What is the significance of Shabbos HaGadol?
While the books of halacha discuss the obligations and customs of Shabbos HaGadol, R’ Bentzion Firer explains the hashkafa of Shabbos HaGadol in the following manner: We learn in the Talmud Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 6:7), “Gadol hu Kiddush Hashem m’chilul Hashem – greater is the act of sanctifying Hashem’s Name than the act of profaning the Name of Hashem.”
The world asks (Tehillim 115:2), “Where is their G-d?” We know that the Divine presence is with us in exile and suffers with us. Why does the Jewish nation have so much pain in exile? Sometimes, even some of us begin to wonder. Our emunah is put to the test when we see tzaddik v’ra lo – that seemingly bad things are happening to good people. The nations of the world see us being attacked from all sides. Aside from being vigilant against physical harm, our spirituality – our emunah – is challenged.
The great R’ Menachem Mendel of Kotzk says that we walk a tightrope in this world, and our goal is to maintain our balance in emunah at all times and not to fall. However, says the Kotzker, in the ikvesa d’meshicha – our current time – the adversary begins to shake one end of the rope, making it even more challenging to hold on to our emunah. A Jew must fortify himself, straighten his posture, and not be rattled by the threats and events.
On Shabbos HaGadol preceding yetzias Mitzrayim, there was a huge sanctification of Hashem’s Name, and we answered the query of the nations of the world. It is our eternal response (Tehillim 115:3), “Our G-d is in heaven; whatever He wishes, He does.” The Jewish people took the god of the Egyptians and sacrificed it for the korban Pesach. One cannot imagine the astonishing emunah they demonstrated, after being enslaved for 210 years, to bring the god of their oppressors as a sacrifice. There could be no greater Kiddush Hashem.
Greater is the Kiddush Hashem of that day than all of the chillul Hashem of the Egyptian exile. Not only were the Jewish people redeemed physically; they were also spiritually redeemed.
The greatest mitzvah a person can do in this world is to perform an act of Kiddush Hashem.
In our days, amid the great affluence and luxury which presents all around us, there is simultaneously a growing population that is living in poverty, who cannot cover their basic needs – food, clothing, and shelter. Oftentimes, we are clueless as to their personal situation. It could be someone living on our block, davening in our shul, or even a relative. People are sometimes standing at the checkout counter in the supermarket, having to decide which essential item they have to leave behind because they do not have enough money to cover the total amount of their purchase. Judging by the cross-section of people whom we help, all the stereotypes have been broken. All segments of the community are affected.
I am honored to have the great responsibility to try to put together enough funds to assist these individuals in having a semblance of a Pesach with dignity and respect. I am also gratified by the responses I receive from across the spectrum, in particular from our Jewish Press readers.
Recently, I was taken aback when I received mail from a correctional facility, with a prisoner’s identification number and the facility’s return address. When I opened the envelope, tears came to my eyes. The writer had enclosed a handmade “Pesach card,” along with a note. He explained that he wanted to contribute to the Yom Tov Fund that I have established. However, since he was not permitted to send cash in the mail, which he didn’t have anyway, he had enclosed five postage stamps. Mi K’amcha Yisrael! When someone in such a situation performs a mitzvah to help others, I would call it a Kiddush Hashem.
Especially during these turbulent times, when all of Klal Yisrael could use chizuk, I call upon our loyal Jewish Press readers to be part of this great Kiddush Hashem by generously supporting our brothers and sisters in need.
I personally administer and distribute the monies from the special Yom Tov Fund I have established directly into the hands of our poverty-stricken brethren.
In the zechus of your contribution, may you merit blessing and success, good health, nachas, happiness, and prosperity. You may also include the names of anyone in particular who is in need of shalom bayis, shidduchim, refuah, parnassah, etc., and I will say special prayers on their behalf. May we be worthy, with all of our tefillos, to celebrate a good, healthy, and joyous Pesach, and may we see an immediate end to the current situation that plagues the world. Amen.
Please send your contribution to Khal Bnei Yitzchok Yom Tov Fund, c/o Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser, 1336 E. 21st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11210. Donations can also be Zelled to 718-954-4343.