This is Shabbat HaGadol: The Pathway Towards our Redemption and Atonement.

 

In observing Jewish circles, this Sabbath is referred to and celebrated as “Shabbat HaGadol.”

 

Otherwise referred to as the great Sabbath, Shabbat HaGadol is traditionally held on the Sabbath that precedes or occurs before the Passover/Pesach. And so, given that Passover will occur this year, next Fr-day, the 15th of Ap-il according to the Calculated Jewish/Rabbinic Calendar, Shabbat HaGadol appropriately takes place on the date of this posting. Given that the observational calendar has Passover/Pesach occurring S-nday, Ap-il 17, next Shabbat, 4/16/2022 would be the more appropriate date for it. (If you desire to learn more about the Biblical Calendar and Father Yah’s reckoning of time, I would encourage you to read or listen to our post entitled: “Guarding the Month of Aviv’s Critical Importance to God’s Covenant Elect” and or read my blog post entitled “Why I Keep the Torah (Observational) Calendar and not the Other Popular Messianic Calendars“)

 

Shabbat Hagadol (A Most Timely and Appropriate Tradition)

Pesach is indeed viewed from a handful of perspectives, all of which lend to the abundantly rich spiritual applications of the season and its love story prophetic shadow pictures.  And at the risk of diminishing the significance of any of these spiritual applications and prophetic shadows of Pesach, I want in this discussion to spotlight the redemption and atonement aspects of Shabbat HaGadol and Pesach. (Devarim 32:8-14; 4:19-20)

 

Rabbinic Traditions: Some Okay, Others Not So Okay

First and foremost, it should be recognized that Shabbat HaGadol is a Rabbinic Tradition. It is not one of the mandated Feasts/Moedim of Yah.

 

Generally, I do not give much attention to traditional Rabbinic holidays for the simple reason that they are made-up, rabbinic-contrived traditions that hold little to no true spiritual value to us. Consequently, because a great many folks in our Faith Communities tend to embrace many Jewish traditions, it would not be uncommon to find brethren anticipating and keeping this holiday.

 

Biblically speaking, traditions, whether they be Jewish or secularly derived, are generally fine for us to keep, if we for whatever reason are led to do so, in particular Jewish traditions. However, Yah prohibits us, His Elect, from keeping traditions that are of pagan origin:

 

(1) And YHVH spoke to Moshe, saying, (2) “Speak to the Yisra’elites, and you shall say to them: ‘I am YHVH your Elohim. (3) Not like the deeds of the land of Mitsrayim/Egypt in which you dwelt shall you do, and not like the deeds of the land of Canaan into which I am about to bring you shall you do, and according to their statutes you shall not walk. (4) My laws you shall do and My statutes you shall keep to walk by them’” (Leviticus/Vayiqra 18:1-3; Alter modified).

 

(22) And you (Yisra’el) shall keep all My statutes and all My laws and do them, lest the land to which I bring you to dwell there spew you out. (23) And you shall not go by the statutes of the nation which I am about to send away before you, for all these things they have done, and I loathed them (Leviticus/Vayiqra 20:22-23).

 

(1) Hear ye the Word which Yehovah speak unto you, O house of Yisra’el: (2) Thus says Yehovah, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. (3) For the customs of the people are vain…(Jeremiah/Yirmeyahu 10:1-3a; Cepher modified).

 

Indeed, this is a no brainer for those of us who have been in Faith for any appreciable length of time. Secular horror-days such as Easter, Halloween, and Christmas certainly fall within these prohibitions. I will tell you, regarding such prohibitions, I take issue with the traditional, so-called Jewish Seder that so many brethren in our Faith will be engaging in during this coming Pesach season. For elements of the traditional Seder meal seem to be of questionable origin and meaning.

 

But that’s just me. Every Nazarene Yisra’elite must be convinced in their own mind about such things as taught by the Emissary Shaul:

 

(4) Who are you that judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be holden up: For Yehovah is able to make him stand. (5) One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (6) He that regards the day, regards it unto Yehovah; and he that regards not the day, to Yehovah he does not regard it. He that eats, eats to Yehovah for he gives Yehovah thanks; and he that eats not, to Yehovah he eats not, and gives Yehovah thanks. (7) For none of us lives to himself, and no man dies to himself (Romans 14:4-7; Cepher modified).

