Sunday, June 13, 2010

hallel on shabbos rosh chodesh

The gemara (Archin 10) discusses why we say full hallel on some days and not others. Why no full hallel on Shabbos? Because, answers the gemara, Shabbos is not called a mo'ed, and we only say full hallel on a mo'ed. Why no full hallel on Rosh Chodesh, which is called a moed? Because, answers the gemara, there is no prohibition of doing work on Rosh Chodesh, which indicates that it is a different sort of mo'ed than the yamim tovim.

So why did we not recite full hallel yesterday? On Shabbos Rosh Chodesh all the necessary factors overlap -- it is Shabbos, so there is an issur melacha, and the day is called a mo'ed because it is Rosh Chodesh as well.

As we discussed once before (here), when two different kedushos hayom (or other logical halachic structures) overlap, one needs to investigate whether the two different factors co-exist side by side independently (what the Rogachover calles a harkava shichnit) or whether the two factors combine together to create a new synthesis (what he calls a harkava mizgit). In our case, if there was a new type of kedushas hayom created called Shabbos-Rosh Chodesh which was a synthesis of elements of both Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, then perhaps one could argue the case for full hallel. But apparently that's not the case. The kedushas hayom of Shabbos and the kedushas hayom of Rosh Chodesh happen to coincide on the same day, but each retains its independence, each retains its shortcomings as a mechayeiv of hallel, and therefore, only partial hallel is recited.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:53 PM

    the beis haotzar that you brought in the post from 2009 interests me. can you tell me the mareh makom

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  2. My resident baki in R' Yosef Engel's seforim (i.e. my son) did not recall where it is in Beis haOtzar, but the same idea is in Tziyunim laTorah #38 (and thank you for making us look for it, because he also deals with Shabbos/Rosh Chodesh and comes out the opposite from what I wrote here. I have to amend the post if I have time bl"n.)

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  3. Anonymous8:24 PM

    From Rabbi Riesman of BROOKLYN:
    n the Sefer Yakar Tiferes there is a beautiful thought regarding Shabbos Rosh Chodesh. The Tur writes that the Sholosh Regalim are K’negged the 3 Avois. The 12 Roshei Chadashim are K’negged the 12 Shevatim. The Tur writing in the beginning of Hilchos Rosh Chodesh says that really the 12 Roshei Chadashim should have been Yomim Toivim, however, because of the Cheit Ha’eigel, Rosh Chodesh was turned from a Yom Tov to an almost ordinary day of the week. The Shulchan Aruch says that you should be Marbe K’tzas Simcha on Rosh Chodesh. However, it does not have a Din of Yom Tov. The women who did not sin by the Cheit Ha’eigel have a very special obligation and Mitzvah to treat Rosh Chodesh as a bit of a feeling as a Yom Tov.

    What does this have to do with Shabbos Rosh Chodesh? The Sefer Yakar Tiferes suggest that on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh it does get the original aspect of Yom Tov. Since Shabbos is Mai’ain Oilam Haba, and is L’maila Min Hacheit, when Rosh Chodesh falls out on a Shabbos it has a higher level of Kedusha like a Yom Tov.

    He brings a few Rayas to his thought. In Atah Yatzarta that is said on Shabbos Rosh Chodesh by Mussaf, we say Ahata Oisanu V’ratzisa Banu V’roimamtanu Mikoil Haleshoinois. Those words don’t belong in the Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Davening. They are not found in a Rosh Chodesh Davening or a Shabbos Davening. So Shabbos Rosh Chodesh should also not have these words which are found by a Yom Tov Davening? He answers that since Shabbos Rosh Chodesh has the Koiach of Yom Tov, therefore this Tefilla has the Nusach of Yom Tov.

    With this he explains a Halacha. The Halacha is when Rosh Chodesh Iyar falls out on Shabbos a person is permitted to shave on Erev Shabbos even though he is in middle of Sefira. It is a Pele because we don’t find anywhere that it is a Mitzvah to take a haircut on a regular Erev Rosh Chodesh? Why by Shabbos Rosh Chodesh does it add that you should take a haircut on Erev Shabbos Rosh Chodesh? According to this it fits well because Shabbos Rosh Chodesh has an aspect of Yom Tov and since it has an aspect of Yom Tov that Shabbos Rosh Chodesh has a very special Kedusha.

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  4. You made me think of another point. As we once discussed (http://divreichaim.blogspot.com/2008/03/seudas-rosh-chodesh-on-shabbos-and.html), the Yerushalmi holds there is a chiyuv of seudah to mark Rosh Chodesh. There is a machlokes haposekim when R"C falls on Shabbos whether one can fulfill that chiyuv by simply adding an extra dish to seudas shabbos, or whether one cannot mix the celebrations together and the seudas R"C should be made only after shabbos. Maybe the issue is whether the kedushas hayom of R"C combines with that of Shabbos or whether they just accidentally coincide, in which case shabbos pushes off R"C until later.

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  5. Anonymous11:59 PM

    Actually the rest of the Piece he talks about the MAGEN AVraham(I think) that says on Shabbbos Rosh Chodesh You should have 2 Kugels.

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  6. see http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=36067&st=&pgnum=305&hilite=
    for another approach to answer your question
    (I actually came across this sefer thanks to anonymous's comment above from Rabbi Reisman!)

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