Weekly D'var

Shabbat Shalom….. And Shabbat Hagadol Shalom. 

I researched what is the history and meaning Of Shabbat Hagadol and I found fascinating Spiritual  connections of our history to share with you today. Shabbat HaGadol means the GREAT SHABBAT and is the Shabbat immediately before Passover which is tonight, 04.12.2025.

According to Midrashic tradition and Torah, On The Tenth of Nissan the Israelites were commanded to  take a lamb or ram and prepare it as a sacrifice as the Korban Pesach Passover offering. This was in full view of the Egyptians who worshipped Rams and lambs as Egyptian pagan deities yet the Egyptians did not stop the Israelites from taking their deities into their possession. The Egyptians saw this as an act of defiance and sacrilege, But the Egyptian army did not retaliate or interfere with the Israelites acquiring the lambs as the Korban Pesach. 

In my opinion without any source for this statement, The Egyptians did not interfere with the Israelites  possibly because the Egyptians had just previously experienced the previous 9 plagues all of which were disasters for the Egyptians but were miracles for the Israelites performed by Moses and Aaron as ordered by Hashem.  According to the Jewish calendar The Tenth of Nissan in the year of the Exodus was a Shabbat and the Israelites saw this as another great miracle hence the event became known as the Great Shabbat: Shabbat HaGadol. 

Shabbat HaGadol commemorates the miracle of The Israelites acquiring the Korban Pesach lambs or rams without interference from the Egyptians When the Israelites took their first action By acquiring the  Korbon Pesach in front of the Egyptians. This was a miracle by itself which I never realized Until I did the  research for this drash. 

The Shabbat before Pesach, Shabbat Hagadol becomes a prototype of the future Shabbat of all Shabbats—the world to come. And we commemorate this miracle on Shabbat Hagadol every year Before being redeemed from Egypt through the tenth plague And the Exodus to freedom. We retell these miracles every year when we read about the miracles from the Haggadah at the Seder table every  year on Pesach Passover on the 14th day of Nissan. 

On Shabbat Hagadol every year we read the Haftorah from the Prophet Malachi Chapter 3 verses 4 through 24. What I found absolutely fascinating which I never saw before is how the Prophet Malachi mentions the Prophet Elijah in our Haftorah reading today from the Book of the Prophet Malachi. “Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and awesome Day of Hashem. And he will turn back to Hashem The hearts of fathers with their sons And the hearts of their sons with their fathers Lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction.”  The Prophet Elijah is mentioned that he  will announce The coming of Moshiach and our final redemption. 

Shabbat Hagadol acts like a spiritual doorway Into the celebration of Passover and our Seder reading of  the Haggadah. And what do we do at our Seder dinner? We pour a cup of wine for Elijah and open the door for him. Just as we clean chametz from our homes Shabbat Hagadol is about cleansing the soul. This Shabbat helps burn away the spiritual chametz so we can be free inside and out. What is the  connection between Chametz and Matzah and Mitzvah? All three words contain the root letters Mem and Tzaddi. When we clean out the chametz from our homes And we eat Matzah the bread of affliction  and freedom, We transition from chametz to matzah to perform a mitzvah Which we are commanded to  perform as a ritual of Pesach. 

Rabbi Pinchas Winston wrote, “It is difficult to dispute the fact that the last 5785 years of our history  have been anything but Paradise. This has prompted many to ask over the millennia, "If G-d is so perfect, why is His world not perfect?" The answer is, IT IS PERFECT because it is perfectly imperfect. We  even bless Hashem for this when we recite this brachah: Blessed are You, Our G-d, King of the World,  Who creates many living things with their deficiencies. This is an idea that is implicit in Brit Milah itself, which requires man to participate in the physical and spiritual completion of his own being. Man was purposely and purposefully made incomplete, so that he would have perform the exercise of free-will and earn his portion in the World-to-Come. Hashem made man and the world within which he lives, but it is man himself who must bring both himself and the world to fulfillment.  

So how is the Brit Millah, Pesach and Matzah connected? Bread is but bloated matzah and the yeast is an agent to cause the dough to rise. This gives the impression that more is there than really is. In this sense, the yeast symbolizes the yetzer hara. We participate in the act of redemption and correcting the  world By performing the mitzvah of Brit Milah on Jewish men. 

According to Jewish tradition, Elijah the Prophet is present at every Brit Milah. Why? After Elijah zealously defended God's covenant As written in 1 Kings verse 19, tradition says God appointed him the eternal witness to all future circumcisions which is the sign of that covenant.  Right before the  circumcision, the baby is brought into the room by the Kvatterin/Kvatter, a couple honored with carrying the baby. The baby is then placed briefly on Elijah’s Chair. At that moment, some traditions include the following declaration or something similar: "Zeh HaKisei Shel Eliyahu HaNavi, Zachur Latov." "This is the chair of Elijah the Prophet, of blessed memory." In many communities, the Mohel or leader says a quiet prayer asking Elijah to come and witness the covenant. Some siddurim or Brit Milah  booklets include a longer Hebrew text invoking Elijah’s presence and blessing.  After Elijah is welcomed,  the baby is moved from Elijah's chair to the lap of the Sandak who is the person honored with holding  the baby during the circumcision. 

So Elijah the Prophet is welcomed at every Brit Milah.  And what do we do at every Seder dinner? The tradition is to welcome Elijah the prophet By pouring wine into the Cup of Elijah Which remains  untouched throughout the seder meal. Usually after the Birkah Hamazon is recited and before the final Hallel, we open the door as an invitation for Elijah to join our seder and announce the coming of the  Moshiach and acknowledge Hashem’s divine protection during this sacred night.

We also recite the SHEFOCH CHAMATCHA prayer while the door is open. 

..שְׁ פֹוְך חֲמָ תְׁ ָך אֶ ל הַ ּגֹויִ ם אֲשֶ ר לֹא יְׁ דָ עּוָך 

"Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not acknowledge You..." 

These verses come from Psalms and Lamentations and express a longing for justice and divine retribution against oppressors. We also sing the wonderful song, Elijahu Ha Navi Often, after  the meal or later in the night. The song is a prayerful wish for Elijah to return soon, bringing  peace and redemption. We also sing Eliyahu Ha Navi at Havdalah marking the end of Shabbat but at the Seder the song takes on a unique resonance for all of us. 

Elijah isn’t just some historical figure who comes from outside to announce the redemption. His presence is welcomed at Brit Milahs, at the close of Shabbat and at our Seder dinners and Elijah Ha Navi is here with us today, SHABBAT HAGADOL. The sages say that every soul has a spark of Moshe Rebennu and a spark of Eliyahu Ha Navi. Participating in our weekly davening, Shabbats at Shul, Experiencing Shabbat HaGadol, the GREAT SHABBAT and our  Passover seders are all about activating that spark. So at our seder dinners with friends and family, Take joy in singing and welcoming Eliyahu Ha Navi with extra kavannah. 

Shabbat Hagadol Shalom.