Pesach Sheni
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
Pesach Sheni
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this study I would like to examine the “second chance” to celebrate Pesach (Passover), Pesach Sheni.
Pesach Sheni, the second Passover, occurs on the 14th day of Iyar, the second month. It is a make-up date for individuals who were tamei, unclean, or traveling during Pesach, the first Passover. The Sefer HaChinuch[1], positive mitzva 380, explains that Chazal, our Sages, specifically included those who convert and those who reach the age of Bar Mitzva between the first Pesach and Pesach Sheni. The Rambam says that a boy or girl who reaches Bar Mitzva age after Pesach but before Pesach Sheni, should not participate in the first Pesach (as a child) and should bring Pesach Sheni (as a halachic adult). If, however, they did eat Pesach Rishon, then they do not bring Pesach Sheni.
Pesachim 66b However,
when the majority of the nation is impure, rather than push them off for a
whole month, the halachah itself is pushed off by
another halachah that says, offer the Pesach-Offering anyhow. Such is the power
of the community, and its fulfillment of its commitments to HaShem: We have [thus] found that
the tamid and the Passover override the Sabbath; how do we know that they
override uncleanness? — I will tell you: just as he learns the Passover from
the tamid in respect to the Sabbath, so also does he learn the tamid from the
Passover in respect to uncleanness. And how do we know it of the Passover
itself? — Said R. Johanan. Because the Writ saith, If any man of you shall be
unclean by reason of a dead body: a man [i.e.. an
individual] is relegated to the second Passover, but a community is not
relegated to the second Passover, but they must offer it in [a state of]
uncleanness. R. Simeon b. Lakish said to R. Johanan: Say, a man is relegated to
the second Passover, [whereas] a community has no remedy [for its uncleanness].
neither on the first Passover not on the second Passover? Rather, said R.
Simeon b. Lakish. [It is deduced] from here: [Command the children of Israel,] that they send out of the
camp of every leper, and every one that hath an
issue, and whosoever is unclean by the dead: let [Scripture] state those who
are unclean by the dead, and not state zabin and lepers, and I would argue, if
those who are unclean by the dead are sent out [of the camp]. how much the more
zabin and lepers!
The details of Pesach Sheni are found in:
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 9:6-14 And there were
certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not
keep the Passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on
that day: And those men said unto him, We [are] defiled by the dead body of a
man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of HaShem in
his appointed season among the children of Israel? And Moses said unto them, Stand
still, and I will hear what HaShem will command concerning you. And HaShem
spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man
of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or [be]
in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover
unto HaShem. The fourteenth day
of the second month at even they shall keep it, [and] eat
it with unleavened bread and bitter [herbs]. They shall leave none of it unto
the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the
Passover they shall keep it. But the man that [is] clean, and is not in a
journey, and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut
off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of HaShem in his
appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. But the man that [is] clean, and is not in a journey,
and forbeareth to keep the Passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from
among his people: because he brought not the offering of HaShem in his
appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. And if a stranger
shall sojourn among you, and will keep the Passover unto HaShem; according to
the ordinance of the Passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he
do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was
born in the land.
The events of Bamidbar chapter nine take place one year after the exodus, in Nisan of 2449 A.M. This would be the only Pesach that would be celebrated in the wilderness.
[This Pesach Sheni episode occurred before the counting of the people as recorded in the opening portion of Bamidbar, the book of Numbers. It was not placed at the beginning of the book because it is embarrassing to the Children of Israel that they (we) only brought this one Pesach offering in the entire forty year Wilderness period.]
The first thing we notice with regard to the mitzva of Pesach Sheni is that it was not given in the standard way. The standard way was by the usual chain of command of Torah: From HaShem to Moshe, then to Aaron and the elders. This mitzva of Pesach Sheni had to be evoked by the demand of a group of people who felt their spiritual failing (in being tamei, since spiritual impurity represents the antithesis of nearness to HaShem), and, to boot, were in contact with dead bodies, themselves a symbol of distance from HaShem, the source of all life.
These men
who were aware of their spiritual distance, were anxious to turn this around
and become nearer to HaShem. The Pesach lamb was the perfect way to acknowledge
their distance and reconnect with their source.
