Making the Shabbos Great

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas Hatorah (www.bircas.org)

The Shabbos before Pesach is called Shabbos Hagadol (“The Great Shabbos”). The Tur (Siman 430) explains that this Shabbos is so named because on this day — 4 days before the offering of the first korban Pesach (10 Nissan) — the command for each Jew to take a sheep was given, and this day fell on Shabbos.  A great miracle took place: the sheep was a deity to the Egyptians, but they could only look on in horror as every Jew tied a sheep to his bed. They could not stop us. That’s why this Shabbos is called “The Great Shabbos,” because of the great miracle that took place on that day.

Why is this miracle commemorated on the Shabbos before Pesach? All other holidays are celebrated on the day of the month in which they occurred (i.e., Pesach always falls on 15 Nissan, and not the particular day of the week that the Exodus took place). Why isn’t the miracle of Shabbos Hagadol commemorated every year on the 10th of Nissan?

The Sefer, Maasei Hashem, answers that this miracle is marked on Shabbos because the message of Shabbos was expressed on that day more than ever before. The message of Shabbos is that Hashem created the world and oversees its existence at every moment.

Explains Rav Chaim Friedlander, Shabbos was Hashem’s completion of the Creation of the world in six days, and our observing  it shows that we recognize this fact. Also, Shabbos shows Hashem’s ongoing running of all that transpires in the world. Hashem commanded that we work on six days, but on Shabbos to refrain from work, even if we lack the money to honor the Shabbos with food and drink. In such a case, Hashem declares: “Borrow against Me and I will repay!” (Beitza 15b). This means that we understand that Hashem runs the world and that our wealth and sustenance come from Him—not from our labor. We can therefore rely on Him that He will enable us to keep the Shabbos.

The Shabbos Hagadol was where these messages were expressed more strongly than ever before. When the Jews, who until now had been slaves, took their masters’ deity, tied it to their bedposts and prepared it to be a korban, as the Egyptians looked on helplessly, the message of Shabbos was clearer than ever. Even the Egyptians saw that Hashem exists and controls the world. This great miracle that took place on Shabbos made the Shabbos itself great, and was therefore named “The Great Shabbos.”

Shabbos Hagadol is a preparation for Pesach, which is the main holiday for building these fundamentals of emuna — that Hashem is the creator and director of the universe at all times. We recall the miracles of the Ten Plagues, the Exodus and Splitting of the Red Sea. We recall how the plagues affected only the Egyptians, and how all Jewish women of that era gave birth to sextuplets, all of whom survived, despite the decrees of the Egyptians. The punishment of the Egyptians mida k’neged mida — these are the pillars of our emuna. This is also why so many mitzvos throughout the year are done as a commemoration of the Exodus, because it is so important to strengthen the principles of our emuna that came to light at the time of the Exodus (Sefer Hachinuch 21).

It is unusual for the Torah to command that we “guard” or watch over a mitzvah. There is no command to guard the laws of kashrus or watch over our tefillin, for example. This command occurs only for the mitzvos of Shabbos and Pesach. We are commanded: “Guard the Shabbos day to make it holy” (Devarim 5:12), and “the holiday of Pesach you shall guard” (Shemos 23:15). Why are these two mitzvos singled out?

Rav Yerucham Olshin answers that this is because Shabbos and Pesach are the prime teachers of our emuna. Since emuna is so important, the yetzer hara focuses its efforts against it. We therefore must guard and treasure our emuna, which is expressed particularly on Shabbos and Pesach (see Chovos Halevavos, Shaar Habechina 5). Another reason why we should guard and work on strengthening our emuna, says Rav Yechezkel Levinstein, is because hidden deep inside of us is a tendency to deny our emuna. We are commanded not to stray “after your hearts” (Bamidbar 15:39) precisely because we possess this tendency toward denial of Hashem. Every Jew must work to correct this (Brachos 12b).

We must also develop our emuna in order to remain firm in the face of hardships. We can never know when we may be in trying circumstances, as the Navi Yishaya states (50:10): “Though he may walk in darkness, with no light for himself, let him trust in the Name of Hashem, and rely on his G-d.”

How can we work on our emuna? There are many ways, but one way is found in Shmos Rabba (9:1), in which Noach asked Hashem to be given a sign that He would not bring another flood to destroy the world. Hashem granted Noach’s request and the rainbow became the sign for this.

Noach asked this even after Hashem swore to him that He would no longer destroy the world with a flood. Still, Noach wanted a sign from Hashem in order to boost his emuna. Noach surely was a great believer. He saw that Hashem had brought a flood to the world, and that through His mercy, Noach and his family had survived. Still, he wanted to strengthen his emuna, and he did this by seeking out an extra demonstration of it.

We can all look for signs to help us reach a higher level of emuna. One sign we have right in front of us is the continued existence of the Jewish People. Harav Yaakov Emden stated that this miracle — in which a sheep (i.e., the Jewish People) is surrounded by 70 wolves who are trying diligently to destroy it, and yet the sheep survives and even thrives — is an even greater miracle than the Exodus!

On one day in the spring of 5778, Arabs from Gaza fired a huge number of rockets at Israeli targets in the Negev. Miraculously, no one was killed, and only a few were injured. Since this was not an official declaration of war, this remarkable day of miracles went almost unnoticed, even in Israel itself. And yet, aside from the miracle that so little damage was inflicted by so many rockets, three open miracles occurred: A nursery school was attacked, but the rockets hit minutes before the children arrived at the school, causing only property damage.

A couple decided to go to sleep in the room of their apartment that is reinforced to protect against rocket strikes. This was something they had not done even during the Gaza War several years earlier, when air raid sirens calling on the public to enter these rooms was a daily occurrence. They admitted afterwards that they did not know why they chose that night to sleep in the protected room, but when they woke up, they discovered that the rest of their apartment had been ravaged by a direct strike.

Lastly, the IDF discovered a tunnel the Arabs had been constructing in order to wage a future attack.

On that day, Rav Gershon Edelstein addressed the Ponovezh Yeshiva, saying: “We have to recognize that miracles are happening right now, and they are happening for us! These miracles in the south are signs from Hashem that He is with us, and it’s up to us to internalize the message of these signs from Him and know that Hashem is with us at all times.”

May we strive to reach higher levels of emuna!

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