Praise the Lord for He is good, etc. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: "Give thanks to the One who collects a person's debt with kindness: a rich person with his ox, a poor person with his lamb, an orphan with his egg, or a widow with her hen. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, "To what do these twenty-six verses of 'his kindness is forever' correspond? They correspond to the twenty-six generations that the Holy One, blessed is He, created but did not give them the Torah, yet provided for them with His kindness."
Why is this passage called the Great Hallel? Rabbi Yochanan said: "Because the Almighty sits at the height of the universe and apportions sustenance for all creatures." Where does the Great Hallel start? Rabbi Yehuda said: "From 'Give thanks...' (Psalm 136:1) to 'By the rivers of Babylon'" (Psalm 137:1).
Rabbi Yochanan said: "From the 'A Song of Ascents' (Psalm 134:1) to 'By the rivers of Babylon'" (Psalm 137:1). Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: "From 'For Hashem has chosen Yaakov' (Psalm 135:4)" to 'By the rivers of Babylon'" (Psalm 137:1)