The Pesach lamb is a unique offering. Before the exodus from
The Talmudic Sages go on to tell us who could celebrate
Pesach Sheni, this wonderful opportunity to draw nearer to HaShem:
Pesachim 93a Our Rabbis taught: The following keep the second [Passover]:
zabin and zaboth, male lepers and female lepers, niddoth and those who had intercourse with niddoth, and women after
confinement, those who [do not observe the first Passover] inadvertently, and
those who are forcibly prevented, and those who [neglect it] deliberately, and
he who is unclean, and he who was in ‘a journey afar off’. If so, why is an
unclean person mentioned? [You ask] ‘why is he mentioned’? [Surely to teach]
that if he wishes to keep it at the first we do not permit him? Rather [the
question is] why is [a person] on a journey afar off mentioned? — To exempt him
from kareth, this being in accordance with the view that it is accepted.
Anyone who did not bring a Pesach offering, whether because
of impurity or even because he had willfully transgressed HaShem's will, was
thus given the opportunity to compensate for his shortcoming by bringing an
offering on Pesach Sheni. This gave everyone the ability, late though it may
be, to rejoin the community of
Rashi, quoting the Talmud in Pesachim 93b, points out
that there is a dot that appears in the Torah scroll
on the last letter of the word ‘rechoka’ (on a distant journey). This dot comes
to teach us that ‘rechoka’ need not be taken literally; indeed, even if a
person stood on the threshold of the courtyard, right outside where the Pesach
lamb is being sacrificed, on the 14th of Nisan, and
intentionally refused to join in the sacrifice, even this person is to be given
a second chance. In effect he had been on a distant journey; he wandered far
away from serving HaShem.
Pesach
Sheni, then, is like Chanukah, which was a make-up
for Succoth. These are the only two
festivals that provide a second chance for certain
individuals to be able to celebrate. The fact that these are the only festivals
with a make-up, suggests that these two festivals are related. This bi-modality
of the months was discussed in greater detail in the study of rains.
The Sefer
HaChinuch[2] explains that the Pesach offering
stands as a clear and strong sign that our destiny is
in the hands of HaShem. When we were taken out of
Bamidbar chapter
nine describes some men who wanted to have a way to
bring the Korban Pesach, the Passover
offering:
Bamidbar (Numbers) 9:6-7
And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body
of a man, that they could not keep the Passover on that day: and they came
before Moses and before Aaron on that day: And those men said unto him, We
[are] defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we
may not offer an offering of HaShem in his appointed
season among the children of Israel?
The Talmud asks a very interesting question:
Succah 25b But is the law that he who is engaged on
one religious duty is free from any other deduced from here? Is it not deduced
from elsewhere, As it has been taught: And there were certain men who were
unclean by the dead body of a man, etc. Who were these men? They were those who bore the coffin of Joseph, so R. Jose the Galilean. R. Akiba said, They
were Mishael and Elzaphan who were occupied with [the remains of] Nadab and
Abihu. R. Isaac said, If they were those who bore the coffin of Joseph, they had time to cleanse themselves [before Passover,] and if they were Mishael and Elzaphan they
could [also] have cleansed themselves [before the Passover]. But it was those
who were occupied with a meth mitzvah, the seventh day [of whose purification]
coincided with the eve of Passover, as it is said, They could not keep the
Passover on that day, on ‘that’ day they could not keep the Passover, but on
the morrow they could? — [Both texts] are necessary. For if he had only
informed us of the former, I would have said [that they were free from the
obligation there] because the time of the obligation of
the Passover had not yet come, but not here where the time of the reading of
the Shema’ had come, [therefore] it was necessary [to have the latter]. And if
he had informed us of the latter only, I would have said [that one is exempt
here] because this does not involve kareth, but not there, where it involves
kareth [therefore the former also was] necessary.
The Midrash also gives us some insight
into these mystery men:
Midrash Rabbah - Exodus XX:19 During the entire forty years’ wanderings in the wilderness, the bones of
Joseph traveled with them. God had said to him [Joseph]: ‘Because thou hast
said: "I will feed you" to thy brothers, I assure thee that when thou
art dead, thy bones will journey with them for forty
years in the wilderness,’ as it says: But there were certain men, who were
unclean by the dead body of a man (Num. IX, 6). The
word ’man’ refers to Joseph, for it says: The tent which He had made to dwell among men (Ps. LXXVIII, 60), and then: Moreover
He abhorred the tent of Joseph (ib. 67)
For the sake of thy bones shall they celebrate the lesser Passover. For he had
straightly sworn the children of Israel (Ex. XIII,
19). Why is the word ’hishbia’’ repeated? Because he [Joseph] swore that he had
nothing in his heart against them, and they swore that they had nothing against
him. Why did he request: ’And ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you ‘?
R. Levi said: It can be compared to a man who brought his wine into the cellar,
and thieves came and took away the barrels and drank their contents. When the
owner of the wine found those who had stolen the barrels of wine, he said to
them: ‘Ye have drunk the wine: at least return the casks to their place.’
