The Shabbat that precedes Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol - "The Great Shabbat". The title hails from the second to last word in our Haftarah: "Behold! I am sending Elijah the Prophet to you before the coming of the GREAT and awesome day of the Lord." (Malachi 3:23). This is actually a repetition of the second to last verse! The reason for this is so that we don't end the reading on a dreadful note. The actual last verse (3:24) reads, "and he (Elijah) will turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers lest I (God) come and utterly destroy the land."
In this Haftarah, Malachi, one of the last of the prophets, speaks of a day of Divine Judgment "...against the sorcerers and the adulterers and those who swear falsely and those who mistreat the hired laborer, the widow and the orphan and who cast aside the stranger (convert) and refuse to fear..." God. (3:5) He appeals to the Jewish People to "Return" to God and then quotes their response: "How can we 'return'?"
He tells them that they have robbed God! He then quotes their response, "In what way?" He responds that they have "short-changed" God "in tithe (ten percent of their income) and in the donations to the Priests." He challenges them to bring the full tithe and see for themselves how God will bless them. "All nations will praise you, for you will be a desirable land." (3:12)
Next Malachi accuses them of "speaking harshly against God." (3:13) In the same verse he quotes the incredulous Jewish People as saying "In what way?" He responds "In saying 'It's useless serving God!' What benefit was there in keeping His charge (the mitzvot) and walking submissively on account of the Lord of Hosts?'" (3:14)
He goes on to mention how those who "fear the Lord" (3:16) talk to one another and pay attention to what he has said and so God takes note of "those who fear Him and who think about His Name." On this day of Divine Judgment, God will remember them and everyone will see how they are God's treasure and how God will show them compassion. Everyone will see the clear distinction between the righteous and the wicked: between the one who serves God and the one who doesn't." (3:18) This Day will be a day of triumph for the righteous; they will prosper and trample the wicked "as the dust under the soles of their feet." (3:21)
Regardless, what does all this have to do with Pesach?
For one, this description sounds a great deal like the day in which God rescued the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. There was a clear distinction between the Israelites who "feared God" and did as Moses commanded them in sprinkling the blood of the lamb on their doorposts etc. and the Egyptians who saw their firstborn killed and drowned later on in the Sea of Reeds.
Secondly, Malachi also clarifies the idea that the original Exodus is actually a foretaste - a paradigm, if you will - of the Ultimate Redemption that is still to come. This Day of Ultimate Divine Judgment will set apart those who take God's commandments seriously ("fear the Lord") and those who choose not to. In a way Malachi is helping us understand the reason for whatever physical and financial effort we made in trying to rid our homes of chometz! Our last prophet wants us to understand the deep significance of this wonderful Holiday that is upon us. |
