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Shabbat Ha-gadol


Special Shabbatot are Jewish Shabbat days, on which special events are commemorated. Variations in the liturgy and special customs differentiate them from the regular Sabbaths and each one is referred to by a special name. Two such Sabbaths, Shabbat Mevarchim, which immediately precedes a new month, and Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, which coincides with the new month, can occur on several occasions throughout the year. The other special Sabbaths occur on specific sabbaths before or coinciding with certain Jewish holidays during the year, according to a fixed pattern.

Shabbat Shuvah or Shabbat T'shuvah ("Sabbath [of] Return" שבת שובה or "Sabbath [of] Repentance" שבת תשובה) refers to the Shabbat that occurs during the Ten Days of Repentance, but is between (i.e. not including) the two consecutive Days of Rosh Hashanah, and the Day of Yom Kippur. The name Shabbat Shuvah comes from the first word of the Haftarah that is read on that day, Hosea 14:2-10, and literally means "Return!" It is alternately known as Shabbat T'shuvah owing to its being one of the Aseret Y'may T'shuvah (Ten Days of Repentance).

Shabbat Shirah ("Sabbath [of] song" שבת שירה) is the name given to the Shabbat that includes Parsha Beshalach. The Torah reading of the week contains the Song of the sea (Exodus 15:1–18). This was the song by the Children of Israel after the Passage of the Red Sea. There is no special Torah reading. The haftorah includes the Song of Deborah. There is an Ashkenazi custom to feed wild birds on this Shabbat, in recognition of their help to Moshe in the Desert.


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