Living Torah Archives

Can't we just rely on G-d to bring it at the appropriate time?

During a visit from the Nadvorner Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum, the Rebbe discusses “Pesach Sheni” and the unique status of the commandments: that they prepare us for the arrival of Moshiach.

The Mishna states that every Jew is righteous. Yet how can it be expected of every Jew, regardless of circumstances or the education he received, that he conduct himself “righteously” in every aspect of his life?

“The Second Passover teaches us that ‘It’s never too late.’ The holiday was given for those who were unable to offer the original Passover sacrifice in its proper time. They thought that it was too late, and yet they were told that there is a solution. So too, in any area of life, if there are things you should have done in the past but did not, it’s never too late to make them up now.”

The “Second Passover” sacrifice was offered as a makeup for the paschal sacrifice, for someone who was ritually impure or too far away from the Temple at the time of Passover. On the other hand, the commentaries explain that the Second Passover is also a celebration in its own right.

The lesson derived from Pesach Sheni is: “It is never too late.” Even if one was “impure,” or on “a distant path”—his situation is not “lost.”