Shuvoo Newsletter

Issue 12 – April 6^th, 2006

 

Thoughts on Ancient Times & Current Events by Ashirah Yosefah

 

SHABBAT HaGADOL – THE GREAT DAY

 

A Judean shepherd calls to a straggling sheep separated from the flock as he guides his sheep

home through the desert near Ma’aleh Rachavam, south of Jerusalem.  Herodion, the

ruins of Herod’s summer palace, stands silhouetted against the twilight sky.

© Ashirah Yosefah Photo

 

“For thus said HASHEM G-D:  Here am I!  I am going to take thought for My

flock, and I will seek them out.  As a shepherd seeks out his flock when

some in his flock have gotten separated, so I will seek out My flock,

I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered

on a day of cloud and gloom.  I will take them out from the

peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will

bring them to their own land, and will pasture them

on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses

and in all the settled portions of the land.

(Yehezkiel 34:11-13)

 

This week Jews will celebrate Shabbat haGadol – The Great Shabbat.  Many will read a special Haftorah Shabbat, a reading from the Prophet Malachi … the portion of the Neviim that contains the pesuk (verse) upon which our organization Shuvoo was founded:

 

“From the days of your fathers you have departed from My laws and have

not kept them: ‘Return to Me (Shuvoo Eilai), and I will return to you,’

said Hashem of Hosts…”  (Malachi 3:7)

 

There are differing customs concerning the reading of this Haftorah.  For some, it is read on Shabbat haGadol no matter what day of the week Pesach falls on; for others, it is read only when Shabbat haGadol falls on the Eve of Pesach.

 

There is a lot of rich content in these final verses of Sefer Malachi, including particularly memorable closing statements that refer to the dawning of the Messianic Age (Sefer Malachi being the last of the books of the Prophets and prophecy having fallen silent amongst Israel from that time forward):

 

“Lo, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and

awesome day of Hashem, that he may turn the mind of the fathers

back to the children, and the mind of the children back to their

fathers, so that I do not come and smite the earth with

 utter destruction.”  (Malachi 3:23-24)

 

Why is this prophecy connected to Shabbat haGadol, and what is Shabbat haGadol to begin with?  Let’s turn to a brief commentary brought down by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner in his book Moadim LeSimcha, pgs. 107-109:

 

“The Shabbat before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol – The Great Shabbat.  The real meaning of this term is the subject of much discussion by rabbinic commentators.  The most famous interpretation – offered by Rashi and Tosafot – is that this day marked the beginning of the miracles of redemption.  This is when Bnei Yisrael broke free of the evils of Egypt by setting aside a lamb for the Paschal offering on the tenth of Nisan, which fell on Shabbat.  The Egyptians were ready to kill the Jews because sheep were held to be sacred in Egypt, but miraculously they were not harmed.  Thus, according to this interpretation, Shabbat HaGadol is both the day when the miracles of redemption began and the day when Jewish courage and valor were first demonstrated – and this convergence is not coincidental.

 

The Talmud asks why it is that in our times, as opposed to biblical times, miracles rarely occur.  How are we different?  Is it because we don’t study enough Torah?  No, answers the Talmud.  It can be proven that there were generations that studied less Torah than we do, but nonetheless experienced far greater miracles.  The difference is that earlier generations risked their lives for the sake of the sanctification of the Divine Name.  Compared to them, we sacrifice very little.  The Talmud goes on to relate the story of a sage from an earlier generation who followed the Torah with absolutely no reservations, despite the heavy price exacted.  Thus, the connection between miracles and courage is clear – miracles are the result of valor and selfless devotion. (1)

 

Maharshal, in a different vein, explains that the name Shabbat HaGadol is derived from the last verse of the haftara reading for that day, “For behold I will send you the prophet Eliyahu before the arrival of the great (gadol) and awesome day of G-d.” (2) What connection does Shabbat HaGadol have with this great and awesome day?  Shabbat HaGadol was the last Shabbat of Bnei Yisrael’s exile in Egypt as they awaited their redemption; the “great day” refers to the transition from exile to Redemption. This verse appears at the end of the book of Malachi – the last prophet – the one who bridges the period between clearly perceived Divine revelation and exile.  It is the last verse of the last prophet which announces the onset of the first sparks of light and Redemption.  This Great Day marks the transition between the two periods, a kind of dawn between night and day.

