וידבר משה אל בני ישראל לעשת הפסח(ה) ויעשו את הפסח בראשון בארבעה עשר יום לחדש בין הערבים במדבר סיני ככל אשר צוה יהוה את משה כן עשו בני ישראל(ו) ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים לנפש אדם ולא יכלו לעשת הפסח ביום ההוא ויקרבו לפני משה ולפני אהרן ביום ההוא(ז) ויאמרו האנשים ההמה אליו אנחנו טמאים לנפש אדם למה נגרע לבלתי הקרב את קרבן יהוה במעדו בתוך בני ישראל(ח) ויאמר אלהם משה עמדו ואשמעה מהיצוה יהוה לכם (פ)(ט) וידבר יהוה אל משה לאמר(י) דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר איש איש כי יהיה טמא לנפש או בדרך רחקה לכם או לדרתיכם ועשה פסח ליהוה(יא) בחדש השני בארבעה עשר יום בין הערבים יעשו אתו על מצות ומררים יאכלהו(יב) לאיש אירו ממנו עד בקר ועצם לא ישברו בו ככלחקת הפסח יעשו אתו(יג) והאיש אשר הוא טהור ובדרך לא היה וחדל לעשות הפסח ונכרתה הנפש ההוא מעמיה כי קרבן יהוה לא הקריב במעדו חטאו ישא האיש ההוא(יד) וכי יגור אתכם גר ועשה פסח ליהוה כחקת הפסח וכמשפטו כן יעשה חקה אחת יהיה לכם ולגר ולאזרח הארץ
(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.(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.”(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.(13) But if a man who is clean and not on a journey refrains from offering the passover sacrifice, that person shall be cut off from his kin, for he did not present the LORD’s offering at its set time; that man shall bear his guilt.(14) And when a stranger who resides with you would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, he must offer it in accordance with the rules and rites of the passover sacrifice. There shall be one law for you, whether stranger or citizen of the country.
“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
(א)... לאזרח בכל מצוות שבתורה מנין, ת”ל חקה אחת יהיה לכם. בא הכתוב והשוה הגר לאזרח לכל מצות שבתורה:
(1) (Bamidbar 9:14) ...Whence do I derive (the same for) all the mitzvoth of the Torah? From "One statute shall there be for you, both for the proselyte and for the native of the land." Scripture hereby equates the proselyte with the native in respect to all the mitzvoth of the Torah.
(א)או בדרך רחקה נקוד על ה״א לדרוש דרחוקה לא קאי אבדרך שהרי נקודה הה״א דכמאן דליתא היא אלא קאי אאיש כלומר אם רחוק הוא.
(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.
(ב)או לדרתיכם פירוש או בדרך רחקה לכם עכשיו או כשאירע דבר זה לכם לדרתיכם.
(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 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.”
- Pesach Sheni: The Holiday of Second Chances, Karen Wolfers Rapaport
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.
- The Evolution and Innovation of Pesach Sheni, Dr. Stephen Garfinkel
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”?