(The Midrash (Shir ha'Shirim Rabah 4:19) states that Chizkiyahu did not say
Shirah because of his arrogance. When Yeshayah asked him why he did not say
Shirah, he answered that "everyone knows already how wondrous are the ways
of Hashem. They saw how Hashem stopped the sun in the middle of the sky.
However, Chizkiyahu must have justified his actions and not thought that
they were done out of arrogance. What was his justification for his actions?
[See EMEK BERACHAH, at the end of his discussion of Hallel.])
(a) The MARGOLIYOS HA'YAM cited the EIN ELIYAHU who explains that it is not
appropriate to say Shirah for every form of salvation. The Gemara earlier
(Sanhedrin 39b) teaches that when Yehoshafat went to war with the enemy
after receiving prophecy that he would win, the Jews did not say the
complete praise of "Hodu la'Shem Ki Tov," but rather they omitted the words
"Ki Tov" because the enemy was being decimated and thus it was not proper to
sing Shirah. Similarly, when the Mitzrim were drowning in the sea, Hashem
prevented the Mal'achim from saying Shirah.
On the other hand, we find in Berachos (10a) that David ha'Melech did sing
Shirah when he witnessed the downfall of the Resha'im. Apparently, there are
two different forms of defeat that the Resha'im could suffer (see MAHARSHA
to Berachos 9b, and TZELACH to Berachos 10a). The Zohar (Parshas Noach, 61b;
see also Shelah, Parshas Beshalach) actually discusses this point and
differentiates between the two forms of defeat of Resha'im as follows. The
Zohar says that when Hashem punishes the wicked after their "measure is
full" (i.e. when they have been given every last opportunity to repent, and
rejected them all), He rejoices in their demise. But when He punishes them
before their "limit" has been reached, instead of rejoicing there is sorrow
before Him. The Zohar continues and explains why Hashem would destroy people
before their time has come. The Zohar answers that sometimes the wicked
bring upon themselves a premature end. When the evildoers pose an immediate
threat to the Jewish nation, Hashem finds it necessary to destroy them
without delay. When this happens, Hashem is not pleased with the premature
destruction of the wicked. This was the case when the Mitzrim were drowned
in the sea and when Yehoshafat's armies conquered the forces of Moav.
The reason for this is clear. Hashem prefers to see the evildoer mend his
ways rather than to have to destroy him. This is why Hashem allows a person
plenty of time to repent, even after the person sins. However, even this
merciful reprieve has its limits. A person's time to be taken from this
world eventually arrives. At that point, the demise of the sinner is
beneficial for both the sinner himself (who will no longer be able to sin)
and for the world at large (which will no longer be able to learn from the
evil ways of the sinner), as the Mishnah says earlier (Sanhedrin 71b). The
destruction of the wicked sanctifies the Holy Name of Hashem. When the time
for the destruction of the wicked has come, there *is* joy before Hashem.
(See Parsha Page, Seventh of Pesach 5756.)
The Ein Eliyahu explains that Chizkiyahu thought that Sancheriv was being
destroyed only to save the Jewish people, and that his destined time of
punishment had not yet arrived. Therefore, he assumed that Hashem was not
happy with the destruction of Sancheriv and therefore he did not say Shirah.
In truth, however, the destined time had come for the destruction of
Sancheriv and his army and for the redemption of the army, and therefore
Chizkiyahu should have said Shirah.
This answer is problematic for a number of reasons. First, it is clear that
Hashem destroyed Sancheriv only to save Chizkiyahu.
Second, it is clear from the Gemara that when a Rasha is destroyed to save a
Tzadik, the Tzadik who benefits from the miracle certainly is obligated to
say Shirah and thank Hashem for his salvation. His Shirah is to thank Hashem
for his own salvation, and not to thank Hashem for the destruction of the
Rasha. It is only others, such as the Mal'achim at the time of Keri'as Yam
Suf, who would be thanking Hashem for the destruction of the Resha'im as
well. This is why the members of Yehoshafat's army *did* say Shirah, albeit
an abridged version, when they went to war. They only omitted the words "Ki
Tov," which Rashi (39b) explains to be implying that *Hashem* is pleased
with what has occurred, and thus it is not appropriate to say "Ki Tov" when
the salvation involved the premature destruction of the enemy.
Third, Rashi says that Chizkiyahu had a second reason to say Shirah --
because he recovered from his life-threatening illness. Why did he not say
Shirah for that salvation, which did not involve the destruction of any
enemies?
(b) The ROGATCHOVER GA'ON in TZAFNAS PANE'ACH (in Hashmatos to Hilchos
Berachos 10:11 (printed at the end of Sefer Hafla'ah, p. 55a) and in
Teshuvos, Dvinsk 2:8) explains as follows.
