Our Pesach Seder is largely focused on the Haggadah. In the time of the Beit HaMikdash however, the key ritual was the Korban Pesach (Paschal Lamb). Ritual purity was required of every individual in order to partake in the sacrificial lamb.
What is a moment in your life that you missed and felt regret or sadness?
Command to Observe Passover
(1) The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, on the first new moon of the second year following the exodus from the land of Egypt, saying: (2) Let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time: (3) you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, at its set time; you shall offer it in accordance with all its rules and rites. (4) Moses instructed the Israelites to offer the passover sacrifice; (5) and they offered the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.
What happens if a person is unable to offer the Passover Sacrifice:
(6) But there were some men who were unclean by reason of a corpse and could not offer the passover sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moses and Aaron, (7) those men said to them, “Unclean though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting the LORD’s offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” (8) Moses said to them, “Stand by, and let me hear what instructions the LORD gives about you.”
God's Response:
(9) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any of you or of your posterity who are defiled by a corpse or are on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, (11) they shall offer it in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, (12) and they shall not leave any of it over until morning. They shall not break a bone of it. They shall offer it in strict accord with the law of the passover sacrifice.
What about offering sacrifices felt meaningful for the Israelites?
The words למה נגרע - literally - ‘why should we be diminished?’ - speak of an attitude towards religious ritual that sees it as something beyond the obligation to adhere to a set of laws and traditions. While the individuals in question are technically ‘exempt’ from taking part, they are sorely aware that they nonetheless are missing out on an experience fundamental to their core identity. Through the Korban Pesach one enters an inner circle of belonging, as each individual is required to be counted in a specific group who will gather to consume the Paschal lamb at the Seder.
English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim 9:1:1
Introduction The first four mishnayot of our chapter deal with what is called “Pesah Sheni”, the second pesah. The laws of Pesah Sheni are taught in Numbers 9:9-13. Pesah Sheni is observed on the fourteenth of Iyyar, one month after the first Pesah.
What are the circumstances that warrant celebrating Pesach Sheni?
(א) מצות פסח שני בארבעה עשר באיר - שיעשה פסח שני בארבעה עשר באיר, כל מי שלא יכל לעשות פסח ראשון בארבעה עשר בניסן, כגון מחמת טמאה או שהיה בדרך רחוקה, שנאמר (במדבר ט יא) בחדש השני בארבעה עשר יום בין הערבים יעשו אתו. ועוד הורונו חכמים זכרונם לברכה (פסחים עג, א) דלאו דוקא טמאה ורחוק הדרך לבד, אלא כל ששגג, או נאנס, או אפילו הזיד ולא הקריב בראשון מקריב בשני.
(1) The commandment of the second Pesach (Pesach Sheni) on the fourteenth of Iyar: That anyone who was unable to offer the first Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of Nissan - for example, due to impurity or because he was at a distance - [offer] the second Pesach offering on the fourteenth day of Iyar; as it is stated (Numbers 9:11), "On the second month on the fourteenth day in the afternoon, you shall offer it." The Sages taught us further (Pesachim 73a) that it is not specifically ritual impurity or distance, but any case of inadvertence or duress; or even if was volitional and he did not offer the first one, he may offer the second one.
Why did God create a separate opportunity for Jews to offer the Passover Sacrifice?
English Explanation of Mishnah Pesachim 9:1:3
If he unwittingly erred or was prevented and did not keep the first, he must keep the second. This section teaches that not only one who was unclean or far away is allowed to keep Pesah Sheni, but also one who couldn’t offer the pesah on its original date for another reason. This would include an error in remembering the date of Pesah or any other thing which prevented him, as long as it was not intentional.
Karen Wolfers Rapaport, "Pesach Sheni: The Holiday of Second Chances," https://aish.com/pesach-sheni-the-holiday-of-second-chances/
“What does being “contaminated by death,” and a traveling on a “distant road” have to do with us? These terms point to deeper concepts. A state of disconnection from God is a type of death. A distant road is place where we are far away from who we really are supposed to be. This is something most of us can identify with. When we are influenced by “death”, when we are traversing along a distant road, cut off from our truth and our source, we have the power to change directions and come home. How? By accessing this unbelievable gift of second chances.”
(1) או בדרך רחוקה, “or on a journey far off;” there is a dot on the letter ה in the word רחוקה; this dot is not connected to the word בדרך, for if so, the word would be treated as if it had not appeared. Rather, that dot connects to the word איש, “a man or person;” we are to understand the person concerned as being spiritually on a journey that had estranged him to Judaism and its G-d.
(2) או לדורותיכם, “or someone of your generations;” the verse means that the person described is either at this time far from you spiritually or time wise, in other words, if many years from now there will be someone who due to the time that elapsed since the Exodus feels disconnected to our history, and therefore would not observe the Passover ritual by having his heart in it.
What makes the Korban Pesach so special that God gave us a “make-up” date in the event we were not able to bring it on Pesach?
The Sefer HaChinuch explains that the Pesach offering stands as a clear and strong sign that our destiny is in the hands of God. When we were taken out of Egypt, God performed great miracles and changed “nature” in a spectacle that was open to all for the viewing. The whole world saw that God is the one who runs the world and controls our destiny. At that time, we all believed in God and recognized the role God plays in our lives. The fact that we witnessed such a display at the time of our exodus and recognized how God controls our destiny is a pillar of our belief in God. As the Pesach offering carries with it such great significance, God wanted everyone to have the opportunity to demonstrate their belief. Therefore, one who was unable to bring the offering for a reason beyond one's control had the opportunity to bring the offering a month later, in the month of Iyar.
