These are five powerful life lessons of Pesach Sheini. Don’t let it just pass by!
Pesach Sheini is a holiday that tends not to warrant much attention; often we don’t even remember until just before shkiah. “Oh right, it’s Pesach Sheini! Quick, let’s wash and have some matzah.” And yet, there is so much to learn from the concept of Pesach Sheini, it’s a shame to let it completely pass over (pardon the pun!) without recognition.
It might be a “minor” holiday as our chagim go, but its significance runs deep.
And so, here are five life lessons we can learn from Pesach Sheini, which is coming up this Sunday night and Monday.
The Power of Love for Mitzvos
At the core of Pesach Sheini lies a Jew’s love for mitzvos running so deep that he feels actual pain when he loses the opportunity to perform one. The men who approached Moshe on that first Pesach in the midbar were devastated that they couldn’t bring a Korban Pesach. But the reason why they weren’t able was because of the tumah they incurred while performing a different mitzvah, burying the dead. There was nothing to feel guilty about, no reason for regrets. They could have shrugged their shoulders and said, “Oh well, next time we’ll have a chance.” But they couldn’t move past it. The mitzvah was so precious and so dear to them, their anguish at missing out on the opportunity drove them to beg Moshe for a second chance.
I think of all of the mitzvos we don’t get to do, through no fault of our own, and our reaction to missing out. You commit to doing a chesed for a friend. It’s hard, but you will do it. And then, the need dissipates and you are off the hook. Are you devastated? Disappointed? Or just a smidge relieved?
It comes up a lot with women and tefillah. A mother, according to many, is exempt from most formal tefillah because of the importance of her role in raising her children and the demands on her time that holy mission makes. But it doesn’t mean that we should obliterate tefillah from our lives. If we truly love tefillah, if we crave a deep and personal connection with Hashem in our lives, we find a way to make tefillah happen, and happen in a way that not only doesn’t detract from our role as mothers, but rather enhances it. This looks different for every mother, and it even looks different for the same mother at different stages of her motherhood. When you love it, you will make sure not a day goes by without the sound of your tefillos resounding in your home. To build on the classic, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” I would say, “Where there’s love, there’s a will, and where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
How we build this love of mitzvos within ourselves and within our children, if it isn’t there already, is a separate discussion, albeit an important one to have. But this Pesach Sheini let’s think about that, about how much we love our mitzvos, how much we desire to keep them whether or not we are required to, and how deeply the power of that love can resonate for all eternity.
The Power of Second Chances
Another powerful lesson of Pesach Sheini is the possibility of second chances. Often, once we miss an opportunity, it is gone forever and we can never quite make it up. Many times, however, we are given the gift of a second chance. When members of klal Yisroel missed out on an opportunity to bring the Korban Pesach, they didn’t just simply dismiss it as “too late,” devastated as they may have been due to their aforementioned love of mitzvos. They actively went out in search of a second chance.
Sometimes we don’t find our second chance unless we actively go look for it and sometimes it is handed to us on a silver platter. Either way, we must recognize it for the gift that it is. When we are given that second chance, let us not squander it. This gift is something that can prevent us from despairing when we lose an opportunity. Giving in to that despair will make room for the yetzer hara to blind us to the second chance that might be around the corner. Instead, when we regret what we lost out on, we can find hope in our hearts that will open our eyes to another chance that awaits.
And in the spirit of “v’halachta b’drachav,” we can recognize the chesed of Hashem in giving us a second chance by being generous with second chances when it comes to the people in our own lives. When a student in your classroom or a child in your home makes a wrong move, give them a chance to make it up. Trust and forgive and don’t hold a grudge against them. Don’t treat their mistakes harshly. Or let’s say a friend or colleague wrongs you and you want nothing more to do with them, rebuffing their attempts at apology. Give them that second chance; it’s a gift Hashem gives us and it’s a gift that we can bestow upon others when we have the ability to do so.
Power of the Grassroots
The story of the original Pesach Sheini is related in the Torah exactly as it happened and not merely presented as a halachah to pass down. The story itself is important because it shows us that while much of what we observe is dictated as instruction from our leaders, there is room for change from the ground up. When a person wakes up and notices a problem and does something about it, history can be altered.