Similarly, it was from Shechem that the brothers of
Joseph had stolen him and had sold him: and when he was about to die, he
adjured them: ' My brothers! ye have stolen me from Shechem while I was alive,
I pray you, return my bones to Shechem.’ For this reason does it say: And the
bones of Joseph, which the children of
So, who
were these “masked” men?
Those men were, according to the Talmud, were Mishael and Elzaphan, who had been the ones to bury Nadab and Abihu (after they had died by bringing an unauthorized offering; see Vayikra 10:1).
Thus we see the pathos of the situation. Why would these men, who were performing the mitzva of burying the dead, worried about being exempt from the command of Pesach? If they were exempt, why were they moaning about it?
The answer should cause us great concern. These great men thirsted to perform the mitzvot of HaShem. They did not want to be exempt! They were bummed out because they couldn’t perform the mitzva of Pesach. For men with such desires, HaShem is eager to accommodate. Let us be men who hunger and thirst for righteousness; men of valor who are eager to perform the mitzvot.
The Tiferet Shlomo, Rabbi Shlomo of Radomsk, says the reason is that the people mentioned in our Parsha who were unable to participate in the Passover sacrifice demonstrated such a tremendous level of dedication to fulfilling the mitzvah that HaShem decided to create the fall-back option of Pesach Sheni for them and for all future generations.
The same holds true for the Final Redemption of the Jewish people, says the Tiferet Shlomo. At the end of the exile, when the Jews will pour their hearts and souls into bringing about the Messianic era, HaShem will hear them and respond to their devotion by redeeming them before the appointed time, just as He did during the Exodus from Egypt.
The Tiferet Shlomo has just given us a VERY important clue!
Pesach Sheni was tailor made to give us insights into the Messianic era.
Apparently this festival will be immensely
important to the Messianic redemption. It is as though the Children of Israel
will be defiled, as in the days of Hezekiah, and will require Pesach Sheni.
The Talmud tells us about several differences between Pesach Rishon and Pesach Sheni:
Pesachim 95a WHAT
IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FIRST PASSOVER AND
THE SECOND? THE FIRST IS SUBJECT TO THE PROHIBITION OF [LEAVEN]
SHALL NOT BE SEEN AND [LEAVEN] SHALL NOT BE FOUND; WHILE AT THE SECOND [A MAN
MAY HAVE] LEAVENED AND UNLEAVENED BREAD IN THE HOUSE WITH HIM. THE FIRST
REQUIRES [THE RECITING OF] HALLEL WHEN IT [THE PASCHAL LAMB] IS EATEN, WHEN THE SECOND DOES NOT REQUIRE HALLEL WHEN IT
IS EATEN. BUT BOTH REQUIRE [THE RECITING OF] HALLEL WHEN THEY ARE SACRIFICED,
AND THEY ARE EATEN ROAST WITH UNLEAVENED BREAD AND BITTER HERBS, AND THEY
OVERRIDE THE SABBATH.
1. Pesach Rishon has the restriction of chametz, not the Sheni.
2. Pesach Rishon has Hallel, not the Sheni.
3. Both require Hallel when they are sacrificed.
4. Both must be roasted and eaten with Matza and Maror.
5. Both override the Shabbat.
Rashi on Bamidbar 9:10, writes that Pesach Sheni differs from Pesach Rishon in that on Pesach Sheni, "one may have Matza and Chametz (leaven) together in one's house... and there is no prohibition, except with him while he eats" That is, the only prohibition of Chametz on Pesach Sheni is to eat the Korban Pesach, the Passover offering, itself with Chametz. One is allowed to have Chametz in his home, though.
There are other differences:
Pesach Rishon lasts for seven days whilst Pesach Sheni lasts for one day.
Rashi tells us that on Pesach Rishon, one is Tamei, unclean, and he sees that there is no one else who is Tamei, one should make someone else Tamei in order to have a partner in bringing the Pesach Sheni offering.
Since Pesach Sheni serves as a "makeup" for Pesach Rishon, one might think it would be similar in all aspects; why do Pesach Rishon and Pesach Sheni differ so radically?
The answer teaches us the differences between those that use the energies of the times and those who must recover the lost time. Pesach Rishon is an emphasis on HaShem giving us our freedom through miracles. Pesach Sheni emphasizes that we can become a part of the community and regain our closeness to HaShem, in an instant.
The details of the differences between Pesach Rishon and Pesach Sheni, like all details of Torah law, are not trivial, but go straight to the heart of what the mitzva is all about. The lesson of Pesach Sheni is that HaShem gives second chances, that one can never be so far removed from HaShem that it is hopeless to try to return to Him. So we would expect that the episode that triggered the giving of this mitzva, and all of its aspects, should reflect the struggle of the Baal teshuva, the penitent sinner, to re-establish his relationship with HaShem.
