What's So Big About Shabbat HaGadol?

Why is this Shabbat bigger than any other Shabbat? While the approach of Pesach can be labor intensive - cleaning, shopping, cooking or, alternatively, choosing a wardrobe and packing, what’s the big deal with Shabbat HaGadol?

Some say the name “Shabbat HaGadol” comes from a verse in the Haftorah (Malachi 3:23): “Hinei anochi sholei’ach lachem et Eliyahu Hanavi lifnei bo yom Hashem hagadol v’hanorah - Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." Shabbat HaGadol is the day we reference the yom hagadol, the great day of redemption. That’s a pretty big deal.

Historically, the Shabbat before Pesach was one of only two times (along with Shabbat Shuvah before Yom Kippur) the Rabbi would deliver a Derasha. (I know what you’re thinking. Forget about it! 😊) That’s not necessarily a reason to call the Shabbat “big.” Rabbi Zedekiah ben Abraham Anav, the 13^th century author of Shibolei Haleket writes that the length of the traditional Shabbat HaGadol Derasha made the Shabbat feel long, drawn out, and gadol. Hopefully, he was kidding…

The author of the Tur writes that we call it Shabbat HaGadol because a miracle occurred on the Shabbat before the Exodus. The Jews were commanded to take a sheep on this day in advance of offering the Korban Pesach. The sheep was the god of Egypt. Can you imagine the anger the Egyptians felt towards the Jews for defaming their god? Yet, they did nothing, and this miracle is the big deal of Shabbat HaGadol.

Rabbi Hezekiah da Silva, the 17^th century author of Peri Chadash, notes that taking the sheep was the first mitzvah the Jewish people fulfilled. It is like a Bar/Bat Mitzvah in that this was the beginning of living commanded lives of mission. In this way, Shabbat HaGadol refers to the maturation of the people as they assume the role of Jewish adults, gedolim. As Rabbi Norman Lamm puts it, Shabbat HaGadol is the “Sabbath of greatness.”

Like many Jewish practices and customs, Shabbat HaGadol offers numerous possibilities and paths for understanding our history, God’s role in our story, our mission of mitzvot, and even the Rabbi’s sermon. That's pretty big.