Keeping In Touch: Pesach Sheni - The Second Passover

Another Seder! Celebrating Passover again!

No, this is not a summer re-run, and we don’t hold another Seder on the Second Passover, but the holiday does provide us with important lessons.

The Torah tells us that in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, G-d commanded the Jews to celebrate Passover in the desert. When Moses communicated this command to the people, he was approached by several Jews who were ritually impure.

“Why should we be deprived?” they demanded. “Why can’t we offer the Passover sacrifice together with the Jewish people?”

They knew that they were ritually impure, and they knew that a person who is ritually impure is not allowed to bring a sacrifice. But they did not want to be left out. They appreciated that offering the sacrifice involved a deeply moving spiritual experience, and they wanted to be part of it. With sincere feeling, they approached Moses and asked him to allow them to participate.

Moses recognized that their request was genuine and brought it before G-d.

G-d replied, telling Moses to institute a second Passover. One month after the first Passover sacrifice, anyone who was impure, on a distant journey, or otherwise prevented from bringing the sacrifice was given a second chance. On the fourteenth of the Hebrew month of Iyar, such a person could offer a Passover sacrifice.

This teaches us that nothing is ever lost, that there is always an opportunity to correct our situation. Even a person who feels distant from G-d, or impure need not despair. G-d is sensitive to his sincere requests, and will create a special opportunity for him to draw close.

The way in which the holiday was instituted shows us the importance of making demands of G-d. When a Jew feels a sincere spiritual desire, he should insist to be given an opportunity for spiritual expression.

In particular, this motif applies with regard to Mashiach’s coming. We should not merely passively wait for the Redemption. Instead, with a sincere and positive stubbornness, we should persist in our calls for an end to exile.