~ One Hundred Words on Pesach Sheini

The Torah introduces the laws of Pesach Sheini (Bamidbar 9:6-14) through an incident involving a group of men who, due to tumas meis, were unable to participate in the first korban Pesach given in the midbar. These men approached Moshe with a complaint, essentially arguing that it was unfair that, for reasons beyond their control, they should lose out on the opportunity to perform the korban Pesach.

The Sifrei comments that this complaint teaches us that these men wereבני אדם כשרים וחרדים על המצות – “kosher men who were serious about mitzvos”. How so?

The gemara tells us that earlier generations were criticized for utilizing halachic loopholes to avoid the obligation to give maser on their crops, but later generations were praised for not doing so. Similarly, these men who complained about their lost opportunity to perform the mitzvah of korban Pesach are also to be commended for showing the proper value for a mitzvah.

The lesson for us that we should strive to be able to do mitzvos, not to get out of them.