 

The Danger of the Takonot 

The other thing about engaging and keeping traditions, certain Jewish traditions and practices, are those that carry with it the force of Jewish halachah that equal or surpass the primacy and authority of Torah. Such traditions and practices are referred to as “takonot/takkanah.” And believe me, there are many such traditions and practices that many in our Faith Community have fallen for. Traditions such as when the 7-week count towards Shavuot is to take place and when Shavuot occurs on the calendar are cases in point. For the Rabbis has declared that they were given the authority to enact takanot by none other than Moshe himself. But you and I know that that is clearly not the case. For Yah Himself declared through Moshe:

 

(1) And now, Yisra’el, hear the statutes and the laws that I am about to teach you to do, so you may live, and you shall come and take hold of the land that Yehovah Elohim of your fathers is about to give to you. (2) You shall not add to the word that I charge you and you shall not subtract from it, to keep the commands of Yehovah your Elohim, which I charge you (Deuteronomy/Devarim 4:1-2; Cepher modified).

 

(1) Everything which I charge you, that shall you keep to do. You shall not add to it, and you shall not subtract from it (Deuteronomy/Devarim 13:1; Cepher).

 

Nevertheless, there are some Jewish traditions and practices that appear to be spiritually harmless. In other words, they are not of pagan-origin, nor do they carry with them any hint of being takanot. And Shabbat HaGadol appears to be one of those traditional holidays that the Jews keep to mark the start of the Pesach season.

 

 The Rabbinic Folklore of Shabbat HaGadol

Granted, the basis for Shabbat HaGadol seems to be that of rabbinic folklore. For according to tradition, the 10th of the Month of Aviv/Abib in the year of the Exodus was a weekly Sabbath. And there is a miraculous element that the rabbis attached to that day. But to understand what that day is all about from these standpoints; you must first understand the sequence of events surrounding this day. And this will serve as sort of a primer for us as we continue to Guard the Month of Aviv and head into the so-called Spring Feasts/Moedim of Yah.

 

We find in Exodus/Shemot 12 the following instructions Yah gave to Moshe and Aharon for the very first Passover/Pesach:

 

(1) And Yehovah said to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Mitsrayim/Egypt, saying, (2) “This month is for you head of months (ie., the Month of the Aviv), it is the first for you of the months of the year (ie., the biblical Rosh Hashanah). (3) Speak to all the community of Yisra’el saying: ‘On the tenth of this month (ie., the Month of the Aviv), let every man take a lamb for a father’s house, a lamb for a household. (4) And should a household be too small to have a lamb, it must take together with its neighbor who is close to its house, in proportion to the persons, each man according to what he eats shall take his portion of the lamb. (5) An unblemished lamb, a yearling male you shall have, from the sheep or from the goats you may take it. (6) And it shall be a thing to be kept by you until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole congregation of the community of Yisra’el shall slaughter it at twilight. (7) And they shall take form the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they will eat it. (8) And they shall eat the m eat on this night fire-roasted, with flat bread on bitter herbs shall they eat it. (9) Do not eat from it raw, nor in any way cooked in water, but fire-roasted, its head with its shanks and with its entrails. And you shall leave nothing from it by morning, and what is left of it by morning in fire you shall burn. (11) And thus, shall you eat it: Your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is a Passover offering to Yehovah. (12) And I will cross through the land of Egypt/Mitsrayim on this night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt/Mitsrayim from man to beast, and from all the gods of Egypt/Mitsrayim I will exact retributions. I am Yehovah. (13) And the blood will be a sign for you upon the houses in which you are, and I will see the blood and I will Passover you, and no scourge shall become a Destroyer amongst you when I strike in the land of Egypt/Mitsrayim. (14) And this day shall be a remembrance for you, and you shall celebrate it as a festival to Yehovah through your generations, an everlasting statute you shall celebrate it (Exodus/Shemot 12:1-14; Alter modified).

