Beha’alotcha

Parashat Behaalotecha   

Korban Pesach 

In this week’s parasha the Torah records the command issued to Am Yisrael to offer a Korban Pesach. This took place in the month of Nissan during the second year following yetziat Mitzrayim (Bamidbar 9:1-2). 

The Korban Pesach that Am Yisrael duly offered was the only one they offered in all forty years in the desert. Chazal state that this was a “genai” (disgrace) for them (Rashi ibid.) 

Closely following this command, the Torah discusses the subject of Pesach Sheni. It records that there were several people who were unable to offer a Korban Pesach on 15th Nissan; they were permitted to bring it a month later instead, on 15th Iyar. 

Who were the people who were unable to offer the Korban? The gemara in Masechet Sukkah (25a) offers several possibilities: According to Rabbi Yossi HaGelili they were those who had been carrying the coffin of Yosef, which had made them tamei (impure). According to Rabbi Akiva they were Misha’el and Eltzafan who had dealt with the bodies of Nadav and Avinu. Rabbi Yitzchak argues that neither of these approaches explains why the people in question could not become tahor in time to offer the korban. Rather, they must have been people who had dealt with a meit mitzvah (a dead body that had nobody else to bury it) so close to Pesach that they did not have enough time to become tahor in time to bring the Korban Pesach. 

Whoever they were, they came to Moshe Rabbenu and made a curious statement: “And those men said to him: ‘We are impure due to a [dead] person. Why should we be lacking by not offering the korban of Hashem at its appointed time, among the Jewish people?’” This seems incongruous. Since they were tamei they could not offer the korban; that was their reality. What kind of claim is it to say, “Why should we be lacking?”  

Moreover, the reason they were tamei was due to performing an important mitzvah. Why then were they disappointed not to offer a Korban Pesach? On the contrary, they should have rejoiced in having had the opportunity to perform a mitzvah that is so important that it exempts a person from reciting Kriat Shema while performing it. 

The answer to these questions can be deduced from the following episode, related by the Zohar haKadosh (3, 186a). 

Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yehuda - students of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai - stayed in the house of Rav Hamnuna Saba. In the house there was a young boy, known to be extremely holy. His mother told him to ask for a bracha from one of the two, holy Tannai’m who were staying in their house. The boy approached them, however, upon reaching them he quickly retraced his steps to his mother. He told her that he could smell that those Sages had not recited Kriat Shema that morning! Since a person who does not recite Kriat Shema is in “niduy” (banished) for that entire day, the boy had quickly stepped away from them. 

The boy’s mother was shocked at the child’s words. How could he be so brazen as to make such statements about these holy men?! But the boy insisted that he could not speak to them because of the niduy. 

Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yitzchak overheard the child’s words. They turned to his mother and told her that indeed, they had not recited Kriat Shema that morning. However, this had not been due to negligence, chas v’shalom, but because they had been occupied in hachnasat kallah. One who is occupied in one mitzvah is exempt from any other mitzvot. 

This episode is difficult to understand. If they had indeed been exempt from Kriat Shema why did the child smell that they had failed to recite it? There should surely have been no indications that they had done anything wrong. 

We must say that even if a person is exempt from performing a mitzvah, there is nevertheless a roshem - an impact upon him - from failing to perform it. He is lacking the mitzvah. The same was true of those who could not bring their Korban Pesach due to the other mitzvah they had performed. 

This teaches us an important lesson. A person must pursue mitzvot dedicatedly for if he fails to perform even one mitzvah, there will be a roshem upon him, even if he