One of the age-old phrases used by balebustas when referring to preparing Shabbos is “to make Shabbos.” But this expression seems a little strange. Why do they say that they make Shabbos when we know that Shabbos will come whether or not we prepare for it? Perhaps an understanding of Pesach Sheini, which will take place this Sunday, will help us discover an answer to that question.
As I write these words, I hope that the Bais Hamikdash will have been rebuilt way before Pesach Sheini arrives. But if, chas v’sholom, that does not happen, one might think that Pesach Sheini would be just a regular day. However, the custom of most of Klal Yisroel is to not say Tachanun on Pesach Sheini, which implies that it is still a special day. (Many people also have a custom to eat matzah.) Why is this so?
Furthermore, when we did have the Pesach Sheini, the korban was slaughtered on the 14th day of Iyar and eaten on the 15th. So why do we now observe Pesach Sheini on the 14th, the day the preparations were made? Wouldn’t it make more sense to do so on the 15th, the day it was eaten?
Me Too!
At certain times we find ourselves in a situation where we are not able to perform mitzvos properly or to do them at all because of factors that are not under our control. One who views mitzvos as a burden will breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Now I am not obligated to do this mitzvah anymore.” But one who constantly looks for ways to pay Hashem back for all of His kindnesses will be greatly disappointed. He will think to himself, “Why am I less than any other Jew? Is Hashem not satisfied with the way I perform His mitzvos?” This person will look for ways to make up the loss and make sure it will not happen again.
This is exactly what happened in the midbar. There were several people who were impure due to circumstances beyond their control and were not able to offer a Korbon Pesach. They did not sit back and say: “nu, nu… what can we do… it wasn’t our fault.” Rather, they came to Moshe Rabbeinu and said (Bamidbar 9:7), “Lamah nigarah – why should we lose out?” And the result was that they merited revealing a brand new mitzvah: Pesach Sheini! Thus, we see that if a person really wants to fulfill the will of Hashem, Hashem will give him the opportunity to do so. Indeed, Harav Chaim Stein zt”l, the Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe Cleveland, used to say, based on his own experiences in Siberia: “If a person will try with all his might to do a mitzvah even when it seems impossible, he will be helped from Shomayim in marvelous ways to accomplish it.”
With this idea we can possibly explain the mitzvah of Pesach Sheini. Even when we are not able to offer the actual Korbon, this lesson – that if we really want to do a mitzvah we will merit to actually fulfill it – is still very applicable in our days. And this is also the reason why we celebrate it on the 14th, the day of the slaughtering and offering of the korbon, as that is when we prepare for the mitzvah. It symbolizes our part in the creation of the mitzvah, and that is what we celebrate: the ability to fulfill mitzvos even when faced with great challenges!
We Invent Mitzvos!
In truth, it goes even further. The Chofetz Chaim writes in Sheim Olam (chapter 2) that there are people who look for legal loopholes to get out of performing mitzvos. My rosh yeshiva, Rav Moshe Meiselman, would say that these people view halacha as an obstacle course. They say: “How can we get around the different problems halacha places in our lives?” The correct approach, of course, is to view halacha as the “halichos olam” – the way to help one pass through this world. Halacha teaches us what to do every second of our lives, from the beginning until the end.
