saying hallel with the korban pesach

The passuk says in Parshas Bo (12:6):

וְשָׁחֲטוּ אֹתוֹ כֹּל קְהַל עֲדַת יִשְׂרָאֵל בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם

“All the benei yisroel should shecht the korban pesach in the evening.”

The mishna (pesachim 64a) learns from this passuk that the korban pesach is shechted by three groups:

הפסח נשחט בשלש כתות שנאמר (שמות יב) ושחטו אותו כל קהל עדת ישראל ... שחט ישראל וקבל הכהן ... קראו את ההלל

The korban Pesach is shechted in three groups as the possuk says - ושחטו אותו כל קהל עדת ישראל, you need kehal, eida and yisroel. The yisroel would shecht and the cohen would accept the blood… they read the hallel.

There is a question concerning who read the hallel:
Rashi explains (here and in Succah 54) that the mishna means that the yisroelim would read the hallel:

קראו את ההלל
- אכל כיתות קאי

“They read the hallel – this refers to the three groups.”

This Rashi is difficult from a number of sources:

1. Tosafos asks that the tosefta says in the 4th perek of pesachim that the leviim read the hallel:

 'קראו את ההלל. פי

'לוים דתניא בתוספתא ישראל שוחטין את פסחיהן ולוים קוראים את ההלל

“They read the hallel: This refers to the leviim as we have learnt in the tosefta, the yisroelim would shecht their Pesachim and the leviim would read hallel.”

Reb Chaim Soloveitchik z”l asks two further questions on Rashi.

2. The mishna in Eruchin (10a) says:

... ובשנים עשר יום בשנה החליל מכה לפני המזבח בשחיטת פסח ראשון ובשחיטת פסח שני

“Twelve days during the year the flute would be played in front of the mizbeach – during the shechitah of the first korban pesach and also the pesach sheni…”

When the leviim sang they were accompanied by musical instruments, the benei yisroel were not accompanied by instruments. So you see from this mishna that the leviim sang. Rashi also explains on this mishna that the leviim sang with the flute, which contradicts Rashi in Pesachim?

3. The mishna in Pesachim (above) says that when the groups of yisroelim came into the azara - תקעו הריעו ותקעו, they sounded a tekia, a terua and a tekia.

These notes are only sounded when the leviim said shiroh as the Rambam says in Hilchos Klei Hamikdash (3:5)

בימי המועדות כולם, ובראשי חודשים, היו הכוהנים תוקעים בחצוצרות בשעת הקרבן, והלויים אומרין שירה--שנאמר "וביום שמחתכם ובמועדיכם, ובראשי חודשיכם--ותקעתם בחצוצרות" (במדבר י,י).

During Yomim Tovim and on Rosh Chodesh, the cohanim would blow with trumpets at the time the korban was brought and the leviim would say shiroh.”

You see from all these three sources that the leviim said shiroh when the Pesach was brought and not the yisroelim?

Reb Chaim answers that according to Rashi, both the leviim and the yisroelim sang hallel:

There are two reasons that we say hallel when we bring the korban pesach:

1) The passuk says in Beha’alosechah:

וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַתְכֶם וּבְמוֹעֲדֵיכֶם וּבְרָאשֵׁי חָדְשֵׁיכֶם וּתְקַעְתֶּם בַּחֲצֹצְרֹת עַל עֹלֹתֵיכֶם וְעַל זִבְחֵי שַׁלְמֵיכֶם וְהָיוּ לָכֶם לְזִכָּרוֹן לִפְנֵי אֱלֹקיכֶם אֲנִי ה

' אֱלֹקיכֶם.

“On the days of your rejoicing and on your Yomim Tovim and Rosh Chodesh you should sound with trumpets on your olos and your shelamim and this will remember you before Hashem.”

The sifri zuta (brought in ילקוט שמעוני, במדבר - פרק י - רמז תשכה) says על זבחיכם - זו זביחת פסח - “Al zivcheichem is referring to shechting the korban pesach.”

This passuk is a source that the leviim have to say shiroh when the Pesach is brought because the Pesach is a korban. The pesach has the same obligation of shirah as all other korbanos which were brought on Yomim Tovim and Rosh Chodesh. The simcha here is because of the korban.

2) The gemara says in Pesachim (95b):

מה בין פסח הראשון לשני הראשון ...זה וזה טעונין הלל בעשייתן

: מ"ט ...אפשר ישראל שוחטין את פסחיהן ונוטלין את לולביהן ואין אומרים הלל

“Both the Pesach rishon and the Pesach sheni require hallel when they are brought – Why so? Is it possible that the benei yisroel would shecht their Pesachim and hold their lulavim and not say hallel?”

The gemara here compares hallel said when shechting the Pesach to hallel that is said when the lulav is held. Just as the hallel that is said when we hold the lulav is a hallel of Yom Tov, so too the hallel that the yisroelim said when they shechted the Pesach is a hallel of Yom Tov. The korban pesach is the highlight of Pesach and the lulav is the highlight of succos, of course when we shecht the Pesach and take the lulav we express the happiness of the Yom Tov by saying hallel. The simcha here is because of the Yom Tov.

For this reason we also say hallel when we eat the korban Pesach, as the gemara says (pesachim 85b):

כזיתא פסחא והלילא פקע איגרא

“They would have a large number of people counted on each korban pesach so that each would only get a kzayis of korban pesach (rashi) and the hallel they said would break the roof (they used to eat the korban pesach sitting on the roofs of their houses).”

Reb Chaim explains that Rashi in Pesachim (64a) explains the mishna is referring to the yisroelim saying hallel because the mishna is describing how the yisroelim split into groups and brought their Pesachim, so when the mishna says “they read the hallel” it is referring to what the groups did. However Rashi agrees that the leviim also read the hallel at the same time and that this was all accompanied by the flute and trumpets.

It comes out that there are two reasons that we read hallel when we bring the korban Pesach; the yisroelim said hallel because it was Yom Tov, the leviim said hallel because of the korban.