Dear Friends,
Some Shabbatot ((Shabbats, in Hebrew) have special names, provided them by the Sages due to their sequence in the Jewish calendar.
This Shabbat is called Shabbat haGadol – The Great – or Big – Shabbat. It is supposed to be known by that title as it is the Sabbath preceding Pesach, the day when the rabbi in earlier ages would give one of only two real sermons during the year, this one detailing the instructions for keeping Passover. (The other Shabbat when historically the rabbi gave a full sermon was, similarly, on the Shabbat preceding Yom Kippur, when instructions for keeping the fast and doing repentance were detailed.)
The other, more interesting, reason for titling this Shabbat as Shabbat haGadol – The Big Shabbat, was that the rabbi would give a great or long sermon. The rabbi had much to say about the importance of Passover, the detailed rules and instructions for kashering the house (removing chametz – leavened foodstuffs) preparing food, reciting the Seder, and more. On Shabbat haGadol – which falls this coming Shabbat – the rabbi had much to say, and was not shy about saying so. Thus, the Shabbat service could be quite protracted.
This Shabbat, I could follow that age-old tradition…
But, I am more curious and interested in our relationship with time and expediency. Why are we so taken with brevity? Academics and psychiatrists have warned that, with the emergence of digital data, Instragram and 30-minute television shows, our attention spans have shrunken so that we cannot tolerate longer presentations. Who could sit through Gone With the Wind in a theater, today? We want messages and entertainment to be direct, quick, concise. Get to the point, already! Even Major League Baseball has instituted a timeclock so that baseball games do not drag-on!
However, should important teachings and messages really be concatenated? Do we want important briefings or lectures to be snappy and swift? True, America’s immediate past President did not read reports and wanted only the headlines in his briefings. But, should we want our elected officials, generals and statesmen to run the nation on the Cliff Notes? Yes, some decisions require immediacy. Others require careful, complete thoughtfulness.
Isn’t there a time when the whole, great, Big message be fully presented, considered and digested?
That is the message of Passover. That is why the Seder can be a couple, or more, hours. That is why we recite four questions, and not just one, “Why is this night different from all others?”
Learning and understanding, responsibility and leadership, require the whole message. Hence, Shabbat haGadol!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Some Shabbatot ((Shabbats, in Hebrew) have special names, provided them by the Sages due to their sequence in the Jewish calendar.
This Shabbat is called Shabbat haGadol – The Great – or Big – Shabbat. It is supposed to be known by that title as it is the Sabbath preceding Pesach, the day when the rabbi in earlier ages would give one of only two real sermons during the year, this one detailing the instructions for keeping Passover. (The other Shabbat when historically the rabbi gave a full sermon was, similarly, on the Shabbat preceding Yom Kippur, when instructions for keeping the fast and doing repentance were detailed.)
The other, more interesting, reason for titling this Shabbat as Shabbat haGadol – The Big Shabbat, was that the rabbi would give a great or long sermon. The rabbi had much to say about the importance of Passover, the detailed rules and instructions for kashering the house (removing chametz – leavened foodstuffs) preparing food, reciting the Seder, and more. On Shabbat haGadol – which falls this coming Shabbat – the rabbi had much to say, and was not shy about saying so. Thus, the Shabbat service could be quite protracted.
This Shabbat, I could follow that age-old tradition…
But, I am more curious and interested in our relationship with time and expediency. Why are we so taken with brevity? Academics and psychiatrists have warned that, with the emergence of digital data, Instragram and 30-minute television shows, our attention spans have shrunken so that we cannot tolerate longer presentations. Who could sit through Gone With the Wind in a theater, today? We want messages and entertainment to be direct, quick, concise. Get to the point, already! Even Major League Baseball has instituted a timeclock so that baseball games do not drag-on!
However, should important teachings and messages really be concatenated? Do we want important briefings or lectures to be snappy and swift? True, America’s immediate past President did not read reports and wanted only the headlines in his briefings. But, should we want our elected officials, generals and statesmen to run the nation on the Cliff Notes? Yes, some decisions require immediacy. Others require careful, complete thoughtfulness.
Isn’t there a time when the whole, great, Big message be fully presented, considered and digested?
That is the message of Passover. That is why the Seder can be a couple, or more, hours. That is why we recite four questions, and not just one, “Why is this night different from all others?”
Learning and understanding, responsibility and leadership, require the whole message. Hence, Shabbat haGadol!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn