The Tur writes that the Shabbat before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol. The reason is that a great miracle occurred on it, as the Korban Pesach in Mitzrayim was taken on the tenth of the month:
בֶּעָשֹׂר לַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה וְיִקְ חוּ לָהֶם אִישׁ שֶׂה לְבֵית־אָבֹת שֶׂה לַבָּיִת׃
On the tenth of this month, each man shall take a lamb for the family, a lamb for the household.
That year Bnei Yisrael left Mitzrayim, Pesach fell on Yom Chamishi, as stated in Seder Olam, and thus, the tenth of the month was Shabbat. Each person took a lamb for their Korban Pesach, tied it to the posts of their bed, and the Egyptians asked them, “What’s this for?” They replied, “To slaughter it for Pesach, as Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded us.” The Egyptians’ teeth were dulled because they were slaughtering their gods, yet they were not permitted to say anything. Because of that miracle, it is called Shabbat HaGadol.
The Bach immediately comments on why the miracle is attributed to the day of Shabbat and not to the actual date on which it occurred. We have never heard of Chazal designating the day on which a miracle occurred, but rather its date. Furthermore, we call it "Shabbat HaGadol" based on what happened on that Shabbat, but there are many years when Shabbat HaGadol falls on Erev Pesach (if Pesach falls on Motzaei Shabbat) and the great miracle occurred three days earlier!
He presents that the reason is because on the tenth of the month, Bnei Yisrael ascended from the Yarden, and if they had attributed the miracle to the tenth day and called it “The Great Day,” people might mistakenly think it was named such due to the miracle of ascending from the Yarden. Therefore, they attributed it to Shabbat, since it was known that their ascent from the Yarden did not occur on Shabbat.
Another reason why this Shabbat is called Shabbat HaGadol is brought by the Prisha, who writes that the miracle is attributed to Shabbat and not to the tenth day of the month, regardless of which day it falls on, because the miracle only came about through the observance of Shabbat. The Egyptians knew that Bnei Yisrael observed Shabbat in Egypt, as stated in the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 1:28), and they were astonished that nonetheless they were acquiring and handling the lamb on Shabbat. They immediately understood that something unusual was happening here and their suspicion was aroused, prompting them to ask Bnei Yisrael what was going on. Thus, the essence of the miracle was due to Shabbat, and therefore it is specifically called Shabbat HaGadol.
Another reason why this Shabbat is called Shabbat HaGadol is brought by the Mateh Moshe in the name of his teacher, the Maharshal. Some question, since their entire language was Aramaic, they should have called it “Shabbat Rabba,” like the day of “Hoshana Rabba.” This is resolved by saying that it’s called Shabbat HaGadol because of its special Haftarah which features:
וְ הַ נּוֹרָ א הַגָּדוֹל 'לִפְנֵי בּוֹא יוֹם ה
This also resolves why it is called Shabbat HaGadol and not Shabbat Gadol. However, the Maharshal questions why they didn’t call it “Shabbat V’Arva (וְ עָ רְ בָ ה)” after the beginning of the Haftarah, like is the practice for “Shabbat Chazon” or “Shabbat Nachamu.” The Mateh Moshe concludes by saying both the Haftarah and the miracle seem to be hinted at in the word הַ גָּדוֹל. Thus, in most communities, the Haftarah read on this Shabbat comes from Sefer Malachi:
וְ עָ רְ בָ ה ל ַ ה' מִנְחַת יְהוּדָה וִירוּשׁ ָלִָם כִּ ימֵ י עוֹלָם ו ּ כ ְ שׁ ָ נ ִ י ם ֹ ת ׃ קַ דְ מ ֹ נִ י
And the offering of Yehuda and Yerushalayim will be pleasing to Hashem, as in days of old and former years.
And the aforementioned Pasuk is just before its conclusion:
הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי שׁ ֹלֵחַ לָכֶם אֵת אֵלִי' ָדוֹל וְ הַ נּוֹרָ א׃ הַ גָּדוֹל
Behold, I am sending you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem.
The question arises: Why do we read this Haftarah specifically on the Shabbat before Pesach? The Levush says, in most simple years, Parshat Tzav falls on Shabbat HaGadol, and then we read the above Haftarah of וְ עָ רְ בָ ה, which relates to the Parsha that also speaks of Korbanot. Additionally, it concludes with the Pasuk announcing Eliyahu’s redemption, which parallels the announcement of Moshe’s redemption in Mitzrayim, which occurred on Shabbat HaGadol, when he instructed Bnei Yisrael to acquire a lamb, etc. In fact, in some places, they do not read וְ עָ רְ בָ ה on Shabbat HaGadol unless Shabbat HaGadol falls on Erev Pesach, as close as possible to the day of redemption.
