Shabbatot
Certain Shabbatot have special names, after a Torah portion that is read that week, the particular week when that Shabbat occurs, or an event that took place on that Shabbat. The following is an overview of those unique Shabbatot, in the order in which they occur during the calendar year:
Shabbat Mevarchim
This is the Shabbat that precedes every Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the Hebrew month), when we recite the Blessing of the New Month and announce the day of the week when Rosh Chodesh will take place.
- On these weeks, it is customary to arise earlier in the morning than on a regular Shabbat and to recite the entire Book of Psalms before Shacharit. This custom has a unique power to bring about prosperity and success for the one who recites them, as well as for his children and grandchildren.
- It is customary to have a Kiddush in the synagogue on these weeks, following the conclusion of Mussaf.
Shabbat Shuvah
This is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The name of this Shabbat is derived from the Haftarah that is recited on this Shabbat after the Torah reading, which begins with the words, “Shuvah Yisrael ad Hashem Elokecha—Return, Israel, to G-d, your L-rd.”
This Shabbat is also sometimes known as “Shabbat Teshuvah” since it takes place during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. (Teshuvah is the Hebrew word for repentance.)
Shabbat Bereishit
This is the Shabbat that follows Simchat Torah. It is the last Shabbat in the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and it is the Shabbat when we begin the new yearly cycle of the Torah reading with the first portion of the Torah, Bereishit.
Shabbat Shirah
This is the Shabbat when we read the Torah portion of Beshalach, which contains the Song of the Sea (“Then Moses sang…”). This Shabbat generally occurs around Tu B’Shevat.
The Song of the Sea
On the Shabbat between the 10th and 17th of Shevat, the Torah portion “Beshalach” is read in the synagogue, and this Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shirah” because the “Song of the Sea” – the song that the children of Israel sang after the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang” is read.
We recite the Song of the Sea every morning during the Shacharit prayer, as part of “Praise Verses.” Here is a brief overview of this song:
After the Exodus from Egypt, Pharaoh chases the children of Israel, ‘closing’ the road behind them and trapping them: ahead – the Red Sea, on both sides – mountains and hills, and behind them – the mighty Egyptian army. God commands Moses: “Tell the children of Israel to move on!”
The entire nation enters the sea, and the most famous miracle in history occurs: the sea ‘splits’, ‘tears’ into two, and a dry passage is formed in which the children of Israel pass. After the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea, all the children of Israel stand together with Moses, break into song and offer a prayer of gratitude and praise to the Creator of the World for saving them from the Egyptians.
- In some communities, the song is read during the Torah reading in a special melody, and it is customary for the Rabbi to be called to the Torah for the reading of “Then sang.”
The Bird Custom
On Friday, the eve of this Shabbat, it is customary to scatter seeds or leftover food for the birds to eat during Shabbat.
There are several explanations for this interesting custom, and below are two main ones:
Remembering the Manna
In the Torah portion of “Beshalach”, we also read about the story of the Manna – the heavenly food that descended from the heavens every day for forty years of Israel’s wanderings in the desert after their exodus from Egypt.
The Manna would fall every weekday, and Moses told the people that the Manna would not descend on the Sabbath day, and on Friday double the amount would descend – also for the Sabbath day.
In that generation, there were two wicked men named Dathan and Abiram, who were prominent opponents of Moses, and they sought to refute his words. What did these wicked men do? On the Sabbath at dawn, they quietly left their homes and scattered the Manna they had from Friday across the desert, in order to show everyone that indeed, Manna also falls on the Sabbath!
The birds flying in the air ‘picked up’ the scattered bounty below, descended in droves, and ate all the Manna without leaving a single crumb. Meanwhile, Dathan and Abiram roused the people from the camp so that they could see with their own eyes how Moses had deceived them, but when they arrived at the place they found nothing, and all the people declared: “Moses is true and his Torah is true.”
As a reward for the birds ‘helping’ and ‘defending’ the honor of Moses, we ‘reward’ the birds, and ensure (especially) on this Sabbath that they have enough food.
