This week we observed a holiday called Pesach Sheini – the second Passover. Pesach Sheini is the opportunity for people to take advantage of a second chance to bring the Pesach offering. It is also one of the 613 Mitzvahs in the Torah, and unlike the others this one was the initiative of the people rather than Hashem.
There were a few individuals who were ineligible to bring the Pesach offering the first year after the Exodus. They were “tameh” impure because of their involvement in caring for a deceased person. Ritual impurity stemming from association with a corpse renders one unfit to bring an offering to G-d until one undergoes the ritual purification process of the Parah Adumah – the Red Heifer. So while the entire Jewish nation was celebrating the first anniversary of the Exodus with their Paschal lambs, this group sat on the side feeling left out.
What did they do? Instead of feeling bad for themselves they approached Moshe with a demand, “Why should we be left out?” Moshe, being the compassionate and concerned leader that he was, brought their demand before Hashem. Hashem in turn gave us a new Mitzvah – the Mitzvah of second chances called Pesach Sheini.
Imagine if they would have just said, “It is what it is” or “you win some and you lose some?” They would have never gotten a second chance and the Torah would only have 612 Mitzvahs.
Fast forward 3320 years. It has now been nearly 2,000 years since we last had a Beit Hamikdash in which we can worship G-d the way the Torah instructs us. Millions of Jews are missing thousands of opportunities a year to do Mitzvot properly and this is going on for almost 2,000 years already. Do we not have the right to demand from Hashem saying “Why should we be left out?” Imagine if we collectively presented our plea before Hashem declaring resolutely with absolute sincerity, “How much longer will we have to wait?” “We want Moshiach now.” “Build us the Beit Hamikdash so that we can fulfill Your will properly.” Just as Hashem responded to the demands of the few people by giving them Pesach Sheini, certainly He will respond to the demand of millions and bring us very soon to the complete and final Redemption through Moshiach.
Mazel tov David and Dina Voskovsky and family upon the bris of their son Levi Yitzchak.
We mourn the loss of Richard Light. Heartfelt condolences to his mother Esther Light and the Light family.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin