This Shabbat before Passover is known as Shabbat HaGadol, the Great or Grand Shabbat. It is a partner to the Shabbat before Yom Kippur, Shabbat Shuvah, the Shabbat of Return or Repentance.

For both of these special Shabbatot, somewhat unexpectedly, we do not take out a second Torah scroll and read an additional portion. Instead, we rely on the words of the Prophets through the selection of Haftarah text to instill in us the mood and feeling of the moment.

The Haftarah of Shabbat HaGadol focuses on the coming messianic redemption, which tradition holds will take place on Passover. In essence, the choice of prophetic literature was designed to get our hopes up and build excitement for this year being the year that it would happen. This is a wonderful example of our Jewish notion of eternal – even if unrealistic – hope for a better future.

Another custom of Shabbat HaGadol was that the spiritual leader of a community would teach the key laws of Passover. This served as a reminder to everyone how important the celebration, commemoration and observance of Passover was to the Jewish community across time and space. With a parallel custom emerging for the reminders of the Yom Kippur regulations on Shabbat Shuvah, we can see that Passover stands above the other annual holidays in its level of importance.

Passover is the quintessential Jewish holiday. It blends home and family celebrations with community celebrations. We eat, we teach, we discuss, and we hope for a better future. Be it the words at the end of the Seder, “L’Shanah Ha’Ba’Ah Bi’Yerusalayim” (Next Year in Jersualem) or the words “Bring Them Home”, that are still on our lips after 553 days, may our Passover experience push us that much closer towards redemption.