Second Chances

You’ve taken a wrong turn. You’ve made a decision that you now recognize is going to cost you dearly. Is there any way to get back on track? 

Judaism has an empowering and uplifting message, learned from the fascinating holiday of Pesach Sheni, “the Second Passover,” which falls out this upcoming Monday, May 12, 2025.

In the first year after the Exodus, the Jewish people were instructed to bring the Paschal sacrifice on the 14th of Nissan and eat it that evening, just as they had done the previous year. There were individuals, however, who had become ritually impure and could not bring the offering. They approached Moses, asking for some recourse.

In response, G‑d established the 14th of Iyar as a Second Passover. Anyone who did not bring a Passover offering—either because of impurity or because he had willfully transgressed G‑d’s will—was allowed to compensate for his shortcoming by bringing an offering on Pesach Sheni.

Unique to this holiday, it was inspired in response to the outcry of individuals, not from G-d alone. Also unique is that this holiday accomplishes its purpose in only one day.

The lesson of Pesach Sheni is that it’s never too late.

No one is ever too lost or too forgone to make amends in their lives. When we stray or mess up, if we recognize how far gone we are and we are shaken to our core, we can rebound. In a single instant—or in this case, in a single day—rather than the seven-day process of Passover, we can redefine our past and mold our future.

But for this to be real, it needs to come from deep within. It’s all about the inner cry - the resolve that we have to make change a reality in our lives.

And that is why Pesach Sheni needed to happen through our own motivation, by us crying out to G‑d that we shouldn’t be left out. 

We all mess up. We weren’t created as perfect individuals who can always make balanced judgments. But the good news is that we don’t need to. Even when we make the worst possible error, there is no cause for despair. Quite the contrary, there is cause for acknowledgement, resolve, and then, of course, action.

Moshiach now!

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting time in NYC: 7:43 PM