Shabbat Hagadol: What’s so great about it?

This post is dedicated in memory of my father, Yaacov Zev Yisrael ben Shmuel.

I am not going to write about this week’s Torah portion Metzora, but rather about Shabbat Hagadol (The ‘Great’ Shabbat), which is the Shabbat before Pesach (Passover), which is this Shabbat.

When we think of Shabbat Hagadol a few things come to mind:

1. According to tradition, the 10th of Nisan in the year of the exodus was a Saturday (Shabbat). It was considered a great event, in fact a miracle, that the Israelites could on that day select a lamb for sacrifice, as they had been commanded to do, without being attacked by their Egyptian masters – who worshipped the lamb as a diety and at other times, would have surely stoned them for performing such an act .

2. Another possible reason for the name “Shabbat Hagadol” is that the special haftarah which is read from the book of Malachi, speaks of the “great day” (ha’gadol) of God on which the Moshiach will appear.

3. A novel explanation for the name of Shabbat HaGadol is that Jews used to return from the synagogue later than usual on this Sabbath because of the unusually long drasha (sermon) that was customary for the rabbi to deliver on this special Shabbat.

But there is one tradition that we in the Sredni family hold dear and keep religiously every Shabbat Hagadol wherever we may be:

There is minhag (Jewish tradition) to read part of the Passover Haggadah on Shabbat haGadol, beginning from the paragraph that begins with the words “Avadim hayinu” (“We were slaves”) until the words, “lechaper al kol avonotaynu” (“to atone for all of our sins”). One reason for this is that the redemption began on Shabbat Hagadol. Another reason is to familiarize the children with the contents of the Haggadah in fulfillment of the mitzvah of “You shall tell your children on that day”. Yet another reason is that the reading from the Haggadah on Shabbat haGadol is like a rehersal for the Seder night, and helps us to become more familiar with the text.

So, in our family on Shabbat day (afternoon) of Shabbat Hagadol we sit around together as a family and for 7-8 minutes we read the prescribed text. When we finish someone always remarks “if only it would be that quick on Seder night” and we all laugh.

This was the Haggadah we used in the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School (SPHDS) model seders when I was a kid growing up in northern California

But maybe that’s the point. We read the Haggadah on Shabbat Hagadol to familiarize ourselves with the text, so that on some level we prepare ourselves for the seder and not just come to it ‘dry’.

Think about it. I have often heard that it is ‘advisable’ to look over the Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur machzor before those holidays to familiarize outselves with the prayers, but honestly aside from Chazzanim (cantors) I don’t know of anyone who really does it. Do people, other than those who are reading the Megillah publicly and need to practice, open up a Megillat Esther before Purim? Probably not.

So, what’s the deal here? I think the message is that we need to “be prepared” (which is the motto of the “scouts” and also a song sung by the evil lion Scar in The Lion King).

There is no holiday on the Jewish calendar for which we prepare ourselves more physically than Pesach (cleaning, cooking, hosting guests, you name it), so is it too much to ask to take a few minutes on a long Shabbat Hagadol afternoon to read over the main story part of the Hagaddah to in the very least help “get us in the mood”?

I try to wrap my head around why for our family this tradition “stuck” – it sort of feels like my family is “conditioned by tradition”- and I think it is because our parents really believed and taught us Sredni kids the importance to ‘be prepared’ in life and that success comes when you prepare in advance.

And perhaps that’s the biggest message of Shabbat Hagadol, the Shabbat when we take a break from the physical preperations for Pesach and dust off and open our Haggadot and read the passages together as we prepare for the upcoming Passover seder both spirtually and mentally.

I found a very nice quote online from former racecar driver Bobby Unser, “Success is where preperation and opportunity meet.”

It is clear to me that in this case “preparation” means reading over the Haggadah before Pesach and Shabbat Hagadol afternoon is the “opportunity” we get and together they lead to success on Seder night.

I want to add one more thought on why this Shabbat is called Shabbat Hagadol and it’s from UK Chiief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.

Will this Shabbat be the greatest of them all? D’var Torah for Shabbat HaGadol. pic.twitter.com/l1A7a4vs3d

— Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis (@chiefrabbi) April 17, 2024

Shabbat Hagadol Shalom and Chag Sameach!