פסח שני

14th Iyar is פסח שני. This is the anniversary of the day in the year which has the only mitzvah in Torah, for which, if somebody, was unable to perform it at the correct time, there is a second chance. In parshas בהעלותך Moshe Rabbenu was told that the second year from the going out of Mitzrayim, that is a year after the actual יציאת מצרים, the Bnei Yisroel should sacrifice a korban Pesach. And so they did, on 14th day of Nissan, exactly on the first anniversary of the original korban Pesach.

The Torah then continues
ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים לנפש אדם ולא יכלו לעשות הפסח ביום ההוא, There were people who had become tomei being in contact with a dead person and, therefore, they could not bring the korban Pesach. These people said to Moshe, למה נגרע, why should we be less than everybody else in that we cannot bring the korban Pesach at the right time, Moshe’s response was stand and wait and I will listen to what Hashem commands me. Hashem said to Moshe that anybody who had become tomei or was far away from the Mishkon (and in due course the Bais Hamikdosh) and was unable to bring a korban Pesach, was allowed to perform the same ceremony on 14th Iyar, eating the קרבן together with matzos and moror.

As I said above, I believe that this is the only time in Torah that there was a specific mitzvah given as a “second chance”.

The question one can obviously ask is, we have a general rule מחשבה טובה הקב''ה מצרפו למעשה a good intention is considered as if the person had carried out the deed. Namely, if there is some reason why a person cannot carry out the actual actions of a mitzvah, but very much wanted to do so and had done so in the past, it is counted as if he had actually done the mitzvah. For example, if somebody was in hospital and could not lay tefillin because the doctors would not allow it, or due to no fault of his there were no tefillin available, but he had in mind that he really wished to do so, it was as if he had carried out that mitzvah. So the question here, in this case, is the people who were tomei wished to participate in the mitzvah of korban Pesach on 14th Nissan so why did they have to be given this second chance to carry out the mitzvah.

I heard an answer in the name of the Sanzer Rov, the דברי חיים, as follows, we are talking about very great people, דור דעה. He suggests that when they came and complained to Moshe Rabbenu that because they had become tomei as they had been burying dead people or the like and, therefore, performing a mitzvah; Moshe Rabbenu suggested that they would have the same spiritual uplift as the people actually performing the mitzvah of korban Pesach just by having the right thoughts, מחשבה טובה הקב''ה מצרפו למעשה. However, when the Bnei Yisroel brought the korban Pesach, those people who were tomei came back to Moshe and said “we don’t feel anything”, למה נגרע, why is it that we are feeling less than everybody else. Moshe Rabbenu then said, let me go and consult and find out what is the correct position.

It then proved that there was a second chance available. That is why they did not feel anything when the rest of the Bnei Yisroel brought the korban Pesach on 14th Nissan. They were enabled to have the spiritual uplift by bringing the Pesach Sheni.

This is, of course, an object lesson to us, sometimes, for one reason or another, we don’t have the opportunity to perform a mitzvah the first time round but we are given a second opportunity and we need to grab it and therefore, experience a spiritual boost.