English translation — שה"ג

Shabbos HaGadol<pg>7</pg>

A.

The Tur wrote<sup>1</sup>

: "The Shabbos before Pesach is called Shabbos HaGadol, and the reason is because a great miracle occurred on it, that the Pesach of Egypt was taken on the tenth..

And the Pesach when the Jews left Egypt was on Thursday..

And it follows that the tenth of the month was Shabbos, and each one took for himself a lamb for his Pesach and tied it to the legs of his bed, and the Egyptians asked them: Why is this for you? And they answered: To slaughter it for the sake of Pesach by the command of Hashem upon us. And their teeth were blunted because they were slaughtering their gods, and they were not permitted to say anything to them. And because of that miracle it is called Shabbos HaGadol."

And behold, the description of this miracle was brought in the commentary of our Rabbis, the Baalei HaTosafot<sup>2</sup>,

but there it is stated: "When the Egyptians saw that they were taking the paschal lambs to slaughter, they gathered against them to kill them, because the Egyptians' fear was of livestock, and the Holy One, blessed be He, performed a miracle for them and they were saved, and therefore it is called Shabbat HaGadol because of the greatness

[greatness]

of the miracle."

And in the books from the study hall of Rashi it is stated<sup>3</sup>

: "And the taking of the paschal lamb on the tenth was on the Shabbat before Passover,

Israel said, 'Shall we slaughter the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes and they will not stone us?'<sup>4</sup>

The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, 'Now you will see the wonder that I will do for you,'

they went and each took his paschal lamb to keep for themselves until the fourteenth day,

when the Egyptians saw this, they wanted to rise up and take vengeance on them,

and their intestines were cut and they were consumed by fire and were afflicted with severe and bitter sufferings and illnesses,

and they did not harm Israel,

and because of the miracles that were performed for Israel on that Shabbat before Passover, it is called the Shabbat before Passover, Shabbat HaGadol."

And according to these versions, the greatness of the miracle that occurred on this Shabbat is understood,

that the Children of Israel were saved from mortal danger

(and according to the version that Rashi brought,

in addition to that the Children of Israel were not harmed,

furthermore,

that the Egyptians were afflicted with severe and bitter sufferings and illnesses).

And behold, in the version in the Tur, siman 92,

that he did not bring that the Egyptians wanted to kill them,

and the Holy One, blessed be He, performed a miracle for them and saved them

(and also not that the Egyptians were judged with sufferings),

but only that "they were not permitted to say anything to them" — and thus the main miracle is missing from the book.

2.

And we must explain this based on the addition in the language of the Tur to the language of the early authorities mentioned above

(in the name of the midrash)

"And the Egyptians asked, 'Why is this for you?' They answered, 'To slaughter it for the sake of the Passover offering by the commandment of the L-rd upon us,'"

for seemingly, why does he need to explain that they said this detail to the Egyptians — for otherwise

(also according to the version in the Ba'alei HaTosafot and in the books of Rashi)

it is self-evident that what they said, that they were going to slaughter their god, was to fulfill the commandment of the L-rd

(and not simply to arouse the jealousy of the Egyptians⁵)

— and why does the Tur detail this detail?

<pg>8</pg>

And it seems to me,

that with this language the Tur intends to emphasize,

that what they call this Shabbos Shabbos HaGadol is not because of the miraculous rescue of Bnei Yisrael,

but because the Egyptians were unable to prevent Yisrael from fulfilling their commandment — for when Bnei Yisrael stood with strength and self-sacrifice to fulfill the commandment of the Holy One, blessed be He, without regard for the danger involved, and even said to the Egyptians explicitly that the taking of the lamb is in order "to slaughter it for the sake of the Pesach by the commandment of Hashem upon us,"

this itself caused that there was done "a great miracle,"

that even though the teeth of the Egyptians were blunted that they were slaughtering their god, nevertheless "they were not permitted to say anything to them."

