SHABBAT HAGADOL
Hertz p.429
Soncino p.631
Shabbat ends in London at 8.25pm
| Sidra Lite | |
| Shabbat HaGadol - The definition of Great! | Rabbi Mendel Lew |
| Motzei Shabbat | Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Rothenberg Alter | Rabbi Dr Michael Harris |
| 12th Nisan 5639 | Rabbi Yisroel Fine |
| Popeye the Philistine? - Ekron | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis & Liora Graham |
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SHABBAT HAGADOL - THE DEFINITION OF GREAT!
In the build-up to this Shabbat, our preparations for the fast approaching festival of Pesach will have entered into fever pitch. As soon as Shabbat is ended, we will return to the frenzied and frantic hustle to ensure that all is set and ready for the Seder.
On Shabbat, however, all is calm and peaceful. As if to emphasise this difference in approach, we read from the Haggadah. Each paragraph takes us on a journey of nostalgia, as we recall past Seders, all the while rehearsing for the real thing.
But this Shabbat has something else, too. It is one of those unique occasions when a title has been added, Shabbat Hagadol - the Great Shabbat. What makes it so great?
The miracle of the Exodus was preceded by a special meal (the original Seder), the highlight of which was the Paschal lamb. Unlike the practice in subsequent years, the original offering was selected 4 days prior to its consumption. This four day delay between the taking of the lamb and its use prompted quizzical enquiries by the Egyptians.
One can only imagine their horror when told that it was a precursor to the final plague, when all Egyptian firstborn males would be slain. According to tradition, these firstborn men were understandably outraged and they demanded from their elders and from Pharaoh to immediately release the Israelites from bondage. When their request was refused, they declared war against these leaders. A civil war was now being waged in Egypt! The date for selecting the lamb was the 10th of Nissan, a Shabbat. In tribute to this great miracle, the entire Shabbat is declared great.
In the history of the Jewish people, many tremendous and extraordinary miracles have taken place, not least the events surrounding the Exodus - both prior and immediately following. Why then is the miracle of Egyptian civil war considered so exceptional? And why have a whole Shabbat dedicated to it?
In truth, however, something remarkable did happen. In all other significant times, the Jews have been rescued by a change in circumstances. At the time of the splitting of the sea, the Egyptians drowned. They remained enemies, intent upon our destruction, until the very end - an end brought about as a result of a miracle. Similarly, with the events that preceded the celebration of Purim and Chanukah, the enemy remained as determined as ever. The evil was averted due to changes caused with the assistance of miracles.
On Shabbat Hagadol, in contrast, the enemy themselves had become transformed. The firstborn males, representing the might and future of Egypt, were now waging war on behalf of the Israelites! To be sure, their lives were at stake, but the cause was the release of the Israelites from captivity. The enemy had effectively changed!
This is consistent with the Jewish approach that negativity and darkness must be transformed and harnessed to the cause of good and light. It would be easier to crush them, but much more productive if they are reformed and utilised for the purpose of good. It is also why we view this event as a truly great miracle.
The Maariv service on Motzei Shabbat (Saturday evening) should be commenced a short while after nightfall in order to delay the formal conclusion of Shabbat and to add from the secular to the holy. (The published times for Motzei Shabbat incorporate this delay.) The Rama cites the practice - which seems to have fallen into disuse - of singing the introductory verses and Barechu to a prolonged chant in order to demonstrate our reluctance to terminate Shabbat.
The mitzvah of Havdalah is Biblically mandated - the Sages explained that the verse "Remember the Shabbat day to keep it holy" implies that declarations regarding the sanctity of the day be made at the commencement and conclusion of Shabbat. Though the Biblical requirement can be satisfied simply by formally declaring the end of Shabbat, there is a Rabbinic requirement that Havdalah should be recited over a cup of wine.
When filling the cup with wine, the custom is to allow it to overflow slightly in reference to the Talmudic dictum (Eruvin 65a) that blessings are absent from homes where wine is not poured as freely as water, though the Mishnah Berurah notes that only a very small amount of wine should be allowed to spill so as not to be wasteful. At the conclusion of Havdalah the person reciting the berachot should drink the wine in the cup and the candle is traditionally extinguished in the wine that has spilled. (The custom that some people have of merely sipping the wine and pouring the remainder over the candle is poor halachic practice.)
Ideally Havdalah should be recited on Motzei Shabbat. If for some reason this is not feasible it may be recited until sunset on Tuesday (i.e. until the end of the first half of the week), but in such instances the berachot for the spices and the candle should be omitted..
Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Rothenberg Alter
One of the greatest Polish Chassidic leaders of the nineteenth century, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir was born in 1799 and died in 1866. His thoughts are often cited in contemporary divrei Torah.
He is usually referred to as the "Chiddushei HaRim" after the title of his Talmudic and halachic novellae, for which he is best known.
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir was the founder and first rebbe of the Ger chassidic dynasty, which remains one of the largest and most influential Chasidic sects to this day.
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir was a child prodigy. He became a disciple of some of the great Chassidic leaders of Poland, ultimately succeeding Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (see the previous edition of Daf Hashavua) as rebbe to the majority of the Chassidim. Like the Kotzker, Rabbi Yitzhak Meir placed great emphasis on the importance of Torah study.
12th Nisan 5639
tMeshed, in the North- Eastern section of Iran, near the Afghan border, is in the Shiite Moslem tradition a "place of martyrdom", the site of the tomb of Imam Riza, who is supposed to have been poisoned by the Caliph Mamun. In Jewish historical memory it is also a place of martyrdom because it was on this day, corresponding to 27 March 1839, that a fanatical mob, incited by a false rumour broke into the Jewish Quarter, murdered 32 Jews, burned the Synagogue and destroyed the Sifrei Torah.
They were intent upon murdering the entire Jewish Community and were only prevented by their forced mass conversion to Islam.
The New Muslims, or Jadidim-al -Islam, displayed extraordinary bravery in continuing to practise their Judaism secretly and meticulously as Crypto Jews.
When getting married they conducted a Jewish ceremony in secret, then proceeded to the mosque for the public one. Two Ketubot were written simultaneously. One was an Islamic marriage contract written in Arabic script, the other was a Ketubah in Hebrew and Aramaic.
Although forced conversions led to a continuous wave of migration, the secret Jewish community of Meshed continued to survive well into the 1950s and beyond, when most Jews emigrated to Israel.
Khalil Levy of Cockfosters has vivid memories of Matzot being baked secretly in ovens underground and late at night to avoid detection, and of treifah meat being bought openly in the market and later distributed to their servants whilst they killed and cooked kosher meat for their families.
Such are the heroic tales of the Meshed Jewish Community.
Popeye the Philistine?- Ekron
Ekron was one of Philstia's five cities (the others were Gaza, Ashkelon Ashdod and Gath) and is one of the largest Iron Age sites in Israel. More than 100 oil presses were found here, as well as the Ekron Inscription (confirming the site as Philistine Ekron). To the tourist, the highlights of a visit are the reconstructed Philistine street, featuring an oil press, a potter's wheel, (since many jugs were produced on site to transport the olive oil) and a loom, as apparently there was quite an active textile industry, as well as the Museum of Philistine Culture (yes, they really had some!)
Ekron was first mentioned in Tenach in Joshua 13:2-3 and, in relation to the Ark of the Covenant, in I Samuel 5;10. With the arrival of the Philistines (one of the Sea Peoples) in the twelfth century BCE, Ekron became a large fortified, urban centre, supplying Egypt and Assyria with huge quantities of olive oil, as much as 700 tons a year - the largest olive oil industrial centre in the ancient Middle East. Liquid was extracted from the crushed olives with the help of weights and log (an example of such an installation can be seen at the reconstructed street). The liquid was then transferred to huge jugs where the oil rose to the top and the water was drained. Tenach tells us the Philistines also had the monopoly on iron working in the Land of Israel preventing the Israelites from metal smithing.
Ekron in located on Kibbutz Revadim, off Route 3, just north of its junction with Route 40, west of Bet Shemesh..
Last week's questions:
1. set by Jerome Cohen of Wembley.
Which four Sidrot that appear successively in the Torah have sections which are read on other occasions in the year?
Answer:
1.Bo (Parshat Hachodesh and on Pesach),
2.Beshallach (Purim and 7th day Pesach),
3.Yitro (1st day Shavuot),
4.Mishpatim (Chol Hamoed Pesach).
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE
What am I?
Moses brought me down to size because he thought that he was small.
Answer:
The small alef in the opening word of Vayikra.
Through Moses' humility he sought to downplay the fact that Hashem had spoken to him directly.
This week's question:
On two occasions the Torah states Lo Tov - it is not good. What are these two instances and what is the connection between them?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Liora Graham of Hendon.
Which two die during the course of the third of the eighth?
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