Shabbat HaGadol
Parashat Tzav

“Shabbat HaGadol,” “The GREAT Shabbat.” So what is so GREAT about it??

There is no mention of the Shabbat before Pesach being called “HaGadol” anywhere in the Mishna or the Gemara. Additionally, there is no special Maftir, i.e., no specific Torah portion that we are required to read, as we have on the previous four special Shabbatot—which is why we cannot look for a connection between the Maftir and our special haftarah this week.

Along with the uniqueness of this Shabbat—that is, that it is not so unique—its very name causes puzzlement and disagreement. This most common translation, “The Great Shabbat,” conflicts with simple Hebrew grammar. Were it to be understood as the great Shabbat, the adjective “great” would be in the feminine form, “gedolAH,” as Shabbat is a feminine noun (yes, I know that it is treated as a masculine noun at times, as in “v’yanuchu VO Yisrael,” but this is not the place to discuss the exception).

The Mateh Moshe suggests that, much like Shabbat Chazon, Shabbat Nachamu and Shabbat Shuva, the name is taken from the special haftarah that is chanted on this day. There, we find the final words of Malachi to include the phrase “lifnei bo yom Hashem HAGADOL v’hanorah.” The word hagadol, therefore, is not an adjective modifying Shabbat but rather modifying “yom”—that is called the “great day” because it will precede the final redemption. Furthermore, this approach also explains the rabbis’ reasoning, for it stresses the future redemption, a theme we highlight on Pesach, the Chag HaGeulah. The difficulty with that approach is simply that these other haftarot are identified by the first word of the haftarah, while this haftarah is identified by one of the last words and, truthfully, a rather random word (why not call it “V’arva” or HaNorah”?)

HaRav Yissachar Jacobson quotes a number of other possibilities suggested by different rabbinic scholars. A popular reason (shared by the Shibolei Leket) is that the Shabbat before Pesach was one of the two Shabbatot of the year when the rabbi would deliver a major address to the community, an address that would last until midday, causing people to feel that it is a very LONG (“gadol”) day.

Tosafot comments (Shabbat 87b:) that, as the exodus took place on a Thursday, the 10th of the month, which was the day when Bnei Yisrael were to slaughter the Paschal lamb, coincided with Shabbat that year. And a GREAT (gadol) miracle took place that day as the Egyptians saw their object of worship being slaughtered but did not attack the Israelites.

And the Rambam and others tie the importance of this Shabbat to the fact that it was the final Shabbat before Pesach and it was meant to remind the people that the final day of Pesach (of the fourth and seventh year in the Shemita count) was the last opportunity to bring the stored up maaser (tithe) of the previous years and recite the “vidui maaser” (Devarim 26: 12-16). Given the fact that the haftarah condemns Israel for failing to properly observe the mitzvah of maaser, the rabbis saw it proper to have it read before this IMPORTANT (gadol) time. I would like to suggest perhaps another reason for the “greatness” of this Shabbat, and that is the importance of the haftarah and its message.

Many of us fail to realize that Malachi, who delivered these words to the Jews during the time of Bayit Sheni, was the latest of the prophets. His visions, therefore, mark the end of the prophetic era. As a result, the final words of this haftarah are the final words of prophecy that we are left with. It is for this reason that they are so important to us—as they were for all previous generations—and why our rabbis insisted that it be read out to all on the Shabbat before the Chag HaGeulah. Before closing the prophetic era, Hashem prepares us for a future galut. How, after all, could we survive centuries and centuries of Diaspora life? How could we hope to endure the expulsions, the inquisitions, the ghettos, the pogroms and the Shoah? How could such a small minority population hope to persist throughout the persecutions of the great majority of nations—so that they would ultimately reach that GREAT day of redemption that the nevi’im promised?

“Zichru Torah Moshe avdi,” “Remember the Torah of My servant, Moshe!” When there will be no land to unite you, when there will be no Beit Mikdash to inspire you, when there will be no prophet to direct you—you will have the Torah. And THAT is how you will survive! And that most important message is what makes this Shabbat so “gadol,” so important.

Twenty-five hundred years have passed since those words were spoken, and we stand today as witnesses to their truth. “Yisrael v’Orayta v’Kudsha Brich Hu—Chad Hu”—Israel, the Torah and Hashem are all ONE! Holy, Eternal and awaiting the ultimate redemption.

Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel Fort Lee and now lives in Israel.