And the reason that the Tur mentioned only this detail of the miracle,

and not as it is brought in our Rabbis in the BaHa"T

(and most of the Rishonim and the Poskim)

that the miracle was that they were saved etc.⁶,

it can be said,

that this is because the miracle of rescue is included in the totality of the miracles and wonders of the Exodus and redemption from Egypt — "And Hashem took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm etc. and with signs and with wonders"⁷

; and just as they did not establish

(for example)

a special remembrance for the ten plagues that were brought upon the Egyptians and for the miracles⁸

and the rescues that were done in them for Bnei Yisrael⁹

("And Hashem will distinguish"¹⁰,

and the like¹¹),

because they are a detail and part of the miracles and wonders of Yetzias Mitzrayim,

so it is in our case,

that there is no place to establish a remembrance on a special day

(on another day,

other than the fifteenth of Nissan¹²)

for the rescue of Bnei Yisrael in connection with the Korban Pesach and Yetzias Mitzrayim.

And to the Baalei HaTosafos

(and the aforementioned sefer of Rashi)

it can be said,

that they hold that "Shabbos HaGadol" is not a matter connected to laws or special customs for the remembrance of the miracle,

but only a name designation alone,

"they call it Shabbos HaGadol",

and this is possible also regarding the miracle that pertains to the entirety of the redemption of Yetzias Mitzrayim.

[And that specifically the miracle of Shabbos HaGadol was established in a name designation — it can be said according to the text that is brought in several poskim¹³

"When the Egyptians saw thus, each man girded his sword on his thigh and sought to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, and Hashem in His mercies shielded them",

since the matter at hand is a miracle of very great salvation,

<pg>9</pg>

Therefore it is fitting at least for a special remembrance in the naming of the day of Shabbat HaGadol].

And likewise it is also according to the explanation of the Tur,

that the entire uniqueness of Shabbat HaGadol is only in the naming alone,

and as above,

for according to his opinion the essence of Shabbat HaGadol is not a remembrance of the salvation of Israel,

but a remembrance of the miracle that the Children of Israel were able to fulfill the commandment of God without hindrances and delays.

3.

And behold, in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe¹⁴

he brings a description of the "great miracle" in yet another manner

(according to what the Tosafos wrote in tractate Shabbos¹⁵),

and this is its language: "When Yisrael took their Pesach-offerings on that Shabbos, the firstborn of Egypt gathered to Yisrael and asked them: Why are they doing this? They said to them: It is a Pesach-offering to Hashem, that He will kill the firstborn of Egypt¹⁶,

their firstborn went to their fathers and to Pharaoh to ask them to send Yisrael away, but they did not want to, and the firstborns made war with them and killed many of them, and this is what is said¹⁷

Who smote Egypt through their firstborn."

And it requires clarification,

for according to this description it is not sufficiently explained what was the benefit and greatness in this miracle — for it does not connect the miracle with the saving of Bnei Yisrael

(since the words of Bnei Yisrael that they are standing to slaughter their gods and that because of this the firstborn of Egypt wanted to take revenge from them etc. and they were saved are not brought)

— and at first glance this is nothing but matters of quarrels and war between the Egyptians and their firstborn.

At first glance it would be possible to explain the words of the Alter Rebbe,

in the above manner in the explanation of the words of the Tur,

that the main miracle in our subject is the possibility of fulfilling the command of G-d,

and it is according to the ruling of the Rambam¹⁸

"Moshe Rabbeinu commanded from the mouth of the Almighty to compel all the inhabitants of the world to accept the commandments that were commanded to the children of Noach",

from this it is understood that part of the role of Bnei Yisrael is to act upon the Bnei Noach that they do actions that they were commanded by G-d

(and even were commanded to kill "an idolater who did not accept the commandments that were commanded to Bnei Noach"¹⁹).

And based on this it can be said also in our subject,

that the miracle of "who smote Egypt with their firstborn",

that "their firstborn went to their fathers and to Pharaoh to ask them to send out Yisrael

(and fulfill the command of the Holy One blessed be He "send out My people"²⁰)

and they did not want and the firstborn made war with them and killed many of them" — it is a matter pertaining to Yisrael.