 

As it specifically relates to our discussion here today, I want us to pay particular attention to verses 3 and 12, for they are directly tied to the essential concepts of “atonement” and “redemption” respectively.

 

We see here in this lengthy, detailed passage of Torah, that Yah instructed Moshe and Aharon to direct the people to select an unblemished, perfect, yearling lamb or kid on the 10th day of the Month of the Aviv. That lamb or kid was to be kept by each household from the 10th to the 14th day. And then at twilight on the 14th day, the community would slaughter the lambs and kids they kept in their homes for the better part of 5-days. The lamb or kid would be roasted and consumed in haste by the members of each family on the night after it was slaughtered. However, the blood that would be collected when the animal was slaughtered would be applied to each household’s doorposts and lintel. And thus, the first Passover went down in history as one of the most pivotal events in all human history. The prophetic shadows depicted by the selection and keeping of the lamb and kid, the slaughtering of the animal, the blood applied to one’s entrance into their home and so forth cannot be overstated. But we’ll touch a little upon those salient prophetic shadows before we depart from her today

 

 Shabbat HaGadol Highlights the 10th Day Lamb Selection

So, what then does all this have to do with Shabbat HaGadol. Well, Shabbat HaGadol memorializes that 10th-day selection of the lamb or kid for each home. This tradition holds that the selected lamb or kid that would ultimately be sacrificed 5-days later would be tethered to the foot of a family member’s bed. And so, what’s the big whoop about that you may ask? Well, turns out that lambs were viewed and treated as deity by the Egyptians. And for anyone, much less a Hebrew slave, to tether a lamb to their beds in their homes would have been viewed as sacrilege. It would go without saying that the Hebrews, on top of the everyday stresses that went along with being in abject slavery and bitter bondage, to be found by their Egyptian overlords to be keeping a lamb or kid in such a manner would likely result in some pretty bad consequences.

 

 Rabbinic Jibberish: The Miracle of the Lamb Selection on the 10th Day

But here’s where the miraculous comes into this day. That is, according to Rabbinic tradition. Turns out that when the Egyptians saw the tethered animals in the Hebrew homes, they either fainted, were paralyzed, or when the Egyptians learned what the intended outcome of this rather odd situation would be, that they simply encouraged the Hebrews to make haste and leave their land. No actions were taken against the Hebrews by their Egyptian overlords for tethering one of their deities to the foot of Hebrew beds.

 

And if this wasn’t wondrous enough for you, turns out that the tradition asserts this day fell upon the weekly Sabbath before Passover. And although the Rabbis chose not to memorialize the 10th day of their month on their calendar, they do memorialize it in great part on this day that they call Shabbat HaGadol.

 

 Modern Jewish Observance of Shabbat HaGadol

Today, modern Jews observe Shabbat HaGadol by attending a somewhat prolonged Sabbath service. Not only does this service include the weekly Sabbath rituals, messages, and teachings on how members of the congregation should prepare for the coming Pesach/Passover and week of Unleavened Bread are added.

 

The haftarah for Shabbat HaGadol is always Malachi 3:4-24. It is indeed a prophetic passage pointing to the Messianic Age to come. I’m certain you all are familiar with it. But I would humbly encourage you during this weekend to read these 20-verses again and appreciate the solemnity of the passage. Speaking to that Great and Dreadful Day of Yehovah when He will judge the wicked and save Yaachov; when the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; when the earth will be finally purified; and Yisra’el is called to Teshuvah and operate in Torah.

 

There is a lot of controversy that swirls around the choice of this prophecy as the haftarah for the day, and the name of the day being Shabbat HaGadol or the Great Sabbath. The term “great” seems to be the thing in question. What makes this Sabbath better than any others? And quite frankly, the many reasons offered range from the absurd to moderately plausible.

