Shabbat HaGadol

The Sabbath immediately preceding Passover is called Shabbat HaGadol, the great Sabbath. According to tradition, the 10th of Nisan in the year of the exodus was a Saturday. It was considered a great event, in fact a miracle, that the Israelites could on that day select a lamb for sacrifice without being molested by their Egyptian masters, who, at other times, would have stoned them for such daring.