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On those days on which we skip part of Hallel (i.e. Rosh Chodesh and the last six days of Pesach), why were the first pieces of Tehillim 115 and 116 (Lo Lanu and Ahavti) the pieces chosen to be skipped?

Double AA
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DonielF
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    Different customs exist[ed] for which parts to skip http://mechon-mamre.org/i/3a03.htm#8 https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=20685&pgnum=213 – Double AA Sep 01 '19 at 15:11
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    Calling lo lanu "the first part of 115" is a little misleading. I would call it "the middle part of 114-115" which is the actual unit. – Heshy Sep 01 '19 at 16:29
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    @Heshy I’m using the common convention of the Christian chapter breaks. I’m aware that the actual parsha breaks vary by tradition, but if I phrase it this way I think people will understand what I’m talking about better. – DonielF Sep 01 '19 at 16:36
  • And both times we skip 11 verses! – Danny Schoemann Sep 03 '19 at 13:19
  • related https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/102129/759 – Double AA Sep 04 '19 at 18:56

1 Answers1

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Elyah Rabbah 422:12 quotes from Binyamin Ze'ev 361 who suggests that we skip these pieces specifically because the paragraphs of Lo Lanu and Hashem Zecharanu contain the same themes for the most part, and the paragraphs of Ahavti and Mah Ashiv contain some of the same themes.

Double AA
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Joel K
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    I find it counterintuitive that we’d skip these paragraphs because their themes are repeated elsewhere yet repeat the end of 118 specifically because those themes are not repeated. – DonielF Sep 03 '19 at 11:13