 Personal Thoughts on Shabbat HaGadol

But I personally don’t believe the descriptor of “great” has anything to do with this Shabbat being superior to any other Shabbat. I think, rather, that the rabbis may have unwittingly picked up on a great prophetic shadow that is attached to the story behind this Sabbath. For indeed, the perfect Lamb selected to cover us and hide us from the death that would strike every firstborn of Egypt that did not have the atoning blood applied to their homes, foreshadowed our Master Yahoshua HaMashiyach. The prophetic and spiritual implications for this obscure day and its solemn events on Yah’s calendar can only be described as “great.” How would our ancient Hebrew cousins going through this first Passover ritual, beginning with on the 14th day of Aviv ever know that they were foreshadowing the Person and Ministry of Master Yahoshua? If they had only known, would having that knowledge made a difference in their future walk in covenant with Yah? Maybe? Maybe not?

 

Z’man Cheiruteinu

 

One of the most wrote about concepts as it relates to Shabbat HaGadol is that of “z’man cheiruteinu”: That the day points to the day of Yisra’el’s freedom and redemption from Mitsrayim by the Mighty outstretched arm of Yehovah Tzav’ot. The focus is on freedom from the chains of slavery to being a free people. And that feeling or spirit of “z’man cheiruteinu” carries forth through the millennia, even to us today, who recognize the freedom from the chains of slavery: that of sin and of the gods of this world. This is the freedom that the perfect Lamb of Yah brought us through His Person and Ministries.

 

Moshe anticipated that following generations would desire to understand why we go through the rituals and remembrances of Shabbat HaGadol and Pesach and Unleavened Bread each calendar year. And so, Moshe provided us the answer to their proposed question:

 

“It is the sacrifice of Yehovah’s Pesach/Passover, because Yehovah passed over the houses of the people of Isra’el in Egypt, when He killed the Egyptians but spared our houses” (Exodus/Shemot 12:27; CJB modified).

 

And because of our set-apart, engrafted status as Yisra’elites, we have every right, and even responsibility, to revere the season and identify with our ancient Hebrew cousins, if not more so, to see that the season foreshadowed the death sentence that each of us had facing us being covered, bought and paid for by our Master Yahoshua Messiah; our redemption from the clutches of the enemy taken care of by the ministry of our Master Yahoshua.

 The Prophetic Significance of the Season

Interestingly, our ancient Hebrew cousins weren’t necessarily as narrow-minded about this season as we may have envisioned them to be. They also recognized a time in the future when Yisra’el’s Messiah would rid the world of idolatry and the nation peoples of this world would turn to Yisra’el’s One True Elohim.

 

This abolition of idolatry from the world that is mentioned in the Haftarah reading plays greatly into the little discussed aspect of Passover/Pesach, whereby by Yah redeems His chosen ones—His firstborn Yisra’el from the clutches of the gods of Egypt. The rabbis and most of us for that matter, tend to focus on Yah rescuing the ancients from Egyptian bondage. Bringing freedom to Yisra’el. But the greater bondage that Yisra’el endured that the rabbis in one way or another sought to simply gloss over in their writings was that of Yisra’el being in bondage to the demigods of this world. Those demigods of Egypt no doubt took advantage of Yisra’el’s enslaved state to lay claim to them, despite Yehovah having previously taken them to be His chosen ones out of all the nation peoples of the world.

 

The Rabbis Alteration of a Key Passage of Torah

Do me a favor and take a look at Deuteronomy/Devarim 32:7-12. Here we find an amazing truth that when not included in our expositions—our studies—our discussions of Pesach—diminishes the true scope and existential importance of the season and that of the Person and Ministries of Yahoshua Messiah. Most English translations of this passage, which tend to be based on the Rabbinic—Masoretic-line of scribes, read something akin to this:

 

(7) Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: Ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. (8) When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Isra’el (KJV).

 

Stop.

 

In the second half of verse 8 we have a terrible error that has taken generations to clear up. The Mesorites transcribed the text as “He (Yah) set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Yisra’el.

 

The phrase “children of Yisra’el” in Hebrew is of course “b’nei Yisra’el,” meaning sons of Yisra’el. The problem with this phrase is that it is terribly out of context with that which Moshe is addressing. For at the time that Yah divided the nations their inheritance and separated them, Yisra’el was not in existence.

 

It wasn’t until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1940’s that the true rendering of this passage became known to Torah-keepers and lovers throughout the world. For the phrase in the Dead Sea Scrolls was NOT “b’nei Yisra’el,” but rather “b’nei elohim”: “sons of Elohim.”

 

Sons of Elohim in the Hebrew scriptures always refer to the angelic realm of beings. However, the sons of Elohim did not fit the rabbinic narrative and understanding of the spiritual realm, so they took it upon themselves to alter the phrase accordingly, to sons of Yisra’el.

 

This altering of Yah’s Word by the Mesorites has resulted in centuries of ignorance as it relates to the true make-up of the world order. And certainly, the Mesorites did not stop there in their manipulation of Yah’s Word to fit their ecclesiastical narrative.

 

But my point here is not to spend our time debating how much of Yah’s Word has been corrupted by the rabbis, but rather to set the record straight as to what the Pesach season truly means to Yah’s elect.

 

Now, we must recognize that the phrase “b’nei Elohim” may refer to the uncorrupted, holy angelic beings that serve Yehovah, or the corrupted, profane angelic beings that make-up the Kingdom of Darkness. So, to discern which group of beings this passage is referring to, we simply must defer to the text to its proper context and to other biblical and extra-biblical texts.

 

This passage is referring in great part back to Genesis 10, which is famously referred to by scholars and lovers of Scripture as the “Table of Nations.” The resulting nations that descended from Noach/Noah, through his 3-sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, totaled seventy.

 

Extra-biblical texts such as those found in the Book of Enoch and Ugaritic (Syrian) clay tablets mention 70-sons of Elohim that came down to earth with the intent of mating with the daughters of humans and ruling over Yah’s human creation and the whole world for that matter. These ancient biblical texts go so far as to even mention a few of these fallen ones’ names. But we won’t get into that here.

The Spiritual Ramifications of the Fall of Man

But one of the great consequences of the Fall of Man is that Yah remanded His creation—committed it to custody to the oversight of the fallen b’nei Elohim. In effect, when man fell, the title deed of the earth—remember Yah had given dominion of the earth to Adam and Eve and their descendants—well, that title deed and human freedom was forfeit and given over to the fallen b’nei Elohim. Sadly, all would be lost for the whole of creation, especially Yah’s human creation if it were not for Yehovah and His love for His human creation.

 

Fortunately, Yah had a Plan to redeem His human creation and ultimately redeem the whole of creation. But His plan would take little baby-steps. And His redemption of humanity would begin with Yah’s redeeming of Yisra’el—who He described as His firstborn and taking them unto Himself; freeing them from the demigods’ enslavement, which is a foreshadowing of the bigger redemption that would come to humanity through the Person and Ministry of Yahoshua Messiah/HaMashiyach.

 

Of this, which serves as a mystery to those without eyes to see and ears to hear, Shaul wrote to the Messianic Assembly at Corinth:

 

(7) But we speak the wisdom of Yah in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which Yah ordained before the world unto our glory: (8) Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Master of glory. (9) But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which Yah hath prepared for them that love Him. (10) But Yah hath revealed them unto us by His Ruach/His Spirit: For the Ruach/the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of Yah (1 Corinthians 2:7-10; KJV modified).

 

 

From the beginning Yah had set aside a people that He would claim as His own: Yisra’el. So, He started with Avraham: He called Avraham out of Ur of the Chaldees—away from the demigods of the Chaldees. And He entered covenant with Avraham whereby Yah would raise up a nation of people that would be called by His Name. (We discussed the spiritual ramifications of the person and life of Abraham in our post entitled “Abraham and the God (Yah) Culture.“)

 

But in time, as the nation grew, she was enslaved: both physically and spiritually in Egypt. And so, in Yah’s perfect timing, Torah tells us that He remembered the covenant He had with Avraham, and He, with a mighty hand and strong arm and as on eagle’s wings, He rescued His beloved—freed them—redeemed them from both the spiritual and physical bondage that they’d endured for many years. 

 

 

So, what does any of this have to do with Shabbat HaGadol and Pesach/Passover? Well, let’s continue with the Deuteronomic passage we were just reading, but this time from a corrected translation: Robert Alter’s “The Five Books of Moses” which reads:

 

(7) Remember the days of old, give thought to the years of times past. Ask your father, that he may tell you, your elders that they may say to you. (8) When Elyon gave estates to nations when He split up the sons of man, He set out the boundaries of peoples, by the number of the sundry gods (I.e., b’nei Elohim).

 

Continuing:

 

(9) Yes, the LORD’S portion is His people Jacob the parcel of His estate. (10) He (Yah) found him (Ya’achov) in the wilderness land, in the waste of the howling desert. He encircles him, gave mind to him, watched him like the apple of His eye. (11) Like an eagle who rouses his nest, over his fledglings he hovers, He spread His wings, He took him, He bore him on His pinion. (12) The LORD alone did lead him, no alien god by His side.

 

This passage in a great sense encapsulates Shabbat HaGadol and the whole Pesach season. For it talks about Yehovah keeping for Himself a nation of people that He snatched from the b’nei elohim—the fallen ones, to make them into a people which are called by His holy and righteous Name (2 Chronicles 7:14).

 

Yah’s Judgment Against the gods of Egypt

But the b’nei Elohim that ruled over Mitsrayim/Egypt, had taken Yisra’el and enslaved them. Yes, the Egyptians did in fact enslave Yisra’el. But behind those Egyptian enslavers were the demigods of that nation. And it was these beings: both the Egyptian demigods and the human Egyptians that Yah set His judgment and ire against:

 

“And I will cross through the land of Egypt on this night (Passover), and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt from man to beast, and from all the gods of Egypt I will exact retributions. I am the LORD” (Exodus/Shemot 12:12; Cepher).

 

“And the Egyptians were burying all the firstborn that the LORD had struck down among them, and the LORD had dealt punishment to their gods” (Numbers/Bemidbar 33:4; Cepher).

 

This understanding of freedom that this season of Pesach/Passover symbolizes transcends the rabbis’ simplistic idea of being freed from the bonds of Egyptian servitude. For freedom comes to humanity, whether via physical or spiritual means, with a cost. There are no free lunches in this world, nor in the spiritual world.

 

In a great sense, it is our English term “redeem” or “redemption” is what we’re talking about here.

 

The gods of this World Caught off Guard 

Let us make no mistake about this thing beloved. When the first Pesach in history took place, the gods of this world trembled. They trembled because they no doubt had not anticipated Yah’s redemption of His chosen nation from their clutches. As far as the demigods were concerned, Yisra’el had been abandoned by Yah to their eternal keeping. Consequently, Mitsrayim was one of their central hubs, providing an apt place in which to subdue and hold Yah’s so-called covenant people. Well, when Yah decided to move on the promise to redeem His people, He did so in a way that is simply unheard of. The blood of a perfect Lamb, the Pesach, would serve as the marker and pointer to Yah casting judgment against these demigods, foreshadowing not only Y’shua’s redemptive sacrifice, but also their ultimate demise as rulers of this world. At the fall, Adam forfeited the title deed of this world and all therein to the demigods. But Y’shua purchased back those who would be Yah’s chosen ones.  (Note the stripping of the seals as symbolic of the stripping away of the title deed to this world–Rev. 5-6). 

 

Atonement and Redemption, although used somewhat interchangeably by members of our Faith Community to describe what Master Yahoshua did for us, they have 2 very distinct meanings.

 

Defining Redeem and Redeption 

The Hebrew term for “redeem” is “ga’al.” The Hebraic meaning of redeem or ga’al is “the buying back, a bringing back around, of someone or something. To restore one to his original position or avenge his death.  In the participle form this verb means avenger as it is the role of the nearest relative to redeem one in slavery or avenge his murder. Now, when we’re talking about parent and child roots, to redeem one is iconized through the pictograph of an open mouth and a door. These carry a combined meaning of “open the door.” So then, when one is redeemed, they gird on their clothes for leaving. (Where do we see this depicted in the Exodus story?)  The goal is to bring the one back to an original state.

 

Yah reveals unto Moshe on the Mount of the Burning Bush:

 

(5) And also, I Myself (Father Yah) heard the groaning of the Isra’elites whom the Egyptians enslave, and I do remember My covenant (ie., the covenant He made and kept with Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov). (6) Therefore, say to the Isra’elites: ‘I am the LORD. I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt (both spiritual and physical burdens) and I will rescue you from their bondage and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great retributions. (7) And I will take you to Me as a people and I will be your God and you will know that I am your God, and you will know that I am the LORD your God Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt. (8) And I will bring you to the land that I raised My hand in pledge to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance. (Exodus/Shemot 6:5-8; Alter).

 

Yah’s redemption came through the blood of the Lamb, as it is even today. In Exodus/Shemot 13:13-15, Yah speaks extensively about redeeming the firstborn of all, both of children and of their flocks and herds, with a lamb—the blood of the Lamb. Blood was the price to be paid for His people Yisra’el, just as blood is the price that is paid for our redemption: For our redemption from the demigods of this world.

 

 Defining Atone and Atonement

The Hebrew term for our English word “atonement” is “kaphar.” The Hebraic meaning for “atonement” or “kaphar” is that of a protective covering to go over something or the covering of a debt or wrong. In our case, we’re talking about a covering over of transgressions. I know that there’s this popular play on the word making its way around our Faith community these days–at-one-ment–is quite and catchy. But it lacks any true fullness of meaning. The fuller meaning of the term and concept of atonement should never be diminished in our hearts and minds here as it relates to Shabbat HaGadol and Pesach/Passover. For the blood of the Pesach that was applied to the doorposts and lintels of the ancients’ dwellings on that first Pesach/Passover, was emblematic of the atonement that would be brought to humanity through the Person and Ministries of Yahoshua HaMashiyach. Just as the blood of the first Pesach covered over and hid our ancient Hebrew cousins from death that night, so does the blood of THE LAMB—Yeshua our Master—covers over and purges out our sin debt before a Holy and Righteous El (Romans 5:11). And because of Yeshua’s atoning sacrifice, we are declared not guilty by the court of heaven. Our debt is paid. We receive our master’s righteousness, and we are justified before Yah (Romans 3:22).

 

If anything, Shabbat HaGadol, which was enacted by the rabbis to prepare the Jew for Pesach/Passover, is really emblematic of Yah’s redemption and atonement of His firstborn Yisra’el (both native born and grafted in Yisra’el). Indeed, although Shabbat HaGadol is not a Feast or Moedim of Yah, the symbolism remains sound and it can teach us a great deal about what Yah has done; is doing; and will do for His people Yisra’el.

 

 The Reality of the Spirit Realm-Especially in Connection to Shabbat HaGadol and Passover 

Beloved, let us not be fooled, not be ignorant of the fact that the spirit realm, both the good and bad sides do exist and operate in and around this world and in the heavenlies. Their influence in and over our lives cannot be denied, especially the fallen spiritual realm.

 

Because of our elect and covenant state, we are no longer slaves to sin, nor are we slaves to the gods of this world. Yah, through the Person and Ministries of His Son Yahoshua, redeemed us and justifies and sanctifies us, so that we are no longer sons of hasatan, but rather, His (Father Yah’s) sons and daughters. And this is the message that should, if any, be taken from Shabbat HaGadol and the coming Passover. That very Lamb that redeems and atones for us is memorialized by this day. He was perfect; sinless in every way. He came to dwell with us for a season. He passed every inspection that could possibly be rendered unto Him and He was found lacking nothing. And then we slaughtered Him. His blood covered over us and saved us from death, as well as it redeemed us from the gods of this world.

 

So, let us stand straight, look up; lift up our heads, as our redemption draws even closer by each passing Passover.