All Day, Every Day
And he continues all day long! לְהַגִּיד בַּבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ – In the morning he starts, וֶאֱמוּנָתְךָ בַּלֵּילוֹת – until he goes to sleep at night. All day long, תָּמִיד תְּהִלָּתוֹ בְּפִי – words of excited gratitude to Hashem are always in his mouth. That’s a Yehudi. The avdei Hashem praise Hashem all their lives and all day long. All day long a Jew is busy. In between, he takes off a little time to make a living. But all day long, that’s his job. Three times a day, you stand Shemoneh Esrei. And in between, between Shachris and Mincha, אוֹדֶה אֶת ה' בְּכָל עֵת – I thank Hashem at all times.
You walk in the street, thank Hashem. Why not? Sitting at the Gemara, thank Hashem! You’re working, thank Hashem! All day long, a man should thank Hashem.
Prime the Pump
“That's your job in life,” Dovid says. “The Jew is a nation that praises Hashem. All the time! All day long and all their lives! To the Yehudi there is no subject as important in life as Hashem and therefore you avdei Hashem should know that יְהִי שֵׁם ה’ מְבֹרָךְ – how much do you have to thank His name and bless Him and praise Him? מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם – From now until forever.”
Now it's not merely a mashal. He's telling us that's what we should do. How often should you do this? On Rosh Chodesh? No! You’re not finished yet. Rosh Chodesh is only a primer for the rest of the month; it’s a day for priming the pump. You should say Hallel מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם – forever and ever. That's our job in life; always, all day long and forever and ever. It’s the very first and very last obligation of a Jew: יְהִי שֵׁם ה’ מְבֹרָךְ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד־עוֹלָם – to gives thanks to Hashem always!
