Study Pesachim folio 117A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר רב חסדא אמר רבי יוחנן: ״הללויה״ ו״כסיה״ ו״ידידיה״ — אחת הן. רב אמר: ״כסיה״ ו״מרחביה״ — אחת הן. רבה אמר: ״מרחביה״ בלבד.
The Mishnah states that we will say before Him: Halleluya. The Talmud discusses the meaning of this term. Rav Ḥisda said that R' Yoḥanan said: The word halleluya and the word kesya (Exodus 17:16) and the name Yedidya (II Samuel 12:25) are each regarded as a single word, not an amalgamation of two smaller words, i.e., Hallelu-ya. Rav said that kesya and merḥavya (Psalms 118:5) are single words. Rabba said: Only merḥavya is a single word; the others are two words.
איבעיא להו: ״מרחב יה״ לרב חסדא, מאי? תיקו.
A dilemma was raised before the rabbis: According to the opinion of Rav Ḥisda, what is the status of merḥavya? Is it counted as two words or one? This dilemma was raised because Rav Ḥisda himself did not mention this term. No answer was found for this dilemma, and therefore the Talmud states: Let it stand unresolved.
Another dilemma was raised before the rabbis: According to the opinion of Rav, what is the status of the name Yedidya? The Talmud answers: Come and hear, as Rav said explicitly: Yedidya is divided into two separate names. Therefore, yedid is a mundane word, whereas ya is a sacred name, which must be treated respectfully like the other sacred names of God.
A dilemma was raised before the rabbis: According to the opinion of Rav, what is the status of halleluya? Is it one word or two? The Talmud answers: Come and hear, as Rav said: I saw a book of Psalms in the study hall of my uncle, R' Ḥiyya, in which the word hallelu is written on one side, at the end of a line, and ya was written on one side, at the beginning of the next line. This shows that the word halleluya can indeed be split in two.