I would like to focus today on the words of the Haftarah, connecting them to Pesach-related matters, and from there derive a yesod in our Avodat Hashem on Pesach.
The Haftarah’s opening Pasuk – כִּימֵי עוֹלָם וּכְשׁ ָנִים קַדְ מֹנִי – reflects the days of old, a time when there was no idolatry in the world and Korbanot were pleasing before Hakadosh Baruch Hu as a result. So it will be in the future as well, speedily in our days!
Later in the Haftarah, the Navi says in the name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu: שׁ וּבוּ אֵלַי וְאָשׁ וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶם אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת – Return to Me, and I will return to you. Hakadosh Baruch Hu calls on Bnei Yisrael to return to Him through Teshuva (repentance). But the people think they are perfectly fine and have nothing to repent for: וַאֲמַרְ תֶּם בַּמֶּה נָשֽׁוּב. If a person says about himself that he does not need to repent, it’s a sign that his situation is “excellent,” Baruch Hashem – he should be the happiest person in the world! I heard a story about one of the great figures of our people who, when he was about to pass from this world, was approached by the Chevra Kadisha, who said to him, “Rabbi, your time has come to leave this world – repent!” That great figure replied to them, “Believe me, I didn’t have time to commit sins...”
I have a friend who is a teacher at Yeshivat Ohr Somayach in Yerushalayim, a large yeshiva for ba’alei teshuva. Every year, during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, he takes his students to the homes of great Torah scholars. One year, before the Yamim Nora’im, he arrived at the home of one of these great figures and began introducing each student – all ba’alei teshuva – individually. That great figure showed great interest in each student and began asking them, “What do you do?” One answered, “I was a pilot in the air force, I did Teshuva five years ago, and since then, I’ve been soaring between heaven and earth in spirituality!” The next one answered, “I was a division commander; and today, I’m a soldier in Hashem’s army!” Some thirty students passed before him, and the last was the head of their yeshiva, my friend. “And who are you?” the rebbe asked him. My friend answered innocently, “I’m not a ba’al teshuva...” The rebbe responded to him, “And why not? Really, isn’t it time?!”
Hakadosh Baruch Hu says to Bnei Yisrael: “Return to Me, and I will return to you,” and they respond, “We’re all good Perfect, in fact. What should we repent for?!’” If only it were so for us! They are ready to swear before the Navi that they have no sins! And what does Hakadosh Baruch Hu accuse them of? He accuses them of being thieves; of stealing form Hakadosh Baruch Hu!”
הֲיִקְ בַּע אָדָם אֱ - לֹהִים כִּי אַתֶּם קֹבְעִים אֹתִי וַאֲמַרְ תֶּם בַּמֶּה קְ בַעֲנוּך הַ מַּ עֲשֵׂ ר וְ הַ תְּ רוּמָ ה׃
Will a man rob G-d? Yet you have robbed me. But you say, “In what have we robbed you?” In tithes and offerings.
Through the Navi Malachi, Hakadosh Baruch tells Bnei Yisrael they are not setting aside tithes and offerings for the treasury. And if they do not set them aside, there is nothing to give to the Kohanim and Levi’im, so it turns out they are stealing from Him!
The question arises: If they are stealing by withholding what rightfully belongs to the Beit Hamikdash’s treasury, how can they say, “ב ּ ַ מּ ֶ ה נ ָ שׁ ֽ ו ּ ב – In what shall we return?” Surely, they know exactly what they’re doing wrong! Every thief when standing next to a lawyer says, “I’m not a thief,” but to himself at home knows full well whether he stole or not. So how can they say they have nothing to repent for?! Surely, the accusations of Hakadosh Baruch Hu are not baseless!
