Last year before Pesach, Hagaon Rabbi Yisroel Neuman, Rosh Yeshiva of Beis Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, came to our yeshiva to give an in-depth Gemara shiur in preparation for Pesach. It was breathtaking. The rosh yeshiva’s grasp of the depth and breadth of the sugya (topic) was masterful. A yeshiva bachur came over to me afterwards and told me, “I don’t know how much of the shiur I was able to follow, but I gained tremendously by being exposed to such gadlus—greatness—in Torah learning.”

The Shabbos before Pesach is referred to as Shabbos Hagadol. The minhag is that a rav gives a shiur on Shabbos Hagadol to teach important halachos and concepts about Pesach. This year, the Shabbos preceding Pesach is Erev Pesach so most rabbanim will give their Shabbos Hagadol drasha this Shabbos to give people time to apply what they learned.

The Tur explains that the reason for the title Shabbos Hagadol is because on the 10th of Nisan, the enslaved Jewish nation was commanded to take a sheep, the actual “deity” of the Egyptian nation and tie it to their bedposts to be soon sacrificed as the Korban Pesach. Hashem performed a miracle and protected the Jews from being harmed by the Egyptians who were incensed by the treatment of their “deity.” The 10th of Nisan that year was Shabbos; therefore, the Shabbos before Pesach is referred to as “Shabbos Hagadol.” Personally, I never took a sheep and tied it to my bedpost. Nor did my father or grandfather. The miracle was a one-time occurrence right before Yetzias Mitzrayim. Why did the title Shabbos Hagadol remain in perpetuity?

I believe the explanation is based on the word “gadol.” The Hebrew word gadol—great—has the same Hebrew letters as gadel—to grow. Rav Wolbe defines growth as development which happens over time. We see gedolim and think, “Wow! They are so great; they are so beyond us! True, they are great now, but they started out as normal young children and they grew over time, applying themselves to Torah study and to refining their middos. We can do that too and become the best that we can be in Torah learning.

Pesach is when the Jewish people were born as a nation. Chazal describe the Exodus as similar to the birth of a baby. We were like a fetus inside the Egyptian nation, totally dependent on them. Yet, when Hashem took the Jews out of Mitzrayim, they received their own individual identity …as the Jewish nation.

Eating chametz on Pesach is culpable with kares, a much more severe punishment than the lashes imposed for eating pork or insects. The reason for the strictness is that Pesach is our Jewish birthday. A newborn baby’s stomach is very delicate and can only eat simple foods. We as Jews are symbolically born on Pesach and to signify this we may only consume simple products such as matzah.

I would like to suggest that the reason the Shabbos before Pesach is titled Shabbos Hagadol is to emphasize that Pesach is a time of growth. Pesach is a time when we are surrounded with extra mitzvos. Just like a newborn baby needs extra attention and care, Hashem gives us extra attention and connection during Pesach via additional mitzvos. However, growth and development do not end after Pesach. Think about a human being: Even after a person is entirely grown, his cells are constantly regenerating. This indicates that the next phase of growth is internal. The same is true for us. The next phase after experiencing the additional mitzvos of Pesach is our internal development through Torah study and our efforts at character refinement.

The message of Shabbos Hagadol is that each Jew is inherently great but needs to constantly grow and develop. We have greatness inside ourselves, and our job is to develop ourselves more and more each day. When Rabbi Shlomo Singer, zt”l would name a baby boy at a bris milah, he would raise his voice at the words, “Gadol Yiheyeh—He shall be great!” This little baby should become a gadol—a great person. The bracha is not just to grow in size, but the baby should also grow in his level of serving Hashem throughout his lifetime.

The potential for greatness is in everyone. Each person is capable of his own unique greatness and our lifetime mission is to develop and utilize this greatness.

May Hashem help each of us to grow each day and become the Gadol that we are capable of being, thereby adding to the overall greatness of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Baruch Bodenheim is the Rosh Yeshiva of Passaic Torah Institute (PTI)/Yeshiva Ner Boruch. Rabbi Bodenheim can be reached at rbbodie@gmail.com. For more info about PTI and its Torah classes, visit www.pti.shulcloud.com