נוֹהֲגִים אֲשֶׁר הַיָּחִיד מְבָרֵךְ - בְּהַלֵּל - תְּחִלָּה וָסוֹף גַּם בְּיָמִים שֶׁאֵין גּוֹמְרִים בָּהֶם אֶת הַהַלֵּל. הַנּוּסַח שֶׁאוֹמְרִים הוּא: יְהַלְלוּךָ ה' אֱלוֹקֵינוּ כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ, בְּהַשְׁמָטַת תֵּיבַת "עַל". כָּל הַתְּפִילִּין מַנִיחִים קוֹדֶם מוּסָף, אֲבָל הַשִּׁעוּרִים לוֹמְדִים אַחַר סִיּוּם כָּל הַתְּפִלָּה.

It1 is customary when reciting Hallel2 without a minyan to say the blessing at the beginning and end, even on those days3 when the full Hallel is not recited.4

[According to Lubavitch custom,] the wording in the concluding blessing [of Hallel] is יהללוך ה' אלוקינו כל מעשיך, without the word על 5 .

[On Rosh Chodesh,] one should put on all [the pairs of] tefillin6 before Mussaf,7 but the [daily] readings8 should be recited after completing all the morning prayers.9

Delving Deeply

The difference between the two versions of the concluding blessing [of Hallel] is that when the word על is included, G‑d is praised for His wondrous works. When that word is omitted, we declare how all His works join together in a universal choir glorifying the Creator.

Indeed, every created being sings its own song of praise. The particular tributes sung by sky and sea, bird and beast, are enumerated in an ancient compilation known as Perek Shirah (“Passages of Praise”).10 These poetic phrases, many of them borrowed from Tehillim and Shir HaShirim, are familiar,but their rarefied wavelengths can be picked up only by the pure ears of a tzaddik.

Such a tzaddik was the Baal Shem Tov. Praying in solitude in the white birch forests of the Carpathian Mountains, with the branches swaying in the wind and the leaves rustling overhead, he beheld them swaying in awe and whispering prayers to their Creator. Prayers in this language are likewise described by Rashi:11 “When harvest time comes in Nissan and the grain is in its stalks, and the wind blows and they rustle against each other, their sound is heard and they appear to be singing praises.”