JUNE 11 • 2020 | 35
E
very year I am surprised
and amazed when some-
thing from our tradition
that we often overlook suddenly
becomes incredibly important.
This year, it was the role
of Pesach Sheni (“second
Passover”) from this
week’
s portion described
in Numbers 9:1-14.
Pesach Sheni was created
because of the distress
of the Israelite popula-
tion who were unable to
perform and, therefore,
celebrate the sacrifices
associated with the hol-
iday of Passover. Their
distress arose from the
desire to participate in
a required community
act, a celebration of their deliv-
erance by God from Egypt.
While our distress arises for
different reasons, we, too, wish
to gather and celebrate occa-
sions as expected.
Robert Alter writes, “The
partaking in the Passover sacri-
fice is the primary act of affirm-
ing membership in the commu-
nity of Israel, and so the people
in question are distressed that
a mere accident, contact with a
corpse ... should exclude them
from the community.
”
Understandable that the
people are upset and thought-
ful that our tradition found
a way to include everyone in
this important celebration. It
became important this year,
with the “stay home, stay safe”
orders across the country.
People were unable to cele-
brate Passover as they normally
would. Though some then
thought that by Pesach Sheni, a
month later, they would be able
to celebrate, this was also not
the case; but the fact that our
tradition recognizes that there
are times when we cannot cele-
brate as we are expected to is an
important lesson for all of us.
The explanation of Pesach
Sheni concludes with the fol-
lowing: “... there shall be one
law for you, whether stranger
or citizen of the country.
”
(Numbers 9:14) Though
directly related to who is
responsible for participat-
ing in the Pesach offering
and celebration, we read
these lines today with a
different understanding.
“One law” means that
we must acknowledge
that we live in a country
with laws, laws which
we are obligated to fol-
low. By participating in
society, by following laws, we
acknowledge that we care about
those around us and not our-
selves alone. “Stay home, Stay
Safe” was a difficult thing for
many — impossible for those
who are critical workers — and
caused pain, too. It also saved
the lives of more people than
we know.
As our country tries to get
started again, we recognize that
we must continue to work hard
at keeping the vulnerable in
our midst safe — that we have
a responsibility to follow the
directions of our government
and the directions of our tradi-
tion, which includes requiring
us to disregard a law that would
cause harm to a person’
s life or
health.
May we all be safe; may we
all be flexible; may we all give
thanks for the ability to partici-
pate in community in whatever
form that needs to take.
Rabbi Simone Schicker is rabbi at
Temple B’
nai Israel in Kalamazoo.
Parshat
Bachaalotekha:
Numbers
8:1-12:16;
a 2:14-4:7.
Rabbi Simone
Schicker
35 | JUNE 11 • 2020
Spirit
torah portion
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