Welcome to the Torah Communications Network's Dial-A-Shiur, general Torah programming for the entire family 24 hours a day. The first program this hour on Dial-A-Shiur is a look at events on the Jewish calendar. The maggid shiur is Rabbi Leibel Shapiro, ראש ישיבה of the Lubavitch yeshiva in Miami Beach. Concerning שבת הגדול, the Shabbos before Pesach, the Tur writes in סימן ת\"ל that the specialty of that Shabbos is because the year when the Yidden went out of מצרים, that Shabbos came out on the 10th day of Nisan. Hashem had commanded the Yidden that on the 10th day of Nisan, they should take the seh, the sheep, and be makriv it later on on the 14th day as a korban Pesach. We all know that in מצרים the sheep was avodah zarah, and therefore when the מצרים saw that the Yidden took the sheep, and they found out that the reason they took it is in order to shachat it as a korban to Hashem, we can imagine how the מצרים felt, and what they would really have wanted to do to the Yidden. And nevertheless there was a miracle that they couldn't say anything, they couldn't do anything, and as the lashon of the Tur is והיו שיניהם כהות, their teeth hurt them. And we can imagine how they wanted to harm the Yidden, and stop them from doing this, and nevertheless they weren't able to do a thing. So this is a special miracle, and therefore we have this special day called שבת הגדול.

But Tosafot in שבת דף פ\"ז עמוד ב׳ gives a slightly different reason why it's called שבת הגדול. He says because there was a miracle that happened on that day, because as we said, that's the day the Yidden took the korban Pesach, so when the מצרים saw that the Yidden are taking a sheep, so the bechorim of מצרים came to the Yidden and asked them why are they doing this, so they answered, \"This is going to be a korban Pesach to Hashem, and Hashem is going to kill the firstborn of the מצרים.\" So the firstborn מצרים went to their fathers and went to Paroh, and asked them, \"Send out the Yidden,\" because they were afraid for their life, and they didn't want. So the bechorot made a מלחמה, made a war against the Mitzrayim, and they killed many of them. And this is the meaning of the pasuk that it says מכה מצרים בבכוריהם, that they hit, killed the Mitzrayim through their own bechorim, because at this point the bechorim of the Mitzrayim made a war against the Mitzrayim themselves, and killed many Mitzrayim. And since that day was Shabbos, so they made a zikaron to that nes that always the Shabbos before Pesach should be a special Shabbos, and we call it Shabbos Hagadol. Because a נס גדול, a big miracle happened on that day, and therefore this is called Shabbos Hagadol, the big Shabbos. But the question that's asked is why did they establish to remember this nes on the day of the week, on Shabbos, rather than on the day of the month? We know that when Hashem established ימים טובים as a zecher to certain miracles that happened, it's always on the day of the month. Pesach is on the 15th day of Nisan because that's the day of the month the Yidden went out of Mitzrayim, but it is not on the day of the week. Why is it that this miracle was established to remember it on the day of the week? So the Magen Avraham in Orach Chaim סימן ת\"ל answers because the 10th day of Nisan really is a fast day, because this is the day that Miriam passed away, and it says in סימן תק\"פ that this day is supposed to be a fast day, and therefore, because it's a fast day, they didn't want to make that day into a Yom Tov. Therefore, they established a zikaron, the remembrance of this nes on the day of the week, which is the Shabbos before Pesach. But באמת we have to understand this.

First of all, we have to understand why was this miracle, the way Tosafos explains, such a big miracle? What's so special about it? לכאורה, there is no miracle here whatsoever. It was only natural that this should happen, because this that the bechorim believed the Yidden that Hashem is going to kill the bechorim, that is not a miracle at all. There's no wonder in that at all, because they saw from the previous cases that whenever he warned them that there is going to be a makah, the makah came. And this happened nine times before. On the contrary, if there is a wonder here, the wonder is why Paro and the other Mitzrayim did not agree to let the Yidden out. The reason for that was was because ויחזק השם את לב פרעה, because Hashem hardened the heart of Paro. But naturally, after all the things that happened before, it only makes sense to believe the warning. So therefore it's only natural that the bechorei Mitzrayim believed the warning of the Yidden, and therefore it's only natural that they would beg their parents and Paro to let the Yidden out, and it's only natural that if they wouldn't do it, the bechorim, being afraid for their lives, would wage a war against the Mitzrayim themselves. So this is a very natural happening. So why do we refer to this as a nes, and not just as a simple nes, but we call it a nes gadol, a big nes? And also, if at least from this big nes there would be a big to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael, If the Yidden would have gained a lot from this thing, so then even though it's not a nes, but nevertheless, being that this brought a big to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael, we refer to it as a nes gadol. But in truth, this brought no to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael, because even after this happened, it didn't change the status of the Bnei Yisrael. They still were in galut, and Paro still wouldn't let them out, until Pesach, when there was makat bechorot, nothing changed. So there was no to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael. According to the reason of the Tur, there was a to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael, because the miracle was that the Mitzrayim couldn't harm them, so there was a to'elet that they couldn't harm them. But according to Tosafot, that the miracle was that מכה מצרים בבכוריהם, that the bechorim killed some of the Mitzrayim, so what did we gain from it? So lechorah there is no to'elet for the Bnei Yisrael, so there is no reason to call it גדול. So the question is back, according to this reason, what's so special about this happening, why do we refer to it as a big nes, and because of that, we make a special day which is Shabbos Hagadol? And also, the second thing that the Magen Avraham says, that the reason they didn't establish it for the day of the month, but rather for the day of the week, is because Miriam passed away on that day, is also not so understood, because it would make sense to say, even though we're not sure, that to have a minhag of calling it Shabbos Hagadol started right away the year when this happened. And Miriam didn't pass away till 40 years later. So it would come out that first they established it on the day of the month, then 40 years later, when Miriam passed away, and they wanted to make it the יום תענית, so then they changed the kvius of remembering this miracle to the day of the week rather than to the day of the month. It is hard to say that. But in truth, even if we will not say that, even if we will say that lechatchilah it was established after Miriam passed away, and therefore lechatchilah it wasn't established on the day of the month, but on the day of the week because of Miriam's passing away, it's still not so clear, why is it that because of Miriam's passing away, and they wanted to make it a יום תענית, they pushed off the inyan of making it into a Yom Tov? Why shouldn't it be the opposite? Why shouldn't we say that because this day is a Yom Tov, is a special day, we shouldn't establish a fast day on that day? But this last question can be answered, because we do find that those days that were established as fast days have a power of pushing away even a day which happens to be a Yom Tov. And that's how we find that there are certain days in Maseches Taanis where it says you have to fast, so even if it would come out on Rosh Chodesh, when you are not allowed to fast מן הדין, as it says in Shulchan Aruch, in the beginning of סימן תקפ, that on Rosh Chodesh it is a halacha you're not allowed to fast, nevertheless, those days that were established as taaniyot in Megillat Taanit, they have the power of pushing away Rosh Chodesh, and you would have to fast on Rosh Chodesh. So certainly in this case, where the Yom Tov of Shabbos Hagadol is only a minhag, so certainly those days that were established as fast days are stronger, and therefore to push away the inyan of being a Yom Tov. But on the other hand, even though we do find a reason על פי הלכה that that day, being it's a fast day for מיתת מרים, it should have the power of pushing away the Yom Tov of Shabbos Hagadol, and therefore establishing the זכרון of that nes not on the day of the month, but on the day of the week for Shabbos, so even though we have a תירוץ על פי הלכה, but still, since we know everything in the Torah is b'diyuk, is exact, so there must be a reason why this nes has a special connection to the day of the week rather than to the day of the month like all other Yomim Tovim. Even though על פי הלכה the reason is because the ta'anit of מיתת מרים has the power of pushing this away, but nevertheless, since it does push it away and it is put to the day of the week, obviously there is something in the day of the week that has a special connection to that miracle.

