Matzah again?
This Sunday is Pesach Sheni - the second Passover; a mini holiday with a major message. The scene was the desert, the time was early spring, and the topic was inclusion. A small group of Jews was taking up their issue with Moses. They had been entrusted to carry Joseph's coffin out of Egypt, to fulfill their promise to bury Joseph in Israel. As per Jewish law, contact with the deceased, renders one spiritually impure, requiring a seven-day fix. They were going to miss out on the Paschal sacrifice, the lamb roasted and eaten with Matzah on Passover eve.
They challenged Moses, saying "why should we be deprived?". They wanted in. The didn't want to miss out on this Passover highlight. Moshe, not aware of any plan B, had no choice but to bring their complaint to G-d himself. The result? A new Mitzvah. A system, allowing anyone who was impure, out of town (once in Israel, it had to be done in Jerusalem), or otherwise unable to participate, to have the opportunity to do it one month later, one the 14th day of Iyar.
The message is twofold: It's never a "lost case", we always get a second chance. The second is that we don't need to settle for less. Sometimes G-d is just waiting for us to challenge, to ask, to show interest, and then he comes through with blessings, opening up previously non-existent opportunity.
So this Sunday, grab a piece of Matzah, (no need for the accompanying house cleaning ceremony) and find that area in your life, that Mitzvah that deserves a second chance.
Shabbat Shalom!
ב"ה