That is to say,

that Bnei Yisrael said²¹

to the firstborn of Egypt "a Passover sacrifice it is to G-d who will kill the firstborn of Egypt" there is in it an effort to compel them

(at least in words)

to fulfill the command of G-d "send out My people".

But this is not sufficient,

for in addition to this that this matter that Moshe Rabbeinu commanded from the mouth of the Almighty to compel all the inhabitants of the world,

was innovated at the time of the giving of the Torah²²,

still it requires clarification: if you say that according to the opinion of the Alter Rebbe the main miracle is the possibility to fulfill the command of G-d,

if so certainly it would have been appropriate to bring

(first)

the words of the Tur,

in which is explained<pg>10</pg>

It is explicit that Bnei Yisrael fulfilled in actual practice "the commandment of Hashem upon us" in the offering of the Paschal lamb,

and the Egyptians were unable to prevent them; and

(afterwards)

to add,

that not only were Bnei Yisrael able to fulfill the commandment of Hashem in the offering of the Paschal lamb

(and they were not permitted to say anything to them)

even though they slaughtered the god of the Egyptians,

but also they influenced them to such an extent that "the firstborns made war with them and killed many of them" so that "they would send out Israel"

[And especially, all that is added regarding the miracles that occurred on this Shabbat, the reason why it is called Shabbat HaGadol is more clearly explained&lt;sup&gt;23&lt;/sup&gt;].

4.

And this will be understood by prefacing what the Alter Rebbe said in his continuation of his words in his Shulchan there&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;

: "It is customary in these countries that on Shabbat HaGadol at Minchah we do not say 'Barchi Nafshi' but rather we say 'Avadim Hayinu' etc., because on Shabbat HaGadol was the beginning of the redemption and the miracles."

And at first glance it is necessary to understand — why are the events of Shabbat HaGadol called "the beginning of the redemption and the miracles"?

And behold, at first glance there is here only another miracle in connection with the Exodus from Egypt,

and behold, already before this there were all the plagues that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon the Egyptians,

and also the beginning of the redemption is, at first glance, from Rosh HaShanah when "the servitude of our ancestors in Egypt ceased"&lt;sup&gt;25&lt;/sup&gt;.

And it may be said,

that the intention of the Alter Rebbe is that the miracle of Shabbat HaGadol is considered as the beginning of the actual departure from Egypt

(and so too what is said "and the miracles",

that is, the miracles connected with the actual departure).

That is to say,

the greatness of the miracle of Shabbat HaGadol is not

(only)

in this, that many Egyptians were killed

("Who smote the Egyptians through their firstborn"),

but primarily in that the firstborn of Egypt demanded and insisted "that they send out Israel",

until because of this "the firstborn made war with them",

and because of this miracle it is considered a beginning of the departure from Egypt&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;.

And based on this there is a fundamental novelty in this reason regarding the reason in the Tur,

and likewise the reason in the Baalei HaTosafos — that according to the above reasons this is only a miracle that occurred in connection with the Shabbos HaGadol and the Exodus from Egypt,

but according to the Alter Rebbe this is part of the Exodus from Egypt itself.

And this is also the precision of the "heading" of this section in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch — "The custom of Shabbos HaGadol",

which is not in the Shulchan Aruch of the Mechaber

(and there there is no heading at all for this section)

:

In the Mechaber it is brought only that this Shabbos is "called Shabbos HaGadol" — a name alone,

and he did not bring any special custom for this Shabbos,

and this is because according to the reason in the Tur and the Baalei HaTosafos it is not fitting to institute special customs for this Shabbos

(as above sec. 2)

; but unlike for the Alter Rebbe, this miracle is "the beginning of the redemption and the miracles",

therefore there is a "custom of Shabbos HaGadol"&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;,

that we begin to say on this Shabbos "Avadim Hayinu"

(in the manner that we say on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan).

