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Wednesday, April 28th is a holiday on the Jewish calendar — likely the least-known of all the Biblical celebrations.

It’s called Pesach Sheni (the “Second Passover”), and occurs on the 14th of Iyar, exactly one month after the first Passover.

A second Passover? We need two of them?

Truth be told, it is a little different from the original holiday:

•It is one day instead of seven (or eight in the diaspora); and

•We are permitted to eat chametz (leavened products) on that day.

Let us look at the biblical source for this one-of-a-kind holiday, today so little known that it is not even listed on many printed Jewish calendars.

We turn to the Book of Numbers ix:6-11:

“There were [certain] men who were impure because [they had come in contact with [a] human corpse and they could not bring the Passover offering on that day [i.e. the proper day for the offering]. They came before Moses … and said, ‘We are unclean … [but] why should we be held back from bringing the offering of G-d in its time?…

And Moses said to them, ‘Stand and hear what G-d will command concerning you.’

G-d said…, ‘If any man be impure … or on a distant way [on the day of the Passover offering]…, he shall sacrifice the Passover offering to G-d, in the second month [Iyar], on the fourteenth day at dusk….’”

In other words, if, as a result of being ritually impure, or even because one had willfully transgressed G-d’s will, one did not bring the Passover offering at its appointed time, one was given a second chance on Pesach Sheni (see Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 93a).

This specified day of the second chance led me to think about the case of Sholom Rubashkin, the former Agriprocessors CEO who was convicted last November of bank fraud.

Like many other concerned individuals, I have been following this case and the call by some for harsh sentencing.

The prosecution has recommended a life sentence for Mr. Rubashkin — a non-violent, first-time offender.

Sentencing is due to take place this week, and at this writing, it appears possible that Linda R. Reade, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa in charge of the case, might follow the prosecution’s recommendation.

The prosecution maintains that in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines, Mr. Rubashkin’s conviction rates a life sentence.

To a lay person, this seems troubling. It puts Mr. Rubashkin on par with a first-degree murderer.

Let me explicitly state here that I am in no way defending the actions for which he was convicted. My point (already made by others who are legal experts) is  that the sentencing recommendation does not seem to fit the crime.

One such legal expert is Alan Dershowitz.

In a widely circulated April 20 letter to Judge Reade, he notes his involvement in formulating the guidelines which form the basis for the prosecution’s position, which included working with the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

“As someone who is intimately familiar with the thinking of those behind the sentencing guidelines,” he writes, “I am confident that they would have been distressed by the government’s position in this case and its misuse of the guidelines to try to secure a sentence well in excess of what Mr. Rubashkin’s actions, as well as his personal background, deserve.”

He concludes: “A single digit sentence would satisfy all the legitimate goals of the criminal justice system.”

Other experts, including former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman and former federal judge Paul G. Cassel, have called the sentencing recommendation “draconian”.

In their letter to Chief Judge Reade they wrote:

“[T]he Government’s guidelines calculations seemingly call for the Court to impose a significantly longer sentence on Mr. Rubashkin than he would receive for second-degree murder, kidnapping, rape of child, or providing weapons to terrorist organizations.

“In fact, the Government’s guidelines calculations are so flawed that they imply that his sentence should be the same as if Mr. Rubashkin had committed first degree murder.”

In yet a third letter to Judge Reade, 11 former members of the U.S. Department of Justice state: “We cannot fathom how truly sound and sensible sentencing rules could call for a life sentence — or anything close to it — for Mr. Rubashkin….”

As I write these words, Mr. Rubashkin has yet to be sentenced.

But Mr. Rubashkin ought to be able to hope — as anyone in his situation — that some day he will gain a second chance in life.

That can only happen if he is sentenced in a fair way, one commensurate with the crime he is found to have committed and in accordance with the principles of our American judicial system.

That is Pesach Sheni’s relevance. It speaks to us about those who — for physical and, perhaps even spiritual, reasons — find themselves in need of another opportunity to get life right.