But the answer to these questions is based on first understanding what is actually the תוכן of that nes that happened on that day, because as we said before, it seems that there was no miracle whatsoever, it was very natural for that to happen. So in that case, what is the miracle? But the answer is that this itself is the specialty of what happened on that day. Just like we find concerning Purim, that it's brought down in many sefarim, that why is the nes of Purim so special? Because it was a נס המלובש בטבע, it was a miracle that was dressed into nature. Wasn't like the miracle of let's say Chanukah, when it was open miracle that the Aibershter gave over גבורים ביד חלשים, רבים ביד מעטים, that the גבורים, the strong ones, fell into the hands of the weak ones, the many fell into the hands of the few. That's a miracle which is against teva. For that to happen, Hashem had to make שידוד הטבע, as we call it, the change of nature, because it did not fit with the laws of nature. So that is something special, that shows it comes from Hashem because it is against the nature. Purim, the way it happened, was a nes which is מלובש in teva, which is dressed into the nature, because it seems as if this happened naturally. First Esther became the queen, and then Mordechai heard what Bigtan vaTeresh wanted to do, and later, all the events that happened later on could be explained naturally. But nevertheless, it is a nes which was put into teva, and that's why that is even greater than the nes of Chanukah, because here we have a combination of nes and teva. When something out of the ordinary happens, when it's a real miracle beyond nature, that shows that it comes from Hashem. Nature, a person might make a mistake and think it doesn't come from Hashem, and that is one of the reasons why it's called teva. Teva also has a meaning from the word טובעו, which means sunk in, because the koach of Hashem is sunk in, is hidden within the nature. When a miracle happens, then the koach of Hashem is revealed. But in nature, the koach of Hashem, the power of Hashem, is hidden. Just like something sinks into the water: it's there, but it's covered up, you can't see it. The same here: the koach of Hashem is there, but it's hidden, we can't see it. When a נס המלובש בטבע happens, so then what it shows is that even the teva, even the nature, comes from Hashem. In other words, when we see the nature working for the צד הקדושה, working for kedusha, this brings out the koach of Hashem even stronger. Because normally, teva, which is nature that covers up on the koach of Hashem, doesn't necessarily have to work for the צד הקדושה. The contrary, the nature of the world, there is no kedusha in the world, we have to bring kedusha into the world. But when we see that the nature works so that it helps kedusha, it helps the Bnei Yisrael, this shows that even the nature comes from Hashem, and therefore the nature really is for the צד הקדושה, helps kedusha. And that's why it says that the nes of Purim is greater than many other nissim, because it was melubash in teva.

Similar to that is the nes that happened at the time of Shabbos Hagadol. Because as we said before, it was only natural for them to do this. So what happened here was that naturally, the bechorim of Mitzrayim, who were the strong ones of Mitzrayim, and they represent the strength of Mitzrayim, because the word bechor doesn't only mean firstborn, but as the Targum Onkelos says in פרשת ויחי, קפיטל מ״ט פסוק ג, he says that the word bechor means חילי וריש תוקפי, the strength and the beginning of the תוקף of the strength. So Bechorei Mitzrayim represent the strength of Mitzrayim. And in this case what happened, the Bechorei Mitzrayim, which represents Mitzrayim, which is against Hashem and against kedusha and against the Bnei Yisrael, started working for the sake of the Bnei Yisrael, and it started doing this naturally. If it would have been a real open miracle, then we would know that since a miracle comes from Hashem, so obviously it'll work for the sake of Hashem, it'll work for the צד הקדושה, it'll work for the Bnei Yisrael. But nature, and especially the way it was at that time, that the way the Mitzrayim were were against the Bnei Yisrael, and here naturally the bechorim, which is the tokef of Mitzrayim, started working for the benefit of the Bnei Yisrael, this shows the גדלות of Hashem, this shows the greatness of Hashem, that even nature is also controlled by Hashem. והראיה, here you see that the nature is working for the Bnei Yisrael. And in one way, this is even more than it was by the nes of Purim, because by the nes of Purim, even though it was מלובש in teva, it was put dressed into the nature, nevertheless, it was obvious that there are things happening here out of the ordinary, that all these coincidences, so to speak, that happened: that Esther became the מלכה, and then Bigtan v'Teresh, and then with Haman and Achashverosh and Mordechai, and all the different things the way the sequences of events went, all this pointed that there is something special here. So even though it was מלובש in teva, but