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50
May 31 • 2007
Shabbat Behaalotecha:
Numbers 8:1-12:16;
Zechariah 2:14-4:7.
he Ethicist column in last
as well: those traveling on a "faraway
Sunday's New York Times
journey." Whether a Jew was impure
Magazine presented a fas-
or just far away from the Temple,
cinating dilemma from a Michigan
he may offer his sacrifice on Pesach
reader: A background check on a job
Sheni.
candidate revealed that
So does God believe in
she never did complete
second chances? Apparently,
the degree she listed on
yes and no. It seems like
her resume. Should the
God only offers second
employer withdraw the offer
chances to people who did
or give the candidate, who
not participate through
admitted her lie, a second
no fault of their own. God
chance?
forgives mistakes, but not
On one hand, novelist
willful acts. Yet, Rashi notes
Paul Theroux once said that,
that when we look in the
Rabbi Reuven
"Fiction gives us a second
actual Torah scroll, we find
Spo Iter
chance that life denies us."
that
the Hebrew words in
Specia I to the
At the same time, former
the
Torah
— b'derech recho-
Jewis h News
President Bill Clinton felt
kah — "a faraway journey"
that "The God I believe in is a god of
have small dots printed over the let-
second chances." Who's right?
ters. This strange notation has been
The Torah tells us that on the 14th
passed down as part of the writing of
day of the first month of the second
a kosher Torah scroll. These dots must
year following the Exodus from Egypt, appear over these words — but what
the Jewish people offered the Korban
are they for?
Pesach — the Passover sacrifice
Rashi explains that the dots teach
required of each and every Jew. Yet,
us that a "faraway journey:' need not
not everyone was able to participate.
be that far away after all. Even if a
Jewish law precludes ritually impure
Jew finds himself just outside the
people from offering sacrifices in the
gates of the Temple but fails to offer
Temple. Those people, excluded from
the Passover sacrifice and now wants
the ritual, approached Moshe with a
a second chance, that's "far away"
unique request.
enough. God offers second chances
"Why," they asked him, "should we
not only to those who err accidentally
be excluded from the Passover offer-
but also to those whose mistakes are
ing as we were unable to participate
intentional as well.
in the ritual at the appointed time?"
God definitely believes in giving us
On the one hand, Passover was over;
second chances — no matter what
they had missed their chance. Better
stage of life we're in. The bigger ques-
luck next year. Yet, their passion and
tion is, are we ourselves seeking that
desire to perform God's command-
second chance?
ments compel Moshe to pose the
question to God: should they wait
Reuven Spolter is rabbi of Young Israel of
until next year, or do they get a sec-
Oak Park.
ond chance?
God answers affirmatively: they
can offer the sacrifice on what we
Conversations
now call Pesach Sheni — "the second
Would you have given the
Passover," on the 14th day of lyar
applicant that job? If yes, what
— exactly one month after Passover.
offense would be so egregious
But in addition to opening the offer
that you would not offer her a
to those who were impure over the
second chance?
holiday, God adds another category