Second chances, bold jumps: Lessons from Pesach Sheini

Leviticus 21:1–24:23

How far can you jump out of your comfort zone?

How easily can you leap into action, leave your current place, or jump into a new career? The real question is: How can you make any great leap when you’re coming from a place of comfort and happiness?

This week we celebrate Pesach Sheini, the “second Passover.” In biblical times, those who couldn’t participate in the Passover sacrifice on the eve of Passover were given a second chance to bring it one month later — on the 14th day of the month of Iyar. Today, we commemorate Pesach Sheini by eating matzah.

The word Pesach, or Passover, means to jump or leap. This refers to how G-d jumped over the Jewish homes on the night of the Exodus. Rashi explains that all the services associated with the Passover sacrifice must be done in a manner of jumping and leaping. This means they must be done with alacrity, energy and added excitement.

Passover and Pesach Sheini are a time to jump out of slavery and free us from the imprisonment of the norms and materialism of the world. We must jump into a world of matzah — humility and goodness.

This jump is accomplished easily during Passover, when we are in the Egypt of this world — when things are really dark and difficult, when we are enslaved and suffering. It is also much easier to leap when G-d reveals Himself to lead us out of our captivity.

However, on Pesach Sheini we are already free, already out of Egypt. Our constraints are now our own difficulties in navigating our emotions and environment. Things are good and life is smooth. Yet, we are still asked to make the jump.

Pesach Sheini teaches us that despite our comfort we can choose to make a sacrifice with alacrity and excitement, doing another mitzvah and helping another person. We know that even our personal constraints could be overcome. We must recognize that even when we are comfortable, someone else might be suffering, and we jump in to help. We must recognize that as long as Moshiach has not yet come and there is imperfection in our world, we are called to act.

We must jump off our couch, leap out of our home and do something to make the world better. Leap and catch another mitzvah — we need each one! PJC

Rabbi Elchonon Friedman is the spiritual leader of Bnai Emunoh Chabad. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Pittsburgh.