Shavuot Hallel Paragraph VI

“Give thanks to God for He is good; His kindness endures forever!” (Psalms 118:1) My principal in 1964, Rabbi Chaim Nussbaum zt”l, used to say that this verse immediately follows the previous paragraph that spoke of all nations praising God, with the message that praise is not enough! Give thanks! Praise is easy. Saying “Thank you,” is difficult.

We sing this Psalm to all of creation as an expression of our appreciation that all of God’s good is eternal. Our Shavuot Hallel focuses on our awareness of the eternal good of all the Torah we study. We also pray that we should always be privileged to sense the eternal good in our Torah study.