It seems this is a complicated matter on both sides – both in their question and in their response. Hakadosh Baruch Hu continues and says to them:
הָבִיאוּ אֶת־כׇּל־הַמַּעֲשֵׂר אֶל־בֵּית הָאוֹצָר וִיהִי טֶרֶ ף בְּבֵיתִי וּבְחָנוּנִי נָא בָּזֹאת אָמַר ה' צְ בָ קוֹת אִם־לֹא אֶפְתַּח לָכֶם אֵת אֲרֻ בּוֹת הַשָּׁמַיִם וַהֲרִ יקֹתִי לָכֶם בְּרָכָה עַד־בְּלִי־דָי׃
Bring all the tithes to the treasury, that there may be food in My house; Test Me now in this, says Hashem of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells Bnei Yisrael to bring the Ma’aser to the treasury so there will be something to give the Kohanim and Levi’im to eat, and He then invites them to test Him: “Try Me and see that what you give – you will receive back!” Hakadosh Baruch Hu then comes and accuses them of another fault, which, once again, the people claim to not see or comprehend:
חָ זְ קוּ עָ לַי דִּ בְ רֵ יכֶ ם אָ מַ ר ה' ׃ וַ אֲ מַ רְ תּ ֶ ם מַ ה ־ נ ּ ִ דְ בּ ַ רְ נ ו ּ עָ ל ֶ י ך
Your words have been harsh against Me, says Hashem; And you say, “What have we spoken against You?
The people don’t understand what bad things they have said about Hakadosh Baruch Hu. So, it is explained to them:
אֲמַ רְ תֶּ ם שׁ ָ וְ א עֲבֹד אֱ -לֹהִ ים וּמַ ה־בֶּ צַע כִּ י שׁ ָ מַ רְ נוּ מִ שׁ ְ מַ רְ תּ וֹ וְ כִ י הָ לַכְ נוּ קְ ד ֹרַ נִּ ית מִ פּ ְ נֵ י ה' צְ בָ קוֹת׃
You have said, “It is vain to serve Hashem, and what profit is it that we have kept His charge and walking in awe of Him?”
Pure heresy! And yet, the people respond, “What happened? What did we say?! We only said it’s a pity we served You... is that so terrible?! Why are You so upset?!” We read this dialogue and don’t understand what’s really happening here. It seems they are saying heretical words and yet they don’t understand what’s wrong with doing that! The Navi then says to them:
וְ הָ יוּ לִ י אָ מַ ר ה ' צְ בָ קָה וְחָמַלְתִּי עֲלֵיהֶם וֹם אֲשׁ ֶר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה סְגֻל וֹת לַי כַּאֲשׁ ֶר יַחְמֹל אִישׁ עַל־בְּנוֹ הָעֹבֵד אֹתוֹ׃
And they shall be Mine, says Hashem of Hosts, on the day that I make a treasured possession, and I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.
Rabbotai, since when does a father’s compassion for his son depend on the son’s obedience? כְּרַ חֵם אָב עַל בָּנִים – Is it not the nature of a father to always have compassion for his children? If so, what does the Navi mean by saying, “As a man has compassion on his son who serves him”? The next Pasuk explains Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s intent:
וְשׁ ַבְתֶּם וּרְ אִיתֶם בֵּין צַדִּ יק לְרָ שׁ ָע בֵּין עֹבֵד אֱ -לֹהִים לַאֲשׁ ֶר לֹא עֲבָדוֹ׃
And you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves Hashem and one who does not serve Him.
There is a Mishnah in Avot that brings two sayings one after the other: one in the name of Ben Hei Hei (בֶּ ן הֵ א הֵ א) and one in the name of Ben Bag Bag (בֶּ ן בַּג בַּג). Who were these sages? The Gemara says that they were both the sons of converts. That said, what is the meaning of these two names? The Gemara says (Chagigah 9b):
אֲמַר לֵיהּ בַּר הֵי הֵי לְהִלֵל, מַאי דִּ כְתִיב: ״וְשׁ ַבְתֶּם וּרְ אִיתֶם בֵּין צַדִּ יק לְרָ שׁ ָע בֵּין עוֹבֵד אֱ -לֹהִים לַאֲשׁ ֶר לֹא עֲבָדוֹ״, הַיְינוּ ״צַדִּ יק״ — הַ יְינוּ ״עוֹבֵד אֱלֹהִים״, הַיְינוּ ״רָ שׁ ָע״ — הַיְינוּ ״אֲשׁ ֶר לֹא עֲבָדוֹ״! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״עֲבָדוֹ״ וְ ״לֹא עֲבָדוֹ״ — ְמוּרֵ י נִינְהוּ, וְאֵינוֹ דּוֹמֶה תַּרְ וַיְיהוּ צַדִּ יקֵי ג שׁ וֹ נֶ ה פּ ִ רְ קוֹ מֵ אָ ה פּ ְ עָמִים, לְשׁ וֹנֶה פִּרְ קוֹ מֵאָה וְאֶחָד.
