Boulder Aish Kodesh

A man once came to Rebbe Natan of Breslov and said ‘I was under so much stress about my arrangements for Yom Kippur that I was unable to pray with proper intention. What should I do?’ Rebbe Natan answered, ‘If you are unable to pray on Yom Kippur, then pray the day after Yom Kippur.’ Rebbe Natan’s words remind us that, though there are certainly special times in the Jewish calendar, those times are not the only times when we can achieve our spiritual goals.

In our Parsha, Hashem tells the Jewish people to perform the rites of Pesach, just as they did the year before when they left Egypt. Though most people were able to fulfill their obligation, some were ritually impure, and were unable to partake of the Pesach offering. Though they must have been discouraged, they said to Moshe, ‘why should we miss out on bringing the Pesach offering, only because of our impurity?’ Moshe waited to hear what Hashem’s will was on the matter, and Hashem answered that, yes, they should not miss the opportunity to bring the Pesach offering because of their impurity. And so Pesach Sheini – the second Pesach – was born.

And there is no reason why there shouldn’t be Shavuot Sheini, as well. Or Sukkot or Pesach Shlishi (third Pesach). Who knows how many days in the Jewish calendar are hidden holidays, waiting to be revealed? The gates are open. If we care sincerely enough about these holidays, and were not negligent, and don’t feel we got everything we needed from them, then we have every right to Ask G-d, ‘G-d! I tried to stay up all night to learn Torah on Shavuot, but I could not make it. Please give me a chance to feel what I would have felt praying before you at dawn of Shavuot morning!’