Pesach Sheinimarks the day when Yidden who were unable to participate in the Korban Pesach on the 14th of Nissan would fulfill themitzvaexactly one month later on the 14th of Iyar.

A year after theYidden left Egypt, Hasheminstructed the Jewish People to bring the Pesach offering on the afternoon of the fourteenth ofNissan, and to eat it that evening, roasted over the fire, together with matzah and bitter herbs, as they had done the previous year just before they left Egypt.

The Torah tells us that “There were, however, certain persons who had become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, and could not, therefore, prepare the Passover offering on that day.”

They approachedMosheandAharon and said: “Why should we be deprived, and not be able to present G‑d’s offering in its time, amongst the children of Israel?’”

In response to their plea, G‑d established the fourteenth ofIyaras a day for the “Second Passover” (Pesach Sheni) for anyone who was unable to bring the offering on its appointed time in the previous month.

Accordingly, Pesach Sheinirepresentsthe “second chance” achieved byteshuvah, the power of repentance, and “return.” In the words of the Frierdiker Rebbe, “Pesach Sheini means that it’s never a ‘lost case.’”

In Igros Kodesh, the Rebbe writes that the custom in the Frierdiker Rebbe’s household is to eat matza on 14 Iyar during the daytime meal:

“With regard to your question whether it is customary to eatmatzahonPesach Sheni… our custom — based on the custom of theRebbeShlita’shousehold — is to eatmatzahduring the meal on the day of the 14th ofIyar.” (Igros Kodesh, Volume 2, page 352.)

Although the common practice inChabadis to eat matzah on the day of the 14th of Iyar,during several Farbrengens, theRebbealso encouraged people to eat matzah on the eve of the 15th. (See Sicha of Pesach Sheini 5740 and 5743.)

Watch the Rebbe teach two important lessons we can learn from this auspicious day to apply to our daily lives. Or listen to aplaylistfromAshreinuhighlighting unique moments from the Rebbe’s Pesach Sheinifarbrengensand other occasions where the Rebbe learns lessons from this auspicious day.

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