Illustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Haftarah הַפְטָרָה
שַׁבָּת הַגָּדוֹל (Shabbat Ha-Gadol, The Great Shabbat)
Pesah is next week, and that means that this Shabbat is שַׁבָּת הַגָּדוֹל (Shabbat Ha-Gadol, The Great Shabbat). Here are two ways that the haftarah for Shabbat Ha-Gadol is connected to the holiday coming up.
Redemption
On Pesah, when we remember how God saved the Jewish people from slavery, we also think about people who still need to be saved. Malakhi talks about this in our haftarah when he describes a future redemption, when the נָבִיא (navi, prophet) Eliyahu will come.
הִנֵּ֤ה אָנֹכִי֙ שֹׁלֵ֣חַ לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֖ת אֵלִיָּ֣ה הַנָּבִ֑יא לִפְנֵ֗י בּ֚וֹא י֣וֹם יהוה הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃ וְהֵשִׁ֤יב לֵב־אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וְלֵ֥ב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑ם פֶּן־אָב֕וֹא וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ חֵֽרֶם׃
God said, “I will send Eliyahu the navi to you before the coming of the great and awesome day of God. He will bring the heart of parents back to their children and the heart of children back to their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.”
- How might these pesukim connect to Pesah?
- According to these pesukim, what seems to be an important part of the final redemption?
Tithing
The Torah frequently tells us to give one tenth of what we have to people in need. This is called מַעֲשֵׂר (ma’aser, tithing). In our haftarah, Malakhi tells the people to donate all their ma’aser, and then God will provide blessings (Malakhi 3:10).
Our Rabbis might have chosen this haftarah for this week because it’s important to make sure you’ve donated all your ma’aser before Pesah (see Rambam Hilkhot Ma’aser Sheni 11:3).
Today there’s also a custom to give מָעוֹת חִטִּים (ma’ot hittim) before Pesah. These are gifts to charity that are meant to make sure that everyone—even people having money trouble—has what they need to celebrate Pesah. Our haftarah can also be a reminder to donate to ma’ot hittim, if you haven’t already!
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