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On the Shabbat before the Exodus--Nissan 10th on that year--the first-born of Egypt, who occupied the senior positions in the priesthood and government, fought a bloody battle with Pharaoh's troops, in an effort to secure the release of the Israelites and prevent the Plague of the Firstborn. This "great miracle" is commemorated each year on the Shabbat before Passover, which is therefore called Shabbat HaGadol, "The Great Shabbat." (This is one of the rare instances in which a commemorative date in the Jewish calendar is set by the day of the week rather than the day of the month.)
For more on the war of the Firstborn, see here.
Miriam, the sister of Moses, passed away at the age of 126 on the 10th of Nissan of the year 2487 from creation (1274 BCE) -- 39 years after the Exodus and exactly one year before the Children of Israel entered the Holy Land. It is in deference to her passing that the "Great Shabbat" is commemorated on the Shabbat before Passover rather than the calendar date of the miracle's occurence, Nissan 10.
Link: About Miriam.
Three days after the two spies dispatched by Joshua scouted the city of Jericho (see entry for "Nissan 7" above), the children of Israel were ready to enter the land promised by G-d to their ancestors as their eternal heritage. As they approached the Jordan with the Holy Ark carried by the Kohanim (priests) in their lead, the river parted for them, as the waters of the Red Sea had split when their fathers and mothers marched out of Egypt 40 years earlier. (Joshua 4)
In today's "Nasi" reading (see "Nasi of the Day" in Nissan 1), we read of the gift bought by the nasi of the tribe of Dan, Achiezer ben Amishadai, for the inauguration of the Mishkan.
The Shabbat before Passover is termed Shabbat HaGadol ("The Great Shabbat") in commemoration of the "great miracle" that happened in Egypt on this day, heralding the Exodus from Egypt five days later (see "Today in Jewish Hstory"). Shabbat HaGadol customs include reading a portion of the Haggadah (from "Avadim hayinu..." to "...al kol avonotainu"), which tells the story of the Exodus; it is also customary that the rabbi of the community delivers a lecture in which he elaborates on the laws of Passover and their significance, in preparation for the festival.
When the Romans forbade the study of Torah, Rabbi Chanina ben Tradyon gathered Jews publicly and taught them Torah.
His teacher, Rabbi Yossi ben Kisma, warned him that the Romans would burn him and his Torah at the stake.
Rabbi Chanina asked, “My master, what will be with me in the next world?”
“Do you have any good deeds?” asked Rabbi Yossi.
“Yes,” he answered. I collected money for the poor on Purim. I inadvertently mixed it with my own. So I gave it all to the poor.”
“If so,” his teacher answered, “may my share of the next world be with you.”
What was Rabbi Chanina’s question? He was literally giving his life to teach Torah!
And what was Rabbi Yossi’s response? Isn’t teaching Torah a good deed?
Because Rabbi Chanina questioned whether he was teaching Torah for sincere motives. Perhaps it wasn’t entirely about what G-d wanted from him. Perhaps he was driven by his personal love of knowledge and ideas, not by his divine inner soul.
Giving, on the other hand, does not come easy to intellectuals.
By giving generously, Rabbi Chanina showed that he did what he did not because he wanted to do it, but because it needed to be done.