"Shabbat hagadol" a very special Shabbat.

It is called "Shabat HaGadol" (The Great Sabbath) for several very important reasons.

There are also various special customs related to this Shabbat.

Israel celebrated its first Shabbat Hagadol in Egypt, on the tenth day of the month of Nisan, five days before its redemption.

On that Shabbat, the children of Israel received their first Mitzvah (Precept)

A Precept that governed only for that moment and not for future generations. "On the tenth day of this month (Nisan) each man shall take a lamb by his father's house, a lamb by his household..." (Exodus 12:3)

This Mitzvah of preparing a lamb for the Passover sacrifice, four days before making the offering, was specified "only on that first Passover in Egypt."

Our ancestors performed great miracles on this first Shabbat HaGadol. On that day, each of them took a lamb for their offering and tied it to the foot of their bed. When the Egyptians saw this, they asked, "What is this lamb for?" And the children of Israel replied, "It is for the Passover sacrifice, just as the Eternal One commanded us."

The teeth of the Egyptians, for whom the lamb was a god, gnashed with rage, but they could not make a sound of protest.

The Egyptian firstborn saw the Jewish people preparing to offer the Passover sacrifice and heard that on Passover night the Creator would kill them. When they demanded that their fathers send the Jewish people away to save them from the plague, and they refused, a war began between the Egyptian firstborn, their fathers, and the rulers. King David wrote of this war in the Psalms: "He struck Egypt with its firstborn, for His loving-kindness endures forever."

We must understand the connection between that miracle and Shabbat, to the point that the miracle brings greatness to Shabbat and transforms it from an "ordinary" Shabbat into a "Shabbat HaGadol." Furthermore, considering that Shabbat is holy in itself, is a sign between the Creator and the Jewish people, belongs exclusively to the Jewish people, etc., how can a civil war between Egyptians add any greatness to Shabbat?

The answer lies in the aforementioned verse in Psalms, “who struck Egypt with its firstborn,” where the Creator is praised “for His loving-kindness endures forever.” In the same chapter of Psalms, other things appear that, at their most superficial level, are actions of the Creator, blessed be He, such as “who does great wonders,” “who makes great lights...the sun...the moon.” In each of these actions, we can, in some way, find the Creator’s goodness, and that is why the Psalmist repeats, after each of these quotes, “for His loving-kindness endures forever.” However, what does Hashem’s “goodness” have to do with a civil war among Egyptians?

Here the idea is expressed that not only the creation of the world and the miracles that transcend the barriers of nature are the action of G‑d, but also two sides fighting a civil war between themselves in Egypt, the most unclean place on earth, is a Divine act.Given that “There is nothing else except Him”, even these kinds of occurrences are planned and directed by Hashem!

The war that broke out between the Egyptian firstborn and their fathers was not a simple fight between two sides, but a “great miracle” of the Creator: everyone saw clearly that Hashem rules the world, and when the time comes for the Jewish people to leave Egypt for freedom, even the Egyptians themselves are affected so much that they fight among themselves for Jewish redemption!

Other great miracles also occurred in connection with this episode, which is why we refer to this day as "SHABAT HAGADOL" in remembrance of the great miracles that Hashem performed on our behalf!

(It should be noted that the precept of eating the lamb is not in force in our days, this was a Mitzvah commanded only for those times, now we fulfill the precepts of eating Matza and recounting the exodus from Egypt on the night of Pesach).

We wish everyone a Shabbat Shalom and a Kosher Pesach and Sameach!!