These are four special Sabbaths, each of which derives its name from the additional
Torah portion that is read that day. Two of the Sabbaths occur in the weeks leading up to
Purim and two in the weeks then leading up to
Passover.
Shabbat Sheqalim Shabbat Sheqalim () requests each male adult Jew to contribute half of a Biblical
shekel for the upkeep of the
Tabernacle. The
weekly Torah portion is the
first section of Ki Tissa. This shabbat takes place before or on 1
Adar. In
leap years of the Hebrew calendar, when there are two months of Adar, Shabbat Shekalim is before or on 1 Adar II.
Shabbat Zachor – of Remembrance Shabbat Zachor () is the Shabbat immediately preceding
Purim.
Deuteronomy 25:17-19 (at the end of Parasha
Ki Teitzei), describing the attack on the weakest by
Amalek, is recounted. There is a tradition from the
Talmud (understood to be implied in the Megillah itself) that
Haman, the antagonist of the Purim story, was descended from Amalek. The portion that is read includes a commandment to remember the attack by Amalek, and therefore at this public reading both men and women make a special effort to hear the reading.
Shabbat Parah Shabbat Parah () precedes
Shabbat HaḤodesh in preparation for
Passover. The
first reading of Ḥuqat, the weekly Torah portion, describes the red heifer in the
Temple in Jerusalem as part of the manner in which the
kohanim and the Jews purified themselves so that they would be ready ("pure") for the
Passover sacrifice.
Shabbat HaḤodesh Shabbat HaḤodesh () precedes or occurs on 1
Nisan, during which
Passover is celebrated. A special
maftir, the
second reading of Bo, is read, in which the laws of Passover are defined. On the first day of Nisan, God presented the first commandment of how to "sanctify the new moon" (
qiddush haḥodesh) for the onset of
Rosh Chodesh and thus Nisan becomes the first month of the Jewish year (counting by months). ==Shabbat HaGadol==
Shabbat HaGadol () is the Shabbat immediately before Passover. The first Shabbat HaGadol took place in Egypt on 10 Nisan five days before the Israelite Exodus. On that day, the Israelites were given their first commandment which applied only to that Shabbat, "On the tenth day of this month (Nisan)... each man should take a lamb for the household, a lamb for each home (Exodus 12:3). There is a special Haftarah reading on this Shabbat of the book of
Malachi. Traditionally, a lengthy and expansive sermon is given by the Rabbi to the general community in the afternoon, as is also the case on Shabbat Shuvah. Various reasons are given for the name of this Shabbat: • The
Midrash Rabba states: “When they (the Jewish people) set aside their
paschal lamb on that Shabbat, the firstborn gentiles gathered near the Israelites and asked them why they were doing this. The following was their response: “This is a Pesach offering to God who will kill the firstborn Egyptians.” They (the firstborn) went to their fathers and to Pharaoh to request that they grant permission to send the Jewish people free, but they refused. The firstborn then waged a war against them, and many of them were killed. This is the meaning of the verse (): “Who struck Egypt through its firstborn; for His kindness is eternal”. • The ''
Arba'ah Turim states: The lamb was the Egyptian deity. Many Jews, after 210 years of immersion within Egyptian civilization, had also adopted this animal as their god. When God commanded that a lamb be set aside and tied to the bed for four days in anticipation of sacrifice, the Jewish people abandoned their idolatrous practice and courageously fulfilled this mitzvah in the eyes of the Egyptian people, thereby demonstrating their complete trust and faith in God. Nothing could have been more abominable to the Egyptians, for their god was to be slaughtered. Nevertheless, miraculously, the Egyptians were unable to utter a word or lift a hand. They watched helplessly as their god was being prepared for slaughter. This miracle was a great miracle (nes gadol'') and gives this Shabbat its name. • The
Peri Hadash writes: On this day the Jewish people were commanded to fulfill their first mitzvah – to set aside the lamb as a sacrifice. (Note: The mitzvah of
Rosh Chodesh was not one they practically fulfilled at that time on that month.) This significant achievement is therefore referred to as 'Gadol'. Additionally, by fulfilling this first mitzvah they became like a child maturing into adulthood – they celebrated their Bar/Bat Mitzvah. •
Moses Sofer writes: On this day, the Jewish people fully
‘returned’ to their commitment and faith in God. God is called gadol. Therefore, the Jews who embraced and subjugated themselves to God earned the title
gadol as well. •
Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw writes that the customary lengthy
Shabbat HaGadol speech makes the Shabbat feel long, drawn out, and ‘
gadol’. •
David Abudarham writes: In the
haftara of the Shabbat prior to Pesach, we read the
posuk [Malachi 3:23]: "Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord." This reason places 'Shabbat HaGadol' in the same category as 'Shabbat Hazon', 'Shabbat Nahamu', and 'Shabbat Shuva', as their names are derived from the Haftara. • Every Shabbat preceding a festival or festival season is known as Shabbat HaGadol. (
Shibolei Haleket) ==Shabbat Chazon – of Vision==