Remembering the Splitting of the Red Sea
According to Jewish legend, at the time of the miracle of the splitting of the Red Sea, after all the Jews had passed through the sea, the birds chirped joyously and ‘sang’ along with the ‘Song of the Sea’ sung by Moses and the children of Israel.
God performed a miracle and within the ‘dry path’ that was created in the sea, trees with sweet fruits grew rapidly, and the small children picked from them and fed the birds that ‘sang’ and ‘danced’ above them…
In remembrance of this, it is customary in certain communities to gather the children on “Shabbat Shira” in the courtyard of the synagogue, to tell them the story of the splitting of the Red Sea, and to give the children seeds or other foods so that they can feed the birds.
Shabbat Shekalim
This is the first Shabbat in the series of the four special Torah readings that take place, in addition to the weekly Torah portion, beginning on the Shabbat before the month of Adar, until the Shabbat before the month of Nissan.
Shabbat Shekalim always either coincides with the Rosh Chodesh of Adar or takes place on the Shabbat prior to the first day of Adar. On this Shabbat, we read the Torah portion of the “shekalim,” which deals with the obligation of every Jew to bring a “half shekel” as his donation toward the communal sacrifices offered in the Holy Temple.
In a Hebrew leap year, when there are two months of Adar, this Shabbat is associated with the second.
Shabbat Zachor
This is the second in the series of the “Four Parshiyot.”
On the Shabbat before Purim, we read the section of the Torah that begins, “Remember what Amalek did to you.” The Torah there teaches that we are obligated to remember the war against Amalek that took place shortly after our Exodus from Egypt, and that we are obligated to wipe out the memory of Amalek.
This portion of the Torah is read before Purim because the wicked Haman was a direct descendant of Agag, the king of Amalek, and on Purim Haman and his ten sons were hanged.
Shabbat Parah
This is the third Shabbat in the series of the “Four Parshiyot.”
Shabbat Parah is always on the Shabbat immediately preceding Shabbat Hachodesh. On this Shabbat, we read the section of the Torah that describes the laws of the Red Cow, whose ashes were used to purify people who had become defiled by contact with a dead body.
Shabbat Hachodesh
This is the fourth and last Shabbat in the series of the “Four Parshiyot.”
When the first day of the Hebrew month of Nissan coincides with Shabbat, that is Shabbat Hachodesh. Otherwise, Shabbat Hachodesh takes place on the Shabbat preceding the first day of Nissan. On this Shabbat, we read the Torah portion that begins, “This month is the beginning of months for you.” Among other things, this Torah portion teaches us that the month of Nissan is defined as the first month in the Hebrew calendar.
Shabbat Hagadol
This is the Shabbat prior to the holiday of Passover. It is called Shabbat Hagadol, “the great Shabbat,” because a great miracle happened on this Shabbat before the Jews left Egypt: the firstborn Egyptians fought with and killed their fathers, who were refusing to free the enslaved Jewish people.
The Haftarah of this Shabbat also concludes with the words, “before the coming of the great [hagadol] and awesome day of G-d.”
- On this Shabbat, the rabbi delivers an address dealing with the laws of the holiday of Passover.
Shabbat Chazon
This is the Shabbat before Tishah B’Av, on which the Haftarah begins with the words “Chazon Yeshayahu ben Amotzi—the vision of Isaiah, the son of Amotz.” The Haftarah describes the difficult spiritual state of the Jewish people during the time of the First Temple, which led to the exile of the Ten Tribes from the land and then to the destruction of the Temple.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev used to say that this Shabbat is called Shababt Chazon because on this Shabbat, the soul of every Jew is shown a vision of the Third Temple in order to awaken them to improve their actions so that the Temple will be rebuilt during their lives.
Shabbat Nachamu
This is the Shabbat after Tishah B’Av, when the Haftarah begins with the words “Nachamu, nachamu ami—Comfort, comfort My people.” This Haftarah, which is drawn from the Book of Isaiah, describes a vision of consolation and redemption.
