This Shabbas is  "Shabbas HaGadol" the Shabbas before Pesach. It is this Shabbas, when we were in Egpyt, that our ancestors took for themselves lambs in preparation for the Pesach offering. This act in itself was considered miraculous as the lamb was one of the deities of the Egyptians. As the Jewish People took their sacrificial lambs and tied them to their beds in preparation for the offering, it should have caused a tremendous uproar among the Egyptians. They should have killed the Jews for doing such a thing but they didn't this was a great miracle and in a sense the start of the redemption process. This Shabbas is therefore called the "Great Shabbas". 

As we approach the holiday our world and especially Jewish life is at a stand still. This may very well be the first time in thousands of years that there are not shuls and minyanim functioning anywhere in the world. We are all preparing to have the Pesach Seder, a night which was always marked by large family gatherings in which fathers would pass on to their children the foundations of our faith and the story of our miraculous birth as a nation, alone. It also seems like the virus has had a disproportionate impact on Jewish communities worldwide claiming the lives of many of our brothers and sisters. How can we begin to understand this calamity? How can we understand what G-d wants from us? What is our duty at this point in history?

The truth is we don't have the answers. We know what G-d wants from us in one sense and that is to guard our lives and to take all the necessary precautions for ourselves our families and the world. That is our job right now. The deeper answers of why, we can't answer at this point. Normally we have our children and grandchildren to ask the questions, this year as our Sages explain, we will have to ask ourselves the questions. We need to answer ourselves and strengthen our own faith. G-d is our Father in Heaven He loves us and performed all of the great miracles in Egpyt because He chose us as His Nation. All of our trials and tribulations are part of His major plan for humanity and it is all for our good. This message we need to tell ourselves.

May we see the redemption speedily in our days. May we merit to eat from the Pesach offering.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Healthy and Kosher Passover!

Heath