Most of us have certain memories of our childhood, which remain etched in our mind. Some of those memories are very vivid, in living color. Others are not quite as lucent. For example, I can clearly remember the first time I rode a bike without training wheels. I am also fortunate enough to have watched my oldest son learn to do the same last summer.
Other vivid memories are of Passover Seders from years past. As far as the food goes, I remember mainly the salt water, horseradish root and handmade shemurah matzah.
Parts of the Haggadah also stand out in my mind. One such passage – and I never recall actually discussing it at a Seder – is the passage immediately following the well-known section, “And it is this that has stood by our fathers and us.”
I am referring to the paragraph beginning, “Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramean wanted to do to our father Jacob.” I cannot be quite sure why I remember this line of the Haggadah. There are others, of course, but since this one is currently on my mind, I will discuss it briefly, as perhaps it took all these years to appreciate the message inherent within it.
Why does the passage tell me to “go out” and learn? Can’t I stay in and learn? And where am I supposed to go to?
The deeper meaning of this passage can be understood by a teaching of Rabbi Yosef Schneersohn, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Rabbi Schneersohn explained that every Torah text is extremely precise, and chooses its words carefully. Subtle innuendo and word selection can carry within it an entire world of interpretation.
Some of us are sometimes faced with the challenge of being unable to integrate new ideas into our lives. The general rule is that the older you get, the harder it becomes to do so, for we become more firm and set in our ways. As we become more educated and more exposed to the realities around us, we make more and more assumptions about the way things should be.
Often, when encountering a foreign new idea, we immediately reject it without even giving it proper consideration. It can be extremely difficult to evaluate and assess values and ideas that don’t jive with what we are used to.
The Haggadah, as mentioned above, chose its words carefully.
Go out and learn. You want to truly learn? You must “go out” of your preconceived notions and open yourself up to an alternative point of view. You may ultimately end up rejecting it, but the first step is to exit your previous self, your prior notions; only then can one truly learn.
I think this is a fitting lesson for us this Passover holiday. Although we will not be living a physical Egypt, we too can have our own personal spiritual and intellectual exodus. Now is the time to go out of your preconceived notions about Judaism, and examine it afresh.
When we go out, we are certain to learn.
May we be blessed with a kosher and happy Passover.

Every Friday night and Shabbat lunch for some hot food, warm conversation and cool people…

FEBRUARY 27 at 8pm
Summit Flex Space * Queens College
Megillah Readings: 8pm & 10pm
Free Food * Hamantashen

Featuring mentalist: Terry Parrett

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28th

Megillah readings in the Chabad House at 11am and 2:30pm.

Tuesday, February 23rd * 8:30-9:30pm

Join Tzipah and expert cake crafter Esty Rosenblatt to make super-fancy (& yummy) cakes!

For Women Only.

In the Chabad House.  For more info: info@qChabad.org.

At Shabbat lunch, we spoke about the statement of our sages (Midrash Tanchuma (Bober) Yitro 16) that the first word of the Ten Commandments — Anochi אנכי – is not Hebrew, but actually Egyptian.

The message behind this, the Lubavitcher Rebbe explains, is that those who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of spirituality and thereby decide to remove themselves as much as possible from the world — lest it have a corrupting effect — are missing the point.

Anochi is the mission statement of the Torah.

When we go to work amidst the distractions and temptations of the world, but at the same time remains focused and dedicated to Judaism by praying, learning Torah, giving charity and acting ethically in business, this is the purpose of the Torah.

In a sense, the erudite sages are missing out on the challenge of Sinai.  Daily we encounter “Egypt” — otherwise known as the workplace, the market, the street, or any other place that isn’t deemed sacred.

It is our task to utilize our faculties to fulfill the Torah while encountering “Egypt” in our everyday lives.

A student asked: Is it really true that the word Anochi is Egyptian?  Have linguists confirmed this?

I answered the only answer I knew: I am not a linguist… but I know one!

A few hours later, I asked Dr. Richard Steiner if there is evidence to support the claim of our sages that Anochi is Egyptian.

“Of course!” was his response.  He went on to explain that the word was “Anok,” which, interestingly, is how the word is spelled in the Midrash cited above.  You can view the word anok in Coptic here.

Strap on your seatbelts, because this class will achieve liftoff!  Tanya is the classic book of Chassidic philosophy.  Every Thursday in the Chabad House from 8:30-9:30pm.  No experience necessary.

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