Hallel: Rosh Chodesh Kislev I

“Hallelukah!
Praise, you who serve God! Praise the Name of God.
Let the Name of God be blessed from now and forever.
From sunrise to sundown, the Name of God is praised.
God is above all the nations. His Glory is beyond the sky.
Who is like God, our Lord,
Who lives up high, but drops down to see what happens (to us) in the (lower) heaven and earth?
Who lifts up the lowly from the dust, raises the destitute from the garbage dumps to be seated with leaders, the leaders of their people.
Who makes a home for the childless woman and joy for the mother of children. Hallelukah!”

It was only a those “who serve God,” that we are able to focus on an eternal vision of the world, rather than the immediate and mundane concerns of Pharaoh’s slaves. It was a those “who serve God,” that the Sages taught us to create something joyously eternal even when others were feeling vulnerable. (See Kavanot For Rosh Chodesh Kislev)

This paragraph of Hallel is sung with joy over the eternal perspective available only to those “who serve God.”