The Gemara in Ta'anis 28b teaches that a Yachid (individual) may not say
Hallel whenever he wants, implying that a Tzibur (a whole congregation or
community) may. TOSFOS (Sukah 44b) explains that the Tzibur that may say
Hallel anytime is not a single congregation or community, but the *entire*
nation. The Gemara, he explains, is referring to the Hallel which is recited
upon being the beneficiary of a miraculous salvation. This form of Hallel is
recited only if the miracle was one that saved the entire nation.
What is considered an "entire nation?" The Gemara in Horayos (5b) and the
Yerushalmi in Berachos (9:1) cite an opinion that even an entire Shevet is
not considered a "Kahal" -- only the entire nation is a "Kahal." It follows
that we should not say Shirah for the salvation of the Jewish people unless
the entire Jewish people is saved, and not just individual tribes. Since, at
the time of Chizkiyahu, the Ten Tribes had already been exiled, Chizkiyahu
did not deem it appropriate to say Hallel to thank Hashem for the salvation
of only two tribes, since it was not a miracle performed for the salvation
of the entire nation. (The same logic might apply to the Shirah for
recovering from his illness. Since the king is comparable to the entire
nation -- as the Gemara later (95a) writes regarding David ha'Melech, and as
the Gemara in Ta'anis (9a) writes regarding Moshe -- his salvation was one
that affected the entire nation. Therefore, had all of the Shevatim been
under his rule, he would have been able to say Shirah, but since most of the
Shevatim were already exiled he did not say Shirah. -M. Kornfeld)
What, then, was his mistake?
The Tzafnas Pane'ach quotes RASHI in Megilah (31a) who writes that the
defeat of Sancheriv occurred on the seventh day of Pesach (which is why we
read about it in that day's Haftarah, according to the Gemara there). On the
seventh day of Pesach, we recite Hallel because it is Pesach. However, we
recite only the abridged version of Hallel. (The Gemara in Erchin 11a
asserts that we do not say Hallel, but it is customary to say the
"half-Hallel" that we presently recite on the seventh of Pesach. The RAN in
the second Perek of Shabbos cites the RAMBAN as adding that it is even
required by Halachah to recite the half-Hallel on the last days of Pesach.)
The Gemara in Ta'anis states that although an individual alone should not
say Hallel for the occurrence of a miracle, if he does *begin* to recite
Hallel, he should complete the Hallel. Since, on the seventh day of Pesach,
the people in Chizkiyahu's time already were saying part of Hallel because
of the festival, they should have finished it because of the miracle that
occurred on that day in their own time, even though that miracle happened to
only a few of the Shevatim. For not reciting the full Hallel, Chizkiyahu was
punished.
This is what the Gemara means when it says that the letter Mem became closed
because Chizkiyahu's mouth "became closed" (according to one explanation in
Rashi). This implies that he was criticized because his mouth was open
already in saying Shirah, but he closed it and did not complete the Shirah.
(c) RAV YITZCHAK LEVI zt'l once suggested an explanation for this Gemara
based on what Rashi writes in Yeshayah. The verse, "Azi v'Zimras Kah va'Yehi
Li li'Yshu'ah" appears three times: once in the Shirah that the Jewish
people said at Keri'as Yam Suf (Shemos 15:2), once in the paragraphs of
Hallel (Tehilim 118:14), and in Yeshayah (12:2). In Yeshayah there is one
additional word -- it says "Azi v'Zimras Kah *Hashem* va'Yehi Li
li'Yshu'ah." Rashi there explains that Yeshayah is praising Hashem for the
future defeat of Amalek (at the war of Gog and Magog); at that point in
time, the Name of Hashem (Yud-Heh) will be complete again. That is why
Yeshayah added the full Name of Hashem to his words of praise.
When the army of Sancheriv was destroyed, it could have been the destruction
of all evil from the world, had Chizkiyahu said Shirah. This means that
Chizkiyahu did say Shirah, but he did not say the full Shirah, with the full
Name of Hashem, denoting the final destruction of all forces of evil. This
is again alluded to in the Gemara's words when it says that his mouth
closed. Since he did not recognize the victory as such, Hashem in turn made
the victory into an ordinary victory and not the final victory over all
evil.
The same idea explains why the Gemara says that Moshe did not say Shirah
until Yisro came and said, "Baruch Hashem" (Shemos 18:10). How can the
Gemara say that Moshe and the Jewish people did not say Shirah? They said
the entire Shirah of "Az Yashir" to thank Hashem at Keri'as Yam Suf! The
answer is that they said "Azi v'Zimras Kah" *without* the complete Name of
Hashem, while Yisro said the Name of Hashem, showing that he recognized that
the victory could have been the final victory over all evil had the Jewish
people been worthy.