The name of the Shabbat that falls before Pesach. Why is it called Shabbat HaGadol (the Shabbat of greatness)? There are many different interpretations. I would like to share with you a beautiful chiddush (novel insight) from Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen. He says the following: The position of Shabbat in the week is somewhat unclear. Is it the last day of the week, or is it the first day of the following week? We know from Maaseh Bereshit, when you look at the creation of the world, it says, “On the seventh day, HaKadosh Baruch Hu rested from the creation.” It is called the seventh day. Obviously, it is the seventh day of the seven days of creation, so it is the last day of the week.
However, in Lecha Dodi, we mention an expression that is dear to many. Shabbat is considered the source of blessings. The source of blessings is not going backward; it is going forward. You pray on Shabbat, and Hashem sends you blessings for the whole week. So it seems to me that Shabbat is both the last day of the week, when it comes to the weekly count of the days, and, at the same time, the inspiration for the following week. And that is for sure true. I always like to say that life is like going up the stairs. On Shabbat, you pause from the week before, but you plan the week ahead. And Mekor HaBeracha (the source of blessings) is going to be announcing what the next week is going to look like.
Based on this, maybe we could understand, says Tzadok HaKohen, what Shabbat HaGadol is. One of the most auspicious and special dates of the entire calendar is the Night of the Seder (Passover ritual meal). The Night of the Seder is a night of mystics, of very special siyata dishmaya, of help from heaven, to combat any slavery we have. It is not just the slavery of Mitzrayim (Egypt) that we are celebrating. It is the slavery of Mitzrayim that we are celebrating. It is going out from Mitzrayim. It is also going out of our personal slaveries. We are announcing that by saying Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat of greatness, because that day coming during the week after is already coming as Mekor HaBeracha from Shabbat. And therefore, Shabbat is considered Shabbat HaGadol, of what is coming. It is the Shabbat that is announcing the Night of the Seder, which is such a very, very important date.
It is similar: Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat before Yom Kippur, is called the Shabbat of Teshuvah (repentance), because it is announcing; it is already connecting. Maybe the siyata dishmaya, or the success that Yom Kippur is going to bring, comes from the Shabbat before here too. The success that the Night of Pesach is going to bring to a person is already coming from the Shabbat before. And because of that, we call this Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat of greatness that is going to be coming.
This is a wonderful Shabbat, but that means that starting from Shabbat, we have to start working on ourselves. If we want to come out of our personal slaveries, of our personal difficulties—and it is definitely a date that we should work on—the whole Pesach is for that. So then we should start already from the Shabbat before. As we know, the people in Egypt who took the sheep combated their own Yetzer Hara (evil inclination). By doing that, we have to start already working on the Shabbat before.