Ben Hei Hei said asked, “What is the meaning of this Pasuk from our Haftarah? It seems that righteous and one who serves Hashem are the same thing, and likewise wicked and one who does not serve Him. What is the difference between the two parts of the Pasuk?” Hillel responded, “Both the one who served Him and the one who did not serve Him are completely righteous. However, one who reviews his learning one hundred times (אֲשׁ ֶר לֹא עֲבָדוֹ) is not comparable to one who reviews his chapter one hundred and one times. Even though both are righteous, they are not equal, for one served Hakadosh Baruch Hu more than the other.”
Ben Hei Hei then asked in astonishment, “And for one extra time, you call him אֲשׁ ֶר לֹא עֲבָדוֹ?! Just because he missed one time, he a title reflecting one who does not serve Hashem?” Hillel replied to him, “Yes. Go and learn from the donkey-drivers’ market, where they hire themselves out to carry loads on their donkeys. Their custom is to charge one zuz for ten parsaot (distance), but for eleven parsaot, they charge two zuzim. Thus, for one extra parsa, the hirer pays double!” And it seems to be the same in parking lots these days, where you pay 15 shekel per hour but if you only park for five minutes, they charge you an extra 15 shekel! They obviously studied this Gemara!
Tosfot explains this Gemara for us: Ben Hei Hei was a convert, meaning a son of Avraham and Sarah, to whom a heh (ה) was added to their names. Similarly, with regards to Bag Bag – who didn’t want to be called Ben Hei Hei because there was already a friend with that name! – the letters bet (ב) and gimel (ג) add up to heh. It follows from the Gemara’s words that “one who serves Hakadosh Baruch Hu” is one who reviews his learning one hundred and one times, while “one who does not serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu” is one who reviews his Learning only one hundred times.
A yid told me several beautiful pearls regarding the difference between one who reviews one hundred times and one who reviews one hundred and one times. The Gemara (Pesachim 50a) says: אַשְׁרֵ י מִי שׁ ֶבָּא לְכָאן וְתַלְמוּדוֹ בְּיָדוֹ – Blessed is he who comes here with his learning in his hand. But how can a person come to Olam Haba with his learning in his hand?! That yid said to me: כָאן (here) in gematria is 101 – whoever learns one hundred and one times merits having his learning in his hand! He then told me another thing: There is a key difference between “remembering” (זוֹכֵר) and “forgetting” (שׁ ו ֹ כ ֵ ח ַ). זוֹכֵר in gematria is 227, and שׁ ו ֹ כ ֵ ח ַ in gematria is 328. Thus, the difference between remembering and forgetting is exactly 101! So, if you study Torah one hundred and one times, you remember the learning. But if you don’t study one hundred and one times, you forget!
Let’s return to our Haftarah. The Navi Malachi proclaims: זִכְרוּ תּוֹרַת מֹשׁ ֶה עַבְדִּ י אֲשׁ ֶר צִוִּיתִי אוֹתוֹ בְחֹרֵ ב עַל־כׇּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל חֻקִים וּ מִ שׁ ְ פּ ָ טִ ים׃ Remember the Torah of Moshe My servant, which I commanded him at Chorev for all Yisrael, statutes and judgments.
If we pay attention, all the Pesukim we mentioned from the Haftarah revolve around the theme of עַ בְ דוּת – servitude. Therefore, I would like to try to understand how this Haftarah prepares us for the holiday of Pesach. The Rambam writes (Hilchot Chametz U’Matzah 7:6):
In every generation, a person is obligated to show himself as if he himself has just now come out of the bondage of Egypt, as it is said: וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִ שָּׁם – And He brought us out from there. Regarding this matter, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded in the Torah, וְזָכַרְ תָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ – And you shall remember that you were a slave, meaning as if you yourself were a slave and went out to freedom and were redeemed.
The feeling of a person sitting at the Seder table should be as if he was a slave, redeemed, and now celebrating his departure to freedom. The Ba’al Haggadah (author of the Haggadah) includes this text in the Haggadah:
בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָב אָדָם לִרְ אוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַ ים, בַּיוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי ָ ַדְ תָּ לְבִנְך שׁ ֶנֶּאֱמַר: וְהִג מִ מִּ צְ רַ ים.