a little bit there was l'ma'alah min hateva there also. But in the nes of למכה מצרים בבכוריהם, there was no nes at all. It was only teva. And nevertheless, this teva worked for the sake of the Bnei Yisrael against the Mitzrayim. So this really shows the גדלות of Hashem. This really shows the greatness of Hashem. And the real greatness is the inyan of bli gvul, being unlimited. This really shows the true infinity of the koach of Hashem. To show that not only is Hashem baal habayit over teva, and therefore He could change the teva, but He is so unlimited that teva itself is controlled by Him, that nature, with the laws of nature remaining nature without any nisim, is really controlled by Hashem and does what Hashem wants, and therefore worked in this case for the sake of the Bnei Yisrael, even though at that time it should have been just the opposite. And for this reason, too, it was established to be celebrated on the day of the week, not on the day of the month. Because the difference between the days of the week and the days of the month is understood, that the days of the week, that is the briyah, that is the creation, this is the nature. It says, ששת ימים עשה השם את השמים ואת הארץ. Six days it took Hashem to create the שמים and ארץ. ביום השביעי, the seventh day, שבת וינפש, He rested. So even though it seems like it's a rest from maaseh bereishit, nevertheless, even the seventh day is part of maaseh bereishit, it's the שלמות of maaseh bereishit, the completion of maaseh bereishit, but it's still part of maaseh bereishit. As we know through חז״ל, that מה היה העולם חסר מנוחה, בא שבת בא מנוחה, that the world, the creation was still missing something, and that is rest. Came Shabbos, came rest, and this brought completion into the בריאה. So the days of the week all show for the ענין of the בריאה. The ענין of the months and the days of the months, that is something which is beyond the בריאה. As it says in Midrash Rabbah, in שמות רבה פרשת ט״ו י״א, משבחר הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו, קבע בו ראשי חדשים. That from when Hashem chose the world, that's when he established ראשי חדשים. So it comes out that this is not part of the creation itself, this is something that came a step later. The לשון is משבחר הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו, when he chose it. The creation is the creation itself, and then there is a stage that we call the choice Hashem made in the creation, which is something which is beyond the creation itself. And that's when the concept of ראשי חדשים came. So it comes out that the ענין of ראשי חדשים and חדשים בכלל, that has a שייכות to beyond the nature, and the ענין of ימי השבוע, the days of the week, that is the nature itself. And that is why we find that most of the ימים טובים are connected to the days of the month, because on every יום טוב, השם brings into the world קדושה which is beyond the nature of the world. That's why a Yom Tov is called מקרא קדש, the word מקרא comes from the word calling, bringing, bringing down קדושה into the world, which is beyond the nature of the world. So this is connected to the days of the month, because the month is something which is beyond the creation itself, it is משבחר הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו. But the days of the week, that is nature itself. In this case, the נס of למכה מצרים בבכוריהם, since here the ענין was that the nature itself worked for קדושה, that's why the establishment of the זכרון הנס is not for the day of the month, but it is for the day of the week, to show that even the ענין of the days of the week, which is the ענין of nature, this also is from Hashem. And this is the meaning of this nes, and that's why it's called נס גדול, because this expresses not only that Hashem is in control of the world, of the nature, in a way that he could change the nature, but Hashem controls the nature while it is natural. And that was seen in the time when naturally the בכורי מצרים, the strength of Mitzrayim, fought against Mitzrayim and worked for the benefit of the Bnei Yisrael. And therefore, even though the Bnei Yisrael themselves got nothing out of it, but nevertheless this itself, that בכורי מצרים naturally fought against the Mitzrayim, this itself is a נס גדול and therefore it is called Shabbos Hagadol. For the past 20 minutes we've been learning about events on the Jewish calendar. The Maggid Shiur has been Rabbi Leibel Shapiro, Rosh Yeshiva of the Lubavitch Yeshiva in Miami Beach. You're listening to the Torah Communications Network's Dial-A-Shiur, general Torah programming for the entire family 24 hours a day. The next program on Dial-A-Shiur begins at 20 minutes past the hour, and we'll be learning the Sefer Chovot Halevavot. The Maggid Shiur will be Rabbi Menachem Zupnick. A four-part series on הלכות פסח presented in Yiddish by the Debretziner Rav, can be heard on the Yiddish Dial-A-Shiur every Sunday. The shiurim repeat every half hour. Our English series presented by Rabbi Mordechai Isaac Oelbaum can be heard on the Sunday halacha slot. From the Torah Communications Network, this is Dial-A-Shiur.