II
Chronicles 30:1-26 And Hezekiah
sent to all 
this land: for HaShem your God [is] gracious
and merciful, and will not turn away [his] face from you, if ye return unto
him. So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and
Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them.
Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves,
and came to
Iyar 14, the date of Pesach Sheni, corresponds to the day we count the 30th day of the Omer, which is week four plus two days. The theme of this day is: How to be loved. The Sefirot for today is:
Gevurah
of Hod
Discipline
in Humility
Humility must be disciplined and focused. When should my humility cause me to compromise and when not? In the name of humility do I sometimes remain silent and neutral in the face of wickedness? Humility must also include respect and awe for the person or experience before whom you stand humble. If my humility is wanting, is it because I don't respect another?
Pesach sheni. Numbers 9:10-14
Israelites leave Elim (12 springs
& 70 palm trees) and go to the desert of Sin. Exodus
16:1, Shabbat 87b
The supply of "Egyptian" matzot was exhausted. Targum
Yonatan b. Uziel, Shemot 16:2
HaShem sends quail to eat. Exodus 16:1-5, Seder Olam 5. Numbers 11:30-32
Hezekiah celebrates the Pesach sheni. First day. II Chronicles 30:13-22
Hezekiah celebrated because priests were unclean. II
Chronicles 30:2-4
The Chatam Sofer[3]
says that it was on the 18th of Iyar (Lag B’Omer) that the Bread from Heaven, the Manna,
began to fall. This is based on the idea that the matza that we brought
out of
Another explanation is offered by the Ba'al Haturim. The
matza that the Israelites brought with them was finished on Pesach Sheni. The
following day, the manna fell for the first time. (Pesach Sheni was the day of
the slaughter of the second lamb; it would be eaten on the following day, that
is, nightfall on the fifteenth of Iyar. This is the same date on which the
manna first fell! Pesach Sheni thus commemorates the conclusion of the matza
from
The Hakhamim tell us that the word "Iyar" is really an acronym for "Ani HaShem Rophecha--I am HaShem your Healer." In other words, the month of Iyar is about healing or refining ourselves.
Pesach Sheni, Manna, and Lag B'Omer all revolve around this concept of refinement.
The whole idea behind Pesach Sheni is to teach us that we all have a second chance. A month later, the person can offer the same Pesach sacrifice.
One may ask, why does HaShem command that we should wait an entire month before He will allow us to perform the mitzva we crave?
The answer is found in the Hebrew word for month: "Chodesh", from the same word as "chadash" meaning new. As the moon is renewed in a month, so we will be renewed in a month. Thus, this conveys the concept that only after one's mind and spirit has been "renewed" can one be prepared to offer the Pesach sacrifice. Indeed, this is certainly consistent with today's practice of mourning in various "stages". The shloshim or thirty day period is a dividing line where most of the restrictions of mourning are lifted.
* * *
The month of Iyar is symbolized by the mazzalot called Shor, the bull, which desires to dwell in isolation. Iyar is therefore a time of introspection and self-development, a time of preparation for receiving the Torah in Sivan.
Iyar is unique amongst all the months of the year. For each, and every single day in Iyar brings with it the opportunity to perform a mitzva, the commandment to count the omer.
Mashiach ascended into heaven on Iyar 18. Pesach Sheni is Iyar 15. This suggests that the following passage speaks to Pesach Sheni in the remez:
Luqas
(Luke) 24:46-51 And said unto
them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Mashiach to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are
witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon
you: but tarry ye in the city of
The remez level Nazarean perspective of Pesach Sheni is also given in this passage:
II
Luqas (Acts) 1:6-9 When they
therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at
this time restore again the kingdom to
This next sod level passage alludes to Pesach Sheni:
Yochanan
(John) 18:28 Then led they Yeshua from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it
was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they
should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
The Previous Rebbe[4] explained that, Pesach Sheni teaches us that 'Nothing is ever lost: it's never too late!' Our conduct can always be rectified. Even someone who is impure, who was far away and even desired to be so, can still correct himself." There is no justification for despair. Every individual, no matter what his situation, always has the potential to make a leap forward (the literal translation of the Hebrew word Pesach) in his service of HaShem.
Pirkei
Avot, Chapter 2 Mishna 20
"Rabbi Tarfon says: The day is short, the work is much, the workers are
lazy, the reward is great, and the Master of the house (i.e. HaShem) is
insistent."
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
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