A gitten erev Shabbes everyone! I’m certain that many people are busy preparing for Pesach and Shabbos HaGodol now, so I’ll try to keep this short.
Shabbos HaGodol is as described, a big Shabbos. The minhag as brought in the Shulchon Oruch HaRav is that the rov of the kehilla gives a drosho that explains some aspect of Pesach, whether Midroshim or halocho. This year, unfortunately we have no shulen, no batei midrashim, and electricity is ossur to use on Shabbos, so we can’t listen to our rabbonim as usual.
It says in the gemoro in Rosh HaShonoh that as the geulas Mitzrayim happened in Nissan, so will the geulah shleimah. Nissan, Tishrei, Sh’vat, and Av all share one thing in common; that is they have a Yom Tov to one degree or another on the 15th of the month. Though on Pesach the korban (sacrifice) is brought on the 14th, it wasn’t eaten until nightfall, meaning the 15th of Nissan. In Tishrei, Sukkos starts on the 15th. In Sh’vat we have Tu B’Shvat, the New Year for Trees, and in Av Tu B’Av, the day of zivugim and described by Chazal as a Yom Tov unlike any other for Yisroel. The B’Nei Yissoschor brings this is because there was no hatred, jealousy, or competition on that day. On the first Pesach, there also couldn’t be such a thing, everyone was busy running out of Mitzrayim with not a second to waste in order to get to Eretz Yisroel, this being the aspect of emunah, as Rebbe Nachman says in various places. On Sukkos, we are surrounded by the Kanfei HaShechinah, the wings of the Shechinah, hence brought to a higher level of kedusha and comprehending of Hashem’s wonders.
From here we can see that the way to attaining the proper understanding and levels of avodah related to Pesach, we have to commit to not hating or being jealous on another Jew; we have to work on building our emunah, as we say in Hallel “he’emanti ki adaber,” I have emunah because I speak, this is the ikar inyan of the seder, that being we speak about how great Hashem is and the Geulas Mitzrayim in order that we should attain the level of emunah, the aspect of Eretz Yisroel, that being the source of brocho and all good. Once we begin these steps, we can attain the awareness of the Kanfei HaShechinah, which also protect us on the night of Pesach, as it is called “Leil Shimurim,” and the Shechinah is literally Hashem’s Presence in this world, and it says that Hashem protects us on the Seder night. Through these avodahs, combined with the removal of chometz from the house and mind, we can hopefully fulfill the tikkunim of Pesach properly, and be zoche that Eliyohu HaNovi should arrive physically to announce that Moshiach has arrived and we can return to Yerushalayim with song and rejoicing.
Yismach Lev 