The Amazing Pesach Sheini – The Blessing of Second Chances

Happy Pesach… Sheini!   Today, the 14th of Iyar, is the “Second Pesach,” observed for one day, precisely one month after Pesach.  Pesach is the only annual holiday on the Hebrew calendar that affords a second opportunity of observing certain Pesach rituals to those who were prevented from doing so on the 14th of Nisan.  

As I’ve shared with many of you, this year is the rare opportunity I have to actually observe Pesach Sheini by fulfilling today (one month later) the Pesach obligation to eat matza which I was unable to do during all of Pesach.  Just as Pesach was set to begin, I dislocated my jaw, and was unable to chew anything for quite a while.  Following surgery days later, recuperation has been slow, but it has reached a point where fulfilling this mitzvah will now be possible.

Second chances are an amazing thing.  While my second chance was “merely for matza,” there are those whose second chance experiences are miraculous and life changing.  Just one example is those many survivors of terror attacks who bravely defy the harm done to them by going on to grasp their second chance at life with vigor, joy, conviction, faith, and optimism. 

But second chances are not limited to monumental instances.  In fact, each of us is granted a second chance every day when we wake up and are blessed with a new day.  And within each of these days, we are offered countless opportunities to try again, to be and do better.  When things don’t go as planned, it has always been our way to try again to succeed.  This has always been one of the keys to our survival. 

I will welcome Pesach Sheini to eat matzah today, purposefully using this experience to share with everyone a deep appreciation for second chances – from the simplest to the most profound – with a determination to use them favorably at every opportunity.

Shabbat shalom!

Rabbi Pearl