Shabbos HaGadol: Thanks Very Much The Shabbos preceding Pesach is called Shabbos Hagodol; the Great Sabbath. There are many reasons why this Shabbos is awarded such a great title, all of which are worthy in their own right. The one which the Mishnah Berura, (the book of halacha written by the saintly Chefetz Chaim), brings to our attention is that it was on this Shabbos, at the time of our leaving Egypt, that we saw the start of the great miracles and wonders that culminated in the redemption of our people from slavery and oppression. This manifested itself in the complete absence of violence and antagonism that the Jewish people received from the Egyptians after degrading their most sacred diety, the sheep, by slaughtering it according to the Lord’s command as the Pesach offering.
It is because of this that many communities have the custom to recite part of the Haggodah, at Shabbos minchah (afternoon service), to signify the idea that the redemption, as described in the Haggodah, began on this day.
Interestingly enough, many commentators remark that the reason that the G-d wanted this special day to be a Shabbos was because the Jewish people kept Shabbos during their exile in Egypt, and that through this merit they were redeemed.
In essence therefore, Shabbos Hagodol is a day of hakoros hatov; recognizing the good done for us and expressing our gratitude, for not only freeing us from bondage, but for doing so in the most miraculous, supernatural way possible, that even as the Egyptians deity was being slaughtered, they were unable to react.
Shabbos Hagodol always falls on the week of Parshas Tzav, the parsha in which we learn the laws of the Thanks Offering, brought to the Temple when someone wished to express gratitude to Hashem for a specific good which He had done for him, (such as recovery from illness). The Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Berlin), writes that unlike the Peace Offering, the Thanks offering was brought with four loaves of bread, whereas the Peace Offering was bought without, and yet one only had that day and the following night to eat the offering, compared to that day, night and the next day for the Peace Offering. He explains that this reduced time allotment was granted in order that one should have to share the offering with their friends, publicizing the lesson of gratitude to the Holy One Blessed Be He. This impresses upon us the importance and centrality of gratitude, even the laws of the Temple work towards expressing and publicizing gratitude to G-d!
We actually see this idea twice every day in prayer. After the silent amidah, (the central prayer of 19 benedictions), the shliach tzibbur, (prayer leader), repeats the whole prayer aloud. Originally this was done for the benefit of those who didn’t know the prayers, (as prayer books had yet to be invented)! The chazzan would say each benediction, and they would listen and answer “amen”. This works for each benediction except for the blessing of “modim” – thanks. Rabbi Mordechai Gifter, (Rosh Yeshiva of Telz in Cleveland), says that the reason for this is that, when it comes to saying thank you, you can’t send a messenger!
We know, that when we do someone a favor, we want them to show gratitude, not only that, but we expect it and mighty upset if they don’t. How much more so, should we take care to show gratitude to Hashem, who does everything for us, and without whom we’d have nothing? If we thought about this for only one minute a day, our whole outlook to serving God would change drastically for the better! |
