The Great Sabbath is the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

immediately preceding the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

on the night of the 14th of

Nisan Nisan (or Nissan; he, נִיסָן, Standard ''Nīsan'', Tiberian ''Nīsān''; from akk, 𒊬𒊒𒄀 ''Nisanu'') in the Babylonian and Hebrew calendars is the month of the barley ripening and first month of spring. The name of the month i ...

, named on account of the prophecy from

Malachi Malachi (; ) is the traditional author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 '' Easton's Bible Dictionary'', it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name, as it simply m ...

, traditionally read on this day, which foretells the return of

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

the prophet to announce the "great and terrible

Day of the Lord A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...

" Zivotofsky. Ari Z., "The Great Sabbath", ''Jewish World Review'', March 26, 1999
/ref> It is commemorated in the Christian calendar as

Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...

Jewish traditions

Known as the "Great" or "Big" Sabbath, it is the Sabbath immediately preceding Passover. It is customary for the rabbi to deliver an address to the congregation on this day. In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, the first half of the ''

haggadah The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...

'' (Passover liturgy) is recited in the afternoon. In the Ashkenazic rite, piyyutim including many Laws of the Seder are recited. In most communities, the ''

Haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', he, הפטרה) "parting," "taking leave", (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros'') is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pro ...

'' is taken from the prophet

which foretells the second coming of

the prophet to announce the "great and terrible

". The Babylonian Talmud, citing

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

12:42, states, “That was for the Eternal a night of vigil for bringing them out of the land of Egypt; that same night is a night of vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.” A customary greeting in some Sephardic communities is ''Shabbat haGadol mevorach'', ("a blessed Shabbat haGadol').Kitov, Eliyahu. "Shabbat Hagadol", ''The Book of Our Heritage'', ( Nachman Bulman and Dovid Landseman, trans.) Feldheim Publications (Chabad.org)
/ref>

Christian traditions

References

External links

Brown, Nathan. "The Great Sabbath", ''Adventists Today''
Saturday observances Jewish festivals Holy Week {{Judaism-stub