Make Shabbat great again |
Celebrating Isaac and Amy Halickman’s honor at the Young Israel of Cherry Hill Dinner The Talmud, Shabbat 87b helps us
calculate when the first Shabbat HaGadol (Great Shabbat) took place. According
to the Talmud, the 15th of Nisan, the day that B’nai Yisrael left
Egypt, was a Thursday. This means that if we count backwards, the Shabbat before
B’nei Yisrael celebrated Pesach in Egypt was on the 10th of Nisan. The 10th of Nisan is also
the famous date when B’nai Yisrael were told (Shmot 12:3) to “take for
themselves-each man- a lamb or kid for each father’s house, a lamb or kid for the
household.” Chizkuni points out that since B’nai Yisrael observed this first mitzvah
of taking the lamb into their homes, the Shabbat is called great. Tosafot brings a Midrash to explain
why this Shabbat was so great and miraculous: When B’nai Yisrael took their lambs
on that Shabbat, the firstborns of the nations asked them what they were doing.
B’nai Yisrael answered, “The animals are being prepared for a Pesach offering
to God, who will kill the firstborns of Egypt.” The firstborns went to their
fathers and told them to ask Pharaoh to send B’nai Yisrael out of Egypt.
However, their fathers did not want to comply. The firstborns then waged war against
the other Egyptians, and suffered massive losses. Chizkuni adds that the zodiac sign
for the month of Nisan is Aries (a lamb). It was a sign that served as a deity
of good fortune for the Egyptians and would now become the reminder of good
fortune for B’nai Yisrael. By adopting this symbol and slaughtering a lamb as a
sacrifice instead of worshipping it, B’nai Yisrael demonstrated their faith in
God. They thereby neutralized any good fortune this constellation had ever had
portended for the Egyptians. By taking the lamb into their homes
on this Shabbat, B’nai Yisrael made the commitment to give up idol worship and trust
solely in God. This was the greatest thing that they could have done and this
jump-started the process of the geula, the redemption from Egypt. |