 

In our times, we, too, are living in a “Great Day” – the Shabbat HaGadol before the final Redemption.  We know this from three faithful witnesses:

 

1.                  The Midrash:  “Three days before the Mashiach is to come, Eliyahu will come and stand upon the mountains of Eretz Yisrael and cry and mourn over them saying, ‘Mountains of Eretz Yisrael, how long will you remain dry and desolate?’  And his voice will be heard from one end of the world to the other.  Then he will say to them, ‘Peace has come forever.’ (3)

 

Happy is the generation who heeded the voice of Eliyahu and came to make the deserts and mountains bloom and thus bring peace.  R. Avraham Yitzchak Kook wrote in a similar vein about the ‘awakening of the desire of the nation to return to its Land, to its essence,’ referring to the awakening of repentance which is part of our redemptive process.

 

2.                  Ravad wrote that the day before Mashiach comes, Eliyahu the prophet will appear ‘to bring about peace for Israel with the nations of the world, and to announce the coming of Mashiach, as it is written, ‘For behold I send you the prophet Eliyahu before the arrival of the great and awesome day of G-d, and he shall return the hearts of the fathers to their sons and the hearts of sons to their fathers.’  This means that the hearts of the fathers and sons had been overcome with fear and each had run in a different direction from their troubles.  On that day, they will return to their former state of valor; they will turn to each other and be comforted by each other.  May it happen in our generation.” (4)

 

Thus we see that before the Mashiach arrives, courage returns to our people – which actually brings us peace with the other nations.

 

3.         R. Zadok HaKohen of Lublin explains that: ‘Eliyahu … coming before the time of the Mashiach, means that his strength will make itself felt in the hearts of Am Yisrael … to be able to use the traits of anger and revenge against the idolaters.  Then coming of Eliyahu is really the arising of a strong arm, which will result in the awakening in their hearts …” (5)

 

Happy are we who are privileged to live during this great hour, as our Redemption approaches and gathers daily momentum, through the wonders which G-d, the L-rd and Redeemer of Israel, has performed for His people and His inheritance.”

 

The Sages tell us that a miracle occurred on that first Shabbat HaGadol, an unusual miracle, and that is what we celebrate and remember.  In Sefer Shemot, we are told that on the 10^th of Nisan each Israelite in Egypt was commanded by G-d to take a lamb, check that it was without flaw or blemish, then tie it to a post keeping it with them until the time it would be sacrificed between the evenings on the 14^th of Nisan.  Given that the lamb was regarded as one of Egypt’s most powerful gods, the god Raah, it was a miracle in and of itself that the Egyptians did not retaliate against the Israelites for the public humiliation of their god – especially given the fact that the Israelites did not conceal the fact that their intentions were to sacrifice the lambs, following which the G-d of Israel would smite the firstborn of Egypt.  What happened, according to the Sages, is hinted at in Tehillim 136:10, “Who struck Egypt through their firstborn…” 

 

What we are told is that when the firstborn of Egypt heard of their impending doom, they begged their fathers and Pharaoh to let the Children of Israel go.  Their pleas fell on deaf ears and the firstborn sons of Egypt revolted, only not against the Israelites.  A civil war broke out in Egypt which resulted in the deaths of many Egyptians, hence the allusion in Tehillim 136:10 to Egypt being smote through their firstborn.  This was the miracle of that day, a Shabbat (the first Pesach was on a Wednesday – as it is this year):  Egyptians rebelled against their own authorities resulting in the destruction of their own, the very enemies of Israel. 

 

The standard definition of a miracle is something that shatters the rules of physical nature.  A “great” miracle would be something that shatters the rules of “spiritual nature.” “Spiritual nature” dictates that pure evil must be avoided or destroyed. It cannot be enlisted in the battle for goodness. When the firstborn of Egypt—the elite of Egypt—are enlisted in the war against Egypt, when darkness is employed to defeat darkness, the rules of spiritual nature are being shattered.  In Egypt on that first Shabbat HaGadol, darkness donned the garments of light. This is the “great” miracle celebrated each Shabbat Hagadol. (7)  How do we celebrate it?  Through teshuvah, when we transform the darkness of our past into light and goodness, preparing ourselves to connect to the amazing and very high levels of spiritual energy that are only accessible to us on Pesach, the day of miracles and Redemption.

 

 

________________________________________

 

FOOTNOTES:

(1)  Berachot 20a

(2)  Malachi 3:23

(3)  Peskita Rabbati 35

(4)  Commentary on Ravad at the end of Eiduyot.

(5)  Tzidkat HaTzaddik 2I8

(6)  Likutei Sichot 12:35-6.