And it works out simply the reason that the Alter Rebbe brought only the reason of the Tosafos and did not bring at all the reason of the Tur,

because only this reason explains the "custom of Shabbos HaGadol".

5.

According to this explanation in the words of the Alter Rebbe, another matter in "Shabbat HaGadol" will be sweetened more — that "they established this miracle as a remembrance for generations on Shabbat..

&lt;pg&gt;11&lt;/pg&gt;

No..

on the tenth of the month, whether it fell on Shabbat or whether it fell on a weekday, in the manner that all the festivals were established"&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;,

for in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe&lt;sup&gt;29&lt;/sup&gt;

he brings the answer of the Magen Avraham&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

"Because&lt;sup&gt;28&lt;/sup&gt;

that on the seventeenth of Nisan Miriam died and they established a fast on it when it falls on a weekday"

(And further "many things were said about it"&lt;sup&gt;31&lt;/sup&gt;,

whose content is from the aspect of a secondary matter&lt;sup&gt;32&lt;/sup&gt;

and not in connection to the miracle&lt;sup&gt;33&lt;/sup&gt;)

; but since all matters of Torah are with utmost precision,

it is logical to say,

that the establishment of the remembrance of the miracle for the day of Shabbat is also connected to the content of the day of Shabbat&lt;sup&gt;34&lt;/sup&gt;.

Moreover: from the language of the name "Shabbos HaGadol" it implies,

that this miracle caused "greatness" in the matter of Shabbos itself,

that the day of Shabbos itself became "great".

And the explanation of this is:

Regarding the rest on Shabbat, two reasons are stated in the Aseret HaDibrot: "A remembrance of the work of Creation" — "Six days did the Lord make the heavens and the earth..

and He rested on the seventh day"&lt;sup&gt;35&lt;/sup&gt;

; and "a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt" — "And you shall remember&lt;sup&gt;36&lt;/sup&gt;

that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, etc. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."

And as the Rambam explains

(in the Guide for the Perplexed&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;)

these two matters&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

: "A remembrance of the work of Creation" is that through the Sabbath "the foundation of the renewal of the world is established and becomes known in reality when all human beings rest on one day and when one asks what is the reason for this, the answer will be that in six days the Lord made",

and "a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt" is in "His giving us the Torah of the Sabbath and commanding us to guard it

(and)

it is an effect consequent upon the cause of our having been slaves in Egypt, etc., and remember the kindnesses of God upon us in freeing us from the burdens of Egypt, etc."&lt;sup&gt;39&lt;/sup&gt;.

And from the matter it is understood,

that they are two different matters regarding the matter of Shabbat: "A remembrance of the work of creation" is that Shabbat is a part and detail of creation

(except that it indicates the "renewal of the world",

that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Creator of the world),

and as emphasized in the language of our sages, may their memory be blessed⁴⁰

"What was the world lacking..

Shabbat came etc.",

meaning that through Shabbat the existence of the world was completed; but "A remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt" is that Shabbat is entirely above creation,

and belongs specifically to Israel through their having left Egypt.

And one must explain the connection of the second matter of Shabbat to the content of the matter of the Exodus from Egypt:<pg>12</pg>

From the side of the boundaries of creation, indeed Bnei Yisrael are "the fewest of all nations"⁴¹

and they are under the dominion of the nations of the world, and consequently there is no place for the exodus from Egypt

[And in particular the exodus from the slavery of Egypt,

that even one slave could not escape from there⁴²]

— and the exodus from Egypt was an open miracle,

above the boundaries of creation.

And this is the inner meaning of "Yetzias Mitzrayim": "Mitzrayim" indicates the straits and boundaries of the world,

and through Yetzias Mitzrayim Bnei Yisrael were elevated above the boundaries

(straits and boundaries)

of the world⁴³.

6.

