VBM Haftora for Shabbat HaGadol: By Rav Elchanan Samet

A. "Shabbat Ha-Gadol" (the 'great shabbat') We all think of Shabbat HaGadol – the Shabbat preceding Pesach – as the continuation of the four shabbatot when we read the four special parashiot; we regard it almost as the "fifth shabbat." But in truth there is a very great difference between them. The reading of the four parashiot is an ancient custom, set down in the Mishna in Megilla, and discussed at length in the Gemara. The customs pertaining to Shabbat HaGadol, in contrast – even the very existence of such a special shabbat by this name – are mentioned nowhere in the Mishna or the Talmud. The custom seems to have originated in Germany during the Middle Ages, and from there it spread throughout the Jewish world. It is only since the time of the early commentators that the customs of this special shabbat have been discussed, together with its special name.