There are so many times that we look around us and see trends or issues that could use a shake-up. We shrug and move on, because hey, who am I to enact any change? Change must come from the leaders, change must come from the top; it can never come from little old me. The men who were tamei disputed that, with one important caveat.
The first step they took when they wanted to rectify their situation wasn’t making macha’as and it wasn’t printing pashkevilin, putting out ads, or whipping the masses into a frenzy. It was quietly but decisively going over to the gadol hador and soliciting his advice.
So yes, change doesn’t have to come from the leaders; it can start at the bottom, but it cannot be done without the leaders. The first step we must take as well, when we come up with an opportunity for change, a challenge to the status quo, is to bring it to our gedolim.
When Moshe was presented with this dilemma, he took it directly to the actual Top; he spoke to Hashem and received clear Divine instruction. Our gedolim nowadays don’t have that same level of access, but they are the closest we can encounter to men of G-d. They advise with daas Torah and, while they don’t possess the same “Panim el panim” that Moshe Rabeinu alone was zoche to, they have a special siyata d’Shmaya in transmitting Hashem’s word to the searching masses.
The mistake grassroots movements sometimes make is doing it on their own, often advocating changing that which is sacred and must not be tampered with. They take on their mission without the benefit of daas Torah, and so often their good intentions result in disastrous consequences.
Change can happen from the ground up, with guidance from the top. Notice the problem, seek out daas Torah and then set out to improve it.
Power of the Individual
Perhaps in the same vein as the above, the story of Pesach Sheini highlights how much one individual, or in this case two individuals, in Klal Yisroel can accomplish.
When they came before Moshe, and Moshe brought their dilemma to Hashem, Hashem didn’t merely say, “Okay, they cherish mitzvos so much, they deserve a second chance; I’ll allow them to bring their Korban Pesach a month later.” Instead, Hashem advised Moshe to write this new change into the Torah, to establish a Pesach Sheini for posterity.
We may think we are just one person, but all it takes is one person to change history.
Think about every organization that we have that was founded by an individual; think about every invention that has saved lives and brought relief to the world that was invented by one person. And it doesn’t have to be so drastic, really. Each of us, in our own way, creates a legacy, whether it is a legacy carried on by our own progeny or by the world at large. And we have the power, through the small things we do, to have a great impact.
When those two men set out to consult with Moshe, they weren’t setting out to add a new practice to our observance; they just wanted to do the right thing. They wanted their chance at a mitzvah they had missed. And as a reward, they are credited with millions of people, every single year, sitting down one month after Pesach to eat some leftover matzah.
Don’t be afraid; get out there, live your life al kiddush Hashem, and find ways to make a difference. You too, in your own way, can be making history.
The Power of Teshuvah
Even though the first individuals who requested Pesach Sheini had good reason for missing the Korban Pesach, the concept became a blanket permission for anyone who has missed it, regardless of the reason.
Hashem desires our mitzvos and our observance, no matter our level or state. Even someone who willfully missed Korban Pesach can have a chance to rectify that and bring his Korban Pesach on Pesach Sheini. Hashem is waiting with open arms for the sinner to return, and He is waiting with open arms for the one who lost out to make up for it.
In Mishneh Torah, “Hilchos Korban Pesach,” it is brought down that someone who becomes a ger between Pesach and Pesach Sheini still commemorates Pesach Sheini even though he was not obligated at the time of the original Korban Pesach. Pesach Sheini is an entity of its own, a constant reminder that teshuvah is valuable and teshuvah works.
The Minchas Chinuch tells us that should Mashiach come between Pesach and Pesach Sheini, all of Klal Yisroel will be obligated in Korban Pesach on Pesach Sheini, even though Pesach Sheini only applies when a majority of Jews brought the Korban Pesach originally. This is because we will have been considered brand new geirim, only newly obligated in Korban Pesach and thus eligible to observe Pesach Sheini.
Therefore, if Moshiach hasn’t come by Pesach, we spend the time in between doing teshuvah and preparing for his arrival in time for Pesach Sheini so that we can bring the Korban Pesach. By the time you are reading this, it is only a couple of days to Pesach Sheini, a couple of days left for Moshiach to still arrive before then. Achakeh Lo B’chol Yom Sheyavo; may today be the day that he comes!
Beautiful!! Just to add to the first idea of loving mitzvos, we know that the love of the mitzvah is an additional mitzvah in itself so it adds extra sechar!