Shabbat HaGadol: What Makes This Shabbat Great?

Rabbi Joel Fleekop

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Amongst the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, it was minhag during the middle ages for the rabbi to give a sermon on only two annual occasions, the first, Shabbat Shuvhah — the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the second on this Shabbat, the Shabbat before Passover. During the remarks on Shabbat Shuvah the rabbi would teach about the steps of repentance and how to set a better course for the year to come. And on the Shabbat before Passover, known as Shabbat HaGadol, the sermon would focus on the observance of the upcoming holiday, especially the dietary aspects of Pesach.

The rabbi’s sermon certainly made Shabbat Ha-Gadol, translated as the Great Shabbat, a special occasion. But Shabbat HaGadol is also marked in other ways. Traditionally an additional haftarah, a passage from the prophet Malachi, is included in the service. Also, in some communities people gathered on Shabbat afternoon for a public reading through of the Passover haggadah — a model seder of sorts — so that everyone would be familiar and ready for the actual seder, happening in just a few days.

While the observance and traditions of Shabbat Ha-Gadol are well established, there is a certain amount of mystery behind the special Shabbat’s name. The phrase Shabbat Ha-Gadol is not found in the Mishnah, Talmud, or other writings from the classic rabbinic period, though by the Middle Ages it had achieved widespread usage. As the name became more and more accepted, scholars made attempts to explain its derivation — with two main schools of thought developing — one looking back into Jewish history and the other looking forward.

The sages who look back into history for an answer begin with a Talmudic teaching that the 15th of Nissan, the date on which the ancient Israelites went free and the date on which we begin our celebration of Passover, fell, the year of the Exodus, on a Thursday.

But what does a Thursday have to do with Shabbat? Well, if in the year of the Exodus the 15th of Nissan was a Thursday, then the 10th of Nissan was a Shabbat — and the 10th of Nissan is a pretty significant day itself.

In the Book of Exodus the Israelites are instructed to acquire a lamb for their household on the 10th of Nissan. While the pshat or simple understanding of this is to prepare for the Passover sacrifice, the rabbinic commentaries see the act as more significant.

In the midrashim of Shmot Rabbah, the rabbis describe the taking of sheep for sacrifice as an important step in the Israelite’s spiritual liberation from slavery, a step that was necessary before their physical liberation.

In one midrash, the rabbis imagine God as telling Moses, “so long as Israel worship Egyptian gods, they will not be redeemed; go and tell them to abandon their evil ways and to reject idolatry.” By taking for sacrifice sheep, an animal the Egyptians considered sacred — a god of sorts, the Israelites showed their rejection of Egyptian idolatry and their embrace of God’s divine command. It was this theological step which catalyzed their redemption and made, according to some, this Shabbat great.

But as I mentioned earlier, other sages look not backward in Jewish time but rather forward to find the reason why this Shabbat is known as Shabbat HaGadol, the great Shabbat. They explain that the name is taken from the special haftarah reading, in which Malachi declares, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Eternal” — Hinei Anoch Sholeyach Lachem Et Eliya Hanavi Lifnei Bo Yom HaGadol V’HaNorah.” The day Malachi predicts, a yom gadol — is understood as the beginning of the Messianic age.

This Yom Gadol, according to the Talmud, will occur in the month of Passover, as Rabbi Yehoshua teaches, “in the month of Nissan the world was created, in the month of Nissan the bondage of our ancestors ceased in Egypt; and in the month of Nissan they will be redeemed in the time to come.”

Combine this teaching, with the tradition that the messiah will come on Shabbat, and it is possible that this Shabbat is known as Shabbat HaGadol for on this day, at some point in the future, the world may be blessed to usher in the messianic age — a time of peace and freedom for all.

In explaining the name of this Shabbat, Shabbat HaGadol, I am not sure which tradition is right — the one that looks back to the story of the Exodus, or the one that looks forward to the Messianic Age. But as we stand here today, on Shabbat HaGadol 5770, perhaps what makes today truly great is that we stand between these two events — between a celebration of redemption past and the promise of a world perfected. May we learn from the stories of our sacred tradition which teach that individual actions make a difference in shaping the world, and may we use that knowledge, and the sense of empowerment and responsibility it brings with it, to bring about a future of peace, blessing, and holiness.