ניסן

Why this Sabbath is called "Shabbat HaGadol" ("The Great Sabbath") We must still explain why we call this Sabbath "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath. It is based on our interpretation of the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) As is known, the end of this verse does not seem to fit with its beginning, and it is unclear. We explained this matter based on the words of the Sages (Chazal). In Jewish Law, there are two categories: action and thought. An adult, even if he only thought about making something into a vessel, that item is considered a vessel for the purposes of ritual purity and impurity. However, a minor can only act; they do not have the capacity for the kind of thought that creates a vessel in a ritual sense. We know that for the Jewish people, God considers a good intention as an action, as the Sages taught, "For those who fear the Lord and for those who hate His Name, even if a person only thought about performing a commandment..." (Kiddushin 40a) This is not the case with non-Jews. It is fitting to provide a reason for this difference. Does it really matter to me if a non-Jew's thoughts are considered an action? It would be fitting if this were so (and we have already provided various reasons for this). But this concept originates from the time when God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world. The Jewish people were present in God's thoughts. "In the beginning, God created the world" (Genesis 1:1) for the sake of the Jewish people, who are called "the first" (Reshit). At that point, the Jewish people had not yet performed any actions. Nevertheless, their presence in God's thoughts was sufficient. Their existence in thought was equivalent to action. Therefore, Jewish Law states that for the Jewish people, a good thought is considered an action, which is not true for the other nations of the world. The creation of the world described in the Torah began on the evening preceding the first day, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5). Since the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts before the creation of time, that time – the Sabbath that preceded the creation of time – is called the "time of the afternoon prayer of the Sabbath," the "time of desire." Since God, blessed be His Name, desired to create the world on that Sabbath, that Sabbath is called "the day of knowledge," as the verse states, "To know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you" (Exodus 31:13). This is the meaning of the Sages' statement, "A good gift...and the Sabbath is its name for you. And He informed them, as it is said, 'To know..." (Shabbat 10b). When the Jewish people left Egypt, God wanted to give them the wondrous quality that they possess more than any other nation: that their thoughts about performing commandments are considered equivalent to actually performing them. God commanded them to perform the first commandment, the offering of the Passover sacrifice. He commanded them to take the lamb on the tenth of the month (which is different from the Passover in later generations), which was then a Sabbath, to show them that the thoughts they have about performing the commandments, such as the slaughtering of the Passover lamb, are considered to be the commandment itself (which is not the case for the other nations of the world). The reason for this is the Sabbath, the time when the Jewish people existed in God's thoughts. This understanding allows us to interpret the verse, "Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them." (Psalm 111:2) Actions done for the sake of God, blessed be He, are called "great," for "He will surely be gracious to the good, even the desire and the thought that a person has to do the deeds of the commandments for the sake of God." Thus they are called "great," like an adult who can create a vessel merely through thought. Because this concept was revealed to the Jewish people on this Sabbath, it is called "Shabbat HaGadol," the Great Sabbath, in remembrance of the fact that we have been given the laws and status of an adult, who can create a vessel merely through thought.