Shabbat HaGadol

Overview

Shabbat HaGadol, "the Great Shabbos," is the Shabbos immediately before Pesach. It recalls the events leading into the Exodus, when Bnei Yisrael took the Pesach lamb on the tenth of Nissan and their first act of faith and self-sacrifice began to unravel the bondage of Egypt. Marked by a special haftarah and a tradition of the rabbi's discourse on the laws of the festival, the day is understood as the inner root of the redemption, when the power of Shabbos and of being commanded prepares Israel to leave Egypt and receive the Torah.

Themes

• Shabbos, root of redemption
• Greatness revealed within nature
• Freedom from above and below
• The power of being commanded
• Naaseh before nishma
• A small opening births redemption

Must-read teachings

1. 1Why it is called Shabbos HaGadolConcerning the name "Shabbos HaGadol" (the Great Shabbos), which is a custom of Bnei Yisrael. The Sefas Emes examines why the Shabbos before Pesach earned this name, noting that it arose from a minhag (custom) of the people. And my grandfat…תרנ"ב
2. 2Shabbos HaGadol and the supernatural mode of gadlusIn the Gemara: "On the first day you shall remove (the chametz)" — "first" means from the outset (i.e., the fourteenth, before the festival), as it is written, "Were you born the first man (rishon)?" etc. The Gemara derives from "ba'yom ha'…תרמ"ג
3. 3Shabbos HaGadol and the path to redemptionMy grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, said that on this Shabbos all fifty Shabbosos of the year gather together to bring the redemption, as Chazal said, "If they would keep two Shabbosos..." — therefore it is called Shab…תרל"ב
4. 4Shabbos as the root of redemptionIt is written, "The gate of the courtyard… shall be closed during the six working days," etc. (Yechezkel 46:1). The prophet describes an inner gate that stays shut through the six weekdays and opens only on Shabbos. And the reason is writte…תר"ס
5. 5The power of being commandedMy grandfather, of blessed memory, said regarding the Midrash on "in this I trust" (Tehillim 27:3): The Sefas Emes cites a teaching from his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, on the verse "bezos ani vote'ach." That the entire sin of Nadav …תרמ"ו
6. 6Bnei Yisrael as Shabbos witnessesThe matter is that there is katnus (smallness) and gadlus (greatness). The Sefas Emes opens with the two fundamental states of consciousness — a constricted "small" mind and an expanded "great" mind. Katnus is the root essence that exists i…תרמ"א
7. 7Three Shabbosos and naaseh before nishmaBehold, there are three [aspects of] Shabbos. The Sefas Emes introduces three dimensions contained within Shabbos. The Shabbos of Maaseh Bereishis (Creation), the Shabbos of Yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus), and the Shabbos of Kabbalas HaTora…תרנ"ה
8. 8A small opening births redemption"Why did the taking of it (the Pesach lamb) precede [the slaughter by four days]?" The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrashic question of why Bnei Yisrael were commanded to set aside the korban Pesach four days in advance. "And you were naked …תרס"א