Why no Hallel on Rosh Hashanah

בגמ' אמרו מה"ש לפני הקב"ה מפני מה אין בנ"י אומרים לפניך שירה בר"ה כו' ע"ש.

In the Gemara the ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed is He: Why do Bnei Yisrael not recite song before You on Rosh Hashanah, etc. See there.

The Gemara records the angels' question: since Rosh Hashanah is a festival, why is no Hallel (song of praise) said on it? The Sefas Emes will explain what it is about Rosh Hashanah that holds the song back.

נראה שצריך האדם להיות מוכן לומר ההלל בר"ה כי הוא בכלל המועדות רק שהוא נסתר כמ"ש בכסה ליום חגינו וכמ"ש במ"א.

It appears that a person ought to be prepared to recite the Hallel on Rosh Hashanah, for it is included among the festivals — only that it is concealed, as it is written, "on the covered [moon] for the day of our festival" (Tehillim 81:4), and as is explained elsewhere.

Rosh Hashanah really is a Yom Tov like the others and inwardly deserves Hallel, but its festival-joy is hidden — hinted at by the verse describing it as falling when the moon is "covered." The simchah is present but concealed beneath the awe of judgment.

ולכן אמרו מה"ש כו' אבל בנ"י חוזרין מזה השכל ע"י שספרי חיים ומתים פתוחין כו' והוא בחי' רצוא ושוב שיש לבנ"י מדרגה זו למעלה ממה"ש והוא כמ"ש במקום שבע"ת עומדין כו'.

Therefore the ministering angels said, etc.; but Bnei Yisrael turn back from this perception, because the books of the living and the dead are open, etc. This is the aspect of "running and returning" (ratzo vashov), for Bnei Yisrael have this level that is above the angels — as it is said, "In the place where ba'alei teshuvah (penitents) stand, etc."

The angels, who are fixed in a single mode, expect outright song. But Bnei Yisrael draw back, because the books of life and death lie open and the moment is one of awe. That very pulling-back-and-forward — ratzo vashov — is a higher avodah than the angels' steady praise, the level of the ba'al teshuvah who reaches places even the perfectly righteous cannot.

וכן ג"כ בקריעת י"ס ולא קרב זה אל זה דרשו חז"ל שביקשו לומר שירה ואמר הקב"ה מעשי ידי טובעין בים כו'.

And so too at the splitting of the Yam Suf (Sea of Reeds): "and the one did not draw near to the other" — Chazal expounded that [the angels] sought to recite song, and the Holy One, blessed is He, said: My handiwork is drowning in the sea, etc.

The Sefas Emes brings a parallel: at the splitting of the sea, the angels wished to sing, but Hashem silenced them while the Egyptians were perishing. There too, the moment of judgment restrains the song.

וכן בר"ה אף שצריכין בנ"י לומר שירה. מ"מ [*אין אומרים] כיון שהוא בדרך הדין והחג בכסה והלל הוא בחי' התגלות השמחה כנ"ל:

So too on Rosh Hashanah: although Bnei Yisrael ought to recite song, nevertheless they do not say it, since it comes by way of din (strict judgment), and the festival is "covered," whereas Hallel is the aspect of the revelation of joy, as above.

The joy of Rosh Hashanah is real but hidden inside the day of judgment, while Hallel is joy made open and revealed. Since this day's simchah must stay concealed beneath the awe of din, Hallel — outward, revealed praise — is withheld.

Summary: Although Rosh Hashanah is a festival that inwardly deserves Hallel, its joy is concealed beneath the awe of judgment. Bnei Yisrael's restraint of song — like the angels silenced at the sea — reflects the higher avodah of ratzo vashov, the trembling "running and returning" of the ba'al teshuvah, which stands above the angels' fixed praise; so the hidden joy of the day is expressed not through revealed Hallel but through awe.