And according to this it follows,

that the content of the difference between the reason of the Tur and the reason that the Alter Rebbe brought

(from the Tosafos),

is like the difference between the two matters of Shabbos:

This is B"N

(Egypt)

did not prevent Israel from fulfilling the commandments of G-d — relates to the definition of "remembrance of the work of creation"&lt;sup&gt;44&lt;/sup&gt;,

that when there is the recognition of "the renewal of the world",

that the Holy One, blessed be He, is the Creator of the world and its Leader,

it is understood that it is impossible to do something that opposes the will of G-d — but there is not yet in this a matter that is above the boundaries of nature and the world;

But not so according to the words of the Alter Rebbe,

that on this Shabbat there was already "the beginning of the redemption and the miracles",

that is, the beginning of the exodus from Egypt

(as above)

— this relates to the definition of "remembrance of the exodus from Egypt" that is on Shabbat,

which is entirely above the boundary of creation.

And therefore this Shabbat day is called "the Great Shabbat",

because on it the second aspect of Shabbat was emphasized in a revealed manner,

"remembrance of the exodus from Egypt",

which is "great" beyond comparison regarding the matter of "remembrance of the work of creation".

And with this will be understood the reason for the law

(that in Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe there²⁴)

that "we do not say 'Barchi Nafshi'⁴⁵

rather we say 'Avadim Hayinu'"⁴⁶,

which implies that these are interdependent: in the psalm "Barchi Nafshi" is described His greatness regarding the matter of the work of creation

("How great are Your works, O Lord"⁴⁷,

as described there in detail)⁴⁸,

whereas the Great Shabbat pertains to the category of "remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt" and therefore "we do not say 'Barchi Nafshi' but rather we say 'Avadim Hayinu'"⁴⁹,

for there is no place for recounting the greatness of the Name regarding the matter of the work of creation,

when there is openly emphasized a greater level

(and in a manner of no comparison),

"remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt"

(which is above the categories of the world).

[And therefore the Alter Rebbe did not mention,

even in a secondary manner,

the reason that is in the Tur].

<pg>13</pg>

7.

And it must be said,

that according to the version that our master, the Alter Rebbe, adopted in the description of the miracle of Shabbat HaGadol,

this miracle has a "superiority" even over the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt:

The Exodus from Egypt was

(a)

after the strength of Egypt was nullified in the plague of the firstborn,

(b)

through this that the Holy One, blessed be He, took us out and redeemed us from Egypt; whereas the miracle of Shabbat HaGadol was

(a)

when the Children of Israel were still in the exile of Egypt⁵⁰,

(b)

in a manner that the firstborn of Egypt demanded forcefully

(to the extent of making war)

"that they send out Israel",

that the Children of Israel must be free men,

that this thing is a greater novelty than mere miraculous conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He,

for this is that nature itself "demands" that there be a matter of above nature

(and as above,

that the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt is not according to the limits of creation).

And based on this, one can mediate the reason of the Alter Rebbe with the reason brought in the books⁵¹

"that they instituted from time immemorial to call the Shabbat before Passover Shabbat HaGadol,

to inform people that there is a day after it, close and near, that is called Shabbat and is not as great as it,

and it is the first festival day of Passover, which is called⁵²

also Shabbat".

And according to the above, one can say,

that this that the first festival day of Passover is also called Shabbat,

and is not as great as it,

is

[not only in that the holiness of Passover

(festival)

is lower than the holiness of Shabbat,

but rather]

also regarding the miracles in them,

for the miracle of the Exodus from Egypt in actuality that occurred on the first day of Passover,

is not as great as the miracle that occurred on the Shabbat before it,

that the Egyptians demanded that the Children of Israel leave Egypt,

therefore specifically "the Shabbat before Passover they call it Shabbat HaGadol",

for the concept of

(memorial to)

the Exodus from Egypt

(that on Shabbat)

— completely above the boundaries of creation,

is in it more greatly,

also relative to the "Shabbat" of the festival⁵³

first of Passover.

(From the talk of Shabbat HaGadol 5746)