A second chance. Passover is unlike other Jewish holidays. It is the most widely observed Jewish holiday, one largely observed at home, and the only holiday where the Torah gives a second chance for those who missed its initial observance. Perhaps this is because it's a holiday that defines who we are through telling our story, giving us boundaries, and calling us to justice. Passover is the story of our liberation from captivity, from oppression to freedom. We recall what it was like to be viewed with fear, mistreated and given no rights. This memory calls us to stand up to bigotry and injustice.
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), the 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe, taught that the true significance of the Second Passover is to teach us that it is never too late to rectify a past failing. He understood this passage of Torah to be referring not just to those on a physically "distant road" but those who had strayed from the path; he understood the words those who were "contaminated by death" to be a metaphor referring to those who felt dead inside and struggled to feel God's love.
We have an obligation to make sure that others have a chance to be full participants in the rites of our community, both religious and secular. This means giving people a second chance, the essence of Passover Sheni.
- Rabbi Rachel Greengrass
When you have needed a second chance?
When have you given someone else a second chance?
Dr. Stephen Garfinkel, "The Evolution and Innovation of Pesach Sheni," https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-evolution-and-innovation-of-pesach-sheni
In the Second Pesaḥ account, the Torah shows a preference for the acceptance and understanding of human reality over and above the perfect and pristine performance of ritual duties.
Rabbi Avi Strausberg, "Born of Fire and Water: Pesah Sheini and the Necessity of Inclusion," https://www.hadar.org/torah-resource/born-fire-and-water
Dina Berman Maykon and Tamar Gan-Zvi Bick, in their writing on Pesah Sheini, explain that Pesah Sheini teaches us two things: First, when a small minority of people protest that they will be excluded from this holiday, the Divine cares and takes note. We might have thought, we need only be concerned with the majority; we might have said, “What obligation do we have to a small minority of the population for whom Jewish law may negatively impact?” The creation of Pesah Sheini teaches us that we must not only hear the cries of the minority, we are called upon to create change to ensure their inclusion. Second, this inclusion only comes about through self-advocacy. Had that group of Israelites stayed silent, God’s revolutionary response to create Pesah Sheini would never have occurred. With this story, the Torah invites us to never stop fighting for our rightful place within its practices and community.
The first is subject to the prohibition of [chametz] shall not be seen and [chametz] shall not be found, while at the second matzah and chametz are in the house with him. The chametz prohibitions are stated only in Exodus 12-13 (Pesah Rishon the first Pesah) and are not mentioned in Numbers 9 (Pesah Sheni). Therefore, the rabbis teach that these prohibitions apply only to the first Pesah and not to the second.
“The passage reveals a striking exception. No similar concession is granted for missing any other festival. There is no second chance for those who for some valid reason are unable to observe Sukkot or Yom Kippur. The added dimension of Passover seems to be its thoroughly national character. It commemorates the founding of ancient Israel as God’s emissary to humanity. Each time that the nation was reconstituted by Joshua, Hezekiah, Josiah and Ezra, the occasion was marked by a public celebration of the Passover festival.
The import of Pesach Sheni seems to be the integration of the individual into the religious polity. To sacrifice the Paschal lamb was to reaffirm one’s sense of belonging. Hence, the possibility of a second chance. Annually, everyone had to avow and renew the bonds of national affiliation.” - Sometimes There Are Second Chances, Rabbi Ismar Schorsch
Indeed, the Torah became the bedrock of Judaism not so much by assertion as by ritual… The synagogue developed into the national theater in which Scripture and liturgy converged to reenact weekly the awesome transmission of Torah at Sinai. Every aspect of the ritual was meant to convey the numinous quality of the original drama.
The diffusion of theology requires ritual. Modern Jews are at risk not because they have lost their faith, but because they have lost their appreciation for ritual.
- Rabbi Ismar Schorch
The Five Legged Table
According to Avraham Infeld, there are 5 components, or "legs" that combine to make up a person's Jewish identity:
- Memory - Not history, but memory. The "family" story that teaches us and links us to a collective past.
- Family - Judaism is not a religion, but a big family you're born or adopted into. One large, diverse family with a common lineage, traditions and language passed through generations.
- Covenant - As established at Mount Sinai. It entails: a. to recognize one God b. to make the world a better place for all people c. to use certain rituals to define and shape Jewish time and space.
- Israel - The Jewish memory warehouse, and place where the Jewish future is being written.
- Hebrew - The means of transmitting culture to the next generation.
Choosing at least three of the components of Jewish identity, or "legs" provides a stable platform for living a Jewish life and contributing to the world. Less than three, and your "table" or platform of Jewish identity will topple over; more than three makes it more sturdy.
Choosing three also means that every Jew shares at least something with every other Jew, even though they may look different and have very different lifestyles, cultures and customs. Despite the difference in Jewish expression, Jews share some of these elements through the way they build their own identities. Which "legs" make up the foundation for your Jewish identity?
- Compiled from www.5leggedtable.com
Guiding Questions:
- Do you have 3 of the 5 legs in your Jewish identity?
- How does Pesach Sheni incorporate all of the legs? If it does?
- When do we make exceptions to the rules?
- FOMO: Is it possible to recreate an experience? How?
- Who has legitimacy to belong? What are the signs of our “belonging”?