Shabbat HaGadol: The Great Shabbos
CARLSBAD, California — This is a very special Shabbos. It is so special, in fact, that it is designated Shabbat HaGadol – The Great Shabbos. This Shabbos is intrinsically connected with the holiday of Passover, which is in many ways considered the greatest of all the holidays.
The story behind Shabbat HaGadol stretches back over 3,300 years ago. The Jews were still enslaved in Egypt despite the fact that the Egyptians had suffered through nine horrific plagues. Still, however, they obstinately held captive the Jewish people. The long-awaited redemption had begun, the suffering had decreased, yet the Jews were still not free.
G-d spoke to Moses and communicated the laws of the Passover sacrifice; a lamb that the Jewish people would slaughter, paint its blood on their doorposts, and eat together on the evening of the 14th of Nissan. The lamb was set aside on the 10th of Nissan, which fell out on the 10th of Nissan that year (same as this year). The blood was meant to clearly mark the Jewish homes, so that the Angel of Death would pass over those homes and only destroy the first born in the other homes. It is ironic, in light of current circumstances, that to avoid the plague the Jews were commanded to STAY HOME!
Naturally the Egyptians questioned the Jews as to why they were setting aside a lamb. The Jews responded as commanded, telling the Egyptians the actual purpose of the lamb, and they did so while fully realizing that the lamb was one of the gods of Egypt.
Can you imagine telling your master that you were going to slaughter his god so that the True G-d would spare you while He was going to destroy their first born?! Talk about a gutsy move! Yet that is precisely what happened. Incredibly the Egyptians did not attack the Jews but instead started fighting each other as the first born among them insisted that the Jews be freed immediately. The other Egyptians, including Pharaoh – HIMSELF a first born – refused to release the Jews.
It turns out that taking the lamb and setting it aside in advance was a critical component of the story, not only because it enabled them to fulfill the commandment to offer the Passover sacrifice, but it also gave them the chance to serve G-d in a selfless way. The sad truth is that many of the Jews had become influenced by the Egyptians and their cult. This caused a tremendous spiritual deficit, which had to be addressed. We are told that the attribute of strict justice asked why would the Egyptians be punished and not those Jews who had also engaged in idol worship? The Jews had to fill their Mitzvah deficit, and they had to do so quickly!
Along came the Mitzvah of setting aside the Passover lamb and later slaughtering it, and fulfilling this commandment with alacrity – despite the inherent risk of doing so! Problem solved.
Hence, this is a very great Shabbos because we remember this awesome event that helped define that generation.
It is appropriate that we learn from their willingness to give up everything in the service of the Almighty and that we approach our daily lives with this in mind. Such an attitude will thereby inform all of our actions and reveal the G-dly spark found within us. It will help us to transform the world around us.
Right now the world is very sick. Let us play our part in healing it.
Wishing you a peaceful and healthy Shabbos and a joyous Passover!
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Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is Director of Coastal Chabads and Chabad at La Costa. Rabbi Eilfort welcomes readers’ comments and questions and may be reached at RabbiE@ChabadatLaCosta.com.