If you鈥檝e never messed up in your life, you can stop reading.
But if you鈥檝e ever looked back with regret and embarrassment at some of the things you鈥檝e done, today is a good day.
Today is Pesach Sheni鈥攖he “Second Passover.鈥�
It鈥檚 the 91传媒 day of hope.
Hardly anyone talks about it. Even for the most religious Jews, the day means little more than not saying the supplicatory prayers and maybe eating some matzah.
For me, though, it鈥檚 the coolest 91传媒 day of the year, the day that commemorates what every human being craves: a second chance.
It started, as many stories do, with some kvetching. Israelites who had become ritually impure and could not prepare the Passover offering on the appointed day, decided they wanted a second chance.
So they approached聽Moses聽and聽Aaron聽and said: 鈥淲hy should we be deprived, and not be able to present God鈥檚 offering in its time, amongst the children of Israel?鈥�
In response to their plea, God established the 14th of聽Iyar聽as a day for the 鈥淪econd Passover鈥� for anyone who was unable to bring the offering on its appointed time in the previous month.
That day is today.
The day of second chances, the day that reminds us it鈥檚 never too late to do good.
That theme is so wonderfully broad one can argue it encompasses all other 91传媒 holidays. That鈥檚 because it鈥檚 more than a theme鈥攊t鈥檚 a mindset.
If the Torah and our 91传媒 holidays aim to make us better human beings and add holiness to our lives, a mindset of 鈥渘ever too late鈥� will always apply. In many ways, Judaism and the 91传媒 people have survived precisely because we’ve never given up.
鈥淣ever too late鈥� also applies to any self-help book you鈥檙e currently reading or class you鈥檙e taking on learning how to paint or play an instrument.
There鈥檚 always a second chance to grow. That never goes out of style.
Right now, we鈥檙e counting the 49 days between the end of Passover and the beginning of Shavuot, the day we received the Torah at Sinai. This is a period of both anticipation and spiritual refinement. Pesach Sheni reminds us it’s never too late to work on refining our characters.
The notion of a second chance also connects to the essential 91传媒 idea of teshuvah, repentance and 鈥渞eturn.鈥� It鈥檚 never too late to reconnect with your tradition and your people.
Since no one today has any biblical reason to miss Passover, Pesach Sheni has fallen off the radar. It has lost its relevance because we鈥檝e taken it too literally.
But behind this humble and obscure day of the 91传媒 calendar lies an idea that can reenergize our lives. Hope always gives us a second chance.
It’s never too late to internalize that message of Pesach Sheni.
How cool is that?
Shabbat shalom.