To understand this, let us journey into some other realms, and toward the end of our shiur, we’ll return, B’ezrat Hashem, to our Haftarah and understand exactly what the Navi wants from us and how this Haftarah prepares us for Pesach.
The First Commandment in Egypt
I want to begin with a question: What is the first commandment that Bnei Yisrael were commanded in Egypt? It seems to be Rosh Chodesh – sanctification of the month: הַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם רֹאשׁ חֳדָשִׁים רִ אשׁ וֹן הוּא לָכֶם לְחָדְ שׁ ֵי הַשָּׁנָה. But if we say this is not the first Mitzvah they were given in Mitzrayim, what else could it be? The Mitzvah of freeing slaves – based on a Pasuk that appears back in Parshat Va’eira:
וַיְדַ בֵּר ה' אֶל־מֹשׁ ֶה וְאֶל־אַהֲרֹן וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶל־פַּרְ עֹה מֶלֶך מִצְרָ יִם לְהוֹצִיא אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶ ץ מִצְרָ יִם׃
And Hashem spoke to Moshe and Aharon and commanded them regarding Bnei Yisrael and regarding Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring Bnei Yisrael out of the land of Egypt.
What does “וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂ רָ אֵל” mean? What did Hakadosh Baruch Hu command them about? The Yerushalmi (Rosh Hashanah 3:5) says it was a commandment regarding the freeing of slaves. Thus, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to Moshe, “Before you go to Pharaoh, first go to Bnei Yisrael and say to them, ‘Rabbotai, you are about to leave Egypt in a year. But there is a condition attached: when you come to Eretz Yisrael, you must free all slaves after six years!’” This is the meaning of וַיְצַוֵּם אֶל בְּ נֵי יִשְׂ רָ אֵל. It was a condition. Moshe Rabbeinu was to go to Bnei Yisrael and ask them if they are willing to free their slaves after six years. If their answer was yes, then he was to go to Pharaoh and command him to let Bnei Yisrael go. But if their answer was no, there’d be no reason for Moshe to even approach Pharoah!
Some obvious questions need to be addressed here. Why were they specifically given this commandment in Mitzrayim, when they themselves were still slaves, and well before it would be applicable to them in Eretz Yisrael? What relevance does this Mitzvah have to them now in their current state? And why was this so severe that they were later exiled from Eretz Yisrael because of it? The Sefer Sukkat David (Va’era) dives into a deeper explanation of the matter. He says, in the sichot of his teacher, Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, he wrote that precisely when they were slaves themselves, they could feel the difficulty of servitude. Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commanded them this Mitzvah specifically at that time when they were slaves, so they would be able to free slaves later. Whatever the forefathers accepted easily becomes easier for their children to fulfill. Only when a person suffers can he understand the suffering of another. So too, when Bnei Yisrael were slaves in Egypt under the hand of Pharaoh, they felt what it is like to be slaves. Therefore, this was the most fitting time to command them regarding the release of slaves.
We can add to that, it was necessary to issue this command and for them to accept it, since they were slaves to Pharaoh, and to merit redemption, they needed to accept upon themselves that they too would free their slaves. Firstly, because they were redeemed only through the merit of their forefathers and the covenant made with them, and also because they cried out to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Secondly, since the time of exile was not yet complete and they left within that time, they also needed to accept upon themselves to free their slaves, thereby giving them the merit to ask Pharaoh to free them.
Am Yisrael was supposed to be in Egypt for 400 years, but in reality, they were there for only 210 years. It turns out they left 190 years early. Why? There are many explanations for this, such as the difficulty of the enslavement completing the decreed time. But here, Sukkat David tells us: Do you know why they left early?! Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to them, "If you promise that you will not subjugate your own slaves, I’m willing to release you before the time." This was the condition that Hakadosh Baruch Hu stipulated for their early release.
Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu asked Moshe Rabbeinu to go and command Bnei Yisrael about freeing slaves, now, when they were in distress and wanted to escape the yoke of servitude. This was the right time to speak to them about freeing slaves, when they felt what it’s like to be a slave!
The Ramban discusses why the first Mitzvah the Torah addresses after Matan Torah is that of freeing slaves, which is found in the opening Pesukim of Parshat Mishpatim. We’ll dive into his words shortly.
