncertain whether it rises to the level that justifies a formal rabbinic blessing. This is a kind of compromise position.
Many in the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) world, including figures like Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, reject adding Hallel. Their objections include:
- The state was founded largely by secular Jews, not as a religious project.
- Traditional criteria for instituting new religious holidays (like clear, universally recognized miracles or Sanhedrin authority) are not met.
- Some see theological problems with attributing redemptive significance to a pre-Messianic political entity.
The dispute over reciting Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut reflects a broader disagreement about the religious meaning of the modern State of Israel. The disagreement isn’t really about the technical laws of Hallel—it’s about how to interpret the State of Israel in Jewish theology: miraculous redemption, partial redemption, or a secular political development.
Rabbi Pesach Wolicki, the head of Israel365 Action and one of the organizers of the event, noted that reciting Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut reflects religious values shared by Religious Zionists and Christian Zionists.
“The reason that religious Zionist Jews say Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut is because we recognize that the founding of the modern State of Israel and the success of the State of Israel is a gift from Hashem (God),” Rabbi Wolicki said. “But beyond that, we also recognize that it is the beginning of the process of redemption. In other words, the ingathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel in our times is recognized by us as the biblically foretold ingathering that we’ve been waiting for for thousands of years.”
“And Christian Zionists see the modern state of Israel exactly the same way. That’s why they are Christian Zionists. They recognize that the ingathering of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is the biblically foretold beginning of redemption of the Jewish people from their lengthy exile, as foretold in the Bible, as foretold in Deuteronomy, chapter 30, which states ‘even if you are scattered to the end of the heavens, ‘from there, the Lord your God, will gather you and bring you back to the land of your forefathers, and you will take possession of it, and you’ll become more numerous and more prosperous than your ancestors.’ Both Christian Zionists and Jewish religious Zionists recognize the State of Israel in the exact same way.”
As a source for this miraculous confluence of belief, Rabbi Wolicki cited Psalms 117:1-2 which is recited in Hallel.
1:Praise Hashem, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples,
הַלְלוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָה כָּל־גּוֹיִם שַׁבְּחוּהוּ כָּל־הָאֻמִּים׃
ha-l’-LU et a-do-NAI kol go-YIM, sha-b’-KHU-hu kol ha-u-MEEM
2: for great is His steadfast love toward us; the faithfulness of Hashem endures forever. Hallelujah.
כִּי גָבַר עָלֵינוּ חַסְדּוֹ וֶאֱמֶת־יְהֹוָה לְעוֹלָם הַלְלוּ־יָהּ׃
KEE ga-VAR a-LAY-nu khas-DO ve-e-met a-do-NAI l’-o-LAM ha-l’-lu-YAH
“All the nations of the of the world are being called upon to praise. Hashem because God has been so good to us, not because he’s been so good to them, because he’s been so good to us. Why on earth would they, the nations of the world, be praising God for being so good to the Jews? It’s because they have faith in the Bible, they see what God is doing for us, and they see the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy.”
“It’s Christian Zionists who literally praise God for his kindness to the Jews. And for this reason, Israel365 is having an event on Yom HaAtzmaut for Christians and Jews together to celebrate and praise Hashem and recite the Hallel.”
Rabbi Wolicki believes so strongly in this unifying concept that he wrote his book, Cup of Salvation: A Powerful Journey Through King David’s Psalms of Praise, about Hallel.
“We’re going to be celebrating what Hashem is doing with the nation of Israel, Jews and Christians, praising God together for the same reason with the same words on the same day.” Rabbi Wolicki concluded.
Tommy Waller, the head of Hayovel, emphasized the importance of Yom HaAtzmaut for Christians.
“Israel’s Independence Day should be celebrated by every Christian,” Waller said. “The establishment of the state of Israel validates the heart-longing words of Moses and all the Prophets. In spite of what many Christian influencers may be saying, the hope of Israel’s physical redemption is the foundation of our faith.”
“At the circumcision of John the Baptist, Zacharias, his father, prophesied this blessing over him, ‘That we (the Jews) should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.’ I pray that all of Christianity would receive this blessing and walk in the calling God intended for us,” Waller concluded.
Lazer Lloyd, an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, will be performing the musical rendition of Hallel.
“The real sign of Israel’s freedom is when they can share it and celebrate it with the world,” Lloyd told Israel365 News. “And that is why we are here.”
Registration for the event is online.
It is important to note that in Talmud Bavli Sanhedrin 94a, the sages say that after the miraculous downfall of Sennacherib and his army, an event described in the Book of Kings and the Book of Isaiah, Hezekiah had the potential to be the Messiah. However, because he did not sing shirah (a song of praise, understood by many as akin to Hallel) in response to this miracle, he did not merit that role.
The Talmud emphasizes that even after experiencing open divine salvation, failing to properly acknowledge it through praise represents a missed spiritual opportunity on a national level. That passage is often cited in discussions about Hallel on Yom HaAtzmaut to argue for the importance of expressing gratitude to God for redemption when it occurs.
