Ilustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Midrash מִדְרָשׁ
וַיְהִי אֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ טְמֵאִים לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לַעֲשֹׂת הַפֶּסַח בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא וַיִּקְרְבוּ לִפְנֵי מֹשֶׁה וְלִפְנֵי אַהֲרֹן בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא׃
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵמָּה אֵלָיו אֲנַחְנוּ טְמֵאִים לְנֶפֶשׁ אָדָם לָמָּה נִגָּרַע לְבִלְתִּי הַקְרִיב אֶת קׇרְבַּן ה'...
Some people were tamei (impure) from coming in contact with a dead body, so they weren’t able to bring a korban pesah (pesah offering) on that day. They appeared before Moshe and Aharon.
These people said, ‘We are tamei from contact with a dead body. Why should we be left out from offering God’s korban?’
Moshe asks God what to do, and God gives them a chance to make it up a month later. We call this פֶּסַח שֵׁנִי (Pesah Sheini, Second Pesah).
Most mitzvot in the Torah are just given to Moshe and the people without anyone having to ask about it first. Why do we learn about Pesah Sheini in this unusual way?
וּרְאוּיָה הָיְתָה פָרָשָׁה זוֹ לֵאָמֵר עַל יְדֵי מֹשֶׁה כִּשְׁאָר כָּל הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּה, אֶלָּא שֶׁזָּכוּ אֵלּוּ שֶׁתֵּאָמֵר עַל יְדֵיהֶן, שֶׁמְּגַלְגְּלִין זְכוּת עַל יְדֵי זַכַּאי.
The mitzvah of Pesah Sheini could have been said by Moshe only (without involving anyone else) just like the rest of the Torah. But this group of people deserved to have it described through them, because we try to connect good results to the people who caused them.
Rashi is saying that the group of people who asked for another chance to keep Pesah did something really good, and that’s why the Torah made sure to include that story when it recorded the mitzvah of Pesah Sheini.
- What was so wonderful about asking for another chance to observe Pesah? What did that show about those people who asked?
- Have you ever been nervous to ask about something, but when you did it was really helpful for you and maybe even for others around you? What can we learn from the people who were not too embarrassed to ask Moshe what to do?
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