[ShtarkOut]

Tonight is Pesach Sheini.
Why, when & where did it originate?

Are there any specific Halachot or minhagim for this day? My family usually eats Matza, is there any real reason to do so?

[micha]

Pesach II is a very important holiday during this period of exile. We observe it expressing hope that mashiach might come between Pesach and Iyar 14, and we need to keep the date alive.

In Liubavitch thought, Pesach II represents teshuvah, as it's a return to the Beis haMiqdosh for those who were tamei or too distant on Pesach.

This post has been edited by micha: 04 May 2004 - 04:17 PM

[Pamello]

במדבר פרק ט י דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר: אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי-יִהְיֶה-טָמֵא לָנֶפֶשׁ אוֹ בְדֶרֶךְ רְחֹקָה לָכֶם, אוֹ לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם, וְעָשָׂה פֶסַח, לַיהוָה. יא בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם, בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם--יַעֲשׂוּ אֹתוֹ: עַל-מַצּוֹת וּמְרֹרִים, יֹאכְלֻהוּ. יב לֹא-יַשְׁאִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ עַד-בֹּקֶר, וְעֶצֶם לֹא יִשְׁבְּרוּ-בוֹ; כְּכָל-חֻקַּת הַפֶּסַח, יַעֲשׂוּ אֹתוֹ. יג וְהָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר-הוּא טָהוֹר וּבְדֶרֶךְ לֹא-הָיָה, וְחָדַל לַעֲשׂוֹת הַפֶּסַח--וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא, מֵעַמֶּיהָ: כִּי קָרְבַּן יְהוָה, לֹא הִקְרִיב בְּמֹעֲדוֹ--חֶטְאוֹ יִשָּׂא, הָאִישׁ הַהוּא. יד וְכִי-יָגוּר אִתְּכֶם גֵּר, וְעָשָׂה פֶסַח לַיהוָה--כְּחֻקַּת הַפֶּסַח וּכְמִשְׁפָּטוֹ, כֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה: חֻקָּה אַחַת יִהְיֶה לָכֶם, וְלַגֵּר וּלְאֶזְרַח הָאָרֶץ.

[Kalashnikover_Rebbe]

ShtarkOut, on May 4 2004, 11:42 PM, said:

Tonight is Pesach Sheini.
Why, when & where did it originate?

Are there any specific Halachot or minhagim for this day? My family usually eats Matza, is there any real reason to do so?

Uhhhh Try the Chumash.

Those who were tamei because they carried the bones of Yosef Hatzaddik complained that it isn't fair that they should miss out on bringing the pesach offering.
So G-d made a special holiday for them, and other people who couldn't bring the pesach offering for reasons beyond their control (but not people who deliberately didn't do it the first time).

Pesach Sheni is all about second chances, making up for missed opportunities and most importantly a group of people who were so dejected that they would not be able to participate in this very important ceremony that a new holiday was created in their honor.

Today unfortunately although we are in Eretz Yisroel and technically have control of Har Habayis we can't bring the Pesach because of the powers that be.
According to many great poskim the Pesach can be brought today with a simple altar of 1X1 without a beis hamigdosh and tumah is doche btzibbur. I am not talking about zionist rabonnim but gedolim of previous generations who discussed this at length.

We should at least feel the longing to bring this offering B"H next year and not have pesach be an abstract concept for us "ZECHER the real thing, but we should have pesach matzo and marror the way it was intended. If we all truly feel bad enough that we are in golus and unable to really get close to G-d, just like in Pesach Sheni he will have rachmanus on us and allow us to do so.

[ShtarkOut]

Kalashnikover_Rebbe, on May 4 2004, 05:38 PM, said:

Uhhhh Try the Chumash.

Doesn't say much there.

I wrote an assignment in high school about the times when the Halacha was hidden from Moshe ("nitalma mimeno halacha"), and Pesach Sheini is one of those. I didn't find enough information in the Chumash that satisfied me, though.

[simplejew]

micha,

since you brought it up, let me elaborate. Pesach sheini represents as the previous rebbe put it: es eez nisht do kein farfalen. basically it means there is always a second chance. you missed the first chance, there is a second chance. thats why it is connected to tshuvah which is also a similar idea. its never too late. one can always make things right.

[geshtunken]

I heard some people discussing what type of matza to eat for pesach sheini, and one rabbi said that whatever type you eat by the seder you should eat on pesach sheini. Is there any halacha about this stuff (like being machmir on shmura matza or eating a kezayis) on pesach sheini, or is it all just a zecher and a nice thing to do?

[Aristotle]

geshtunken, on May 4 2004, 07:39 PM, said:

I  Is there any halacha about this stuff (like being machmir on shmura matza or eating a kezayis) on pesach sheini, or is it all just a zecher and a nice thing to do?

I believe the latter.

[Melech]

The rishonim discuss various halachot. For example, both the Ramban and the R. Avraham ben Rambam discuss the status of pesach sheini - if it's an independent holiday, tashlumin (a make-up holiday) or a tikkun (a correction) - one difference in law concerning a minor who becomes bar mitzvah before pesach sheini - if he brings a korban.
However, the poskim don't really get into pesach sheini too much. There's the issue what to do about BeHa"B on pesach sheini. However, the minhagim we have today are just that. For example, eating matzah. Although that's a curious minhag because although the make-up korban was brought on 14 iyyar, it wasn't actually eaten with matzah till the night when it was the 15th of iyyar.
In terms of not saying tachanun, the ArtScroll siddur notwithstanding, it's not so simple not to say tachanun since many poskim make no mention of omitting tachanun on pesach sheini (Derech HaChaim, Kitzur SA, MB etc. The Eishel Avraham at the back of the Shulchan Aruch by Avrahahm Wharman of Butchatach 1771-1840 is an exception: he says to omit tachanun).
The issue of eating matzah at night and the issue of tachanun also raises the issue of saying shir hama'alot vs. 'al naharot bavel tonight. Because generally the night following shabbat and yom tov is still a minor holiday of sorts till midnight so many say shir hama'alot. This wouldn't really apply the night following pesach sheini except for the fact that the following night was somewhat festive in that the korban and matzah were eaten so there's room to say shir hama'alot on motzei pesach sheini.*
But I can't recall anywhere in Shulchan Aruch where pesach sheini is discussed. And the references in the Beit Yoseph are pretty obscure. But hopefully the learned people here can point out where in Shulchan Aruch pesach sheini and its accompanying minhagim are discussed. Most of the references to pesach sheini where it is lauded and its minhagim discussed are later kabbalistic and chassidic sources.
As a side point, note that pesach sheini, which is a special day d'orayta, is hardly discussed by the poskim. But Lag b'omer, which is of dubious origin at best, as discussed at length.

* THis raises the issue also of klapping your chest during "selach lanu" during ma'ariv. Not all of us do that (some people stand absolutely still with our right hand on our left) and even those who do it, may not do it for ma'ariv because sunset to midnight kabbalistically isn't an appropriate time to "klap", just like we don't say tachanun sunset to midnight. But for those of us who klap during ma'ariv, the issue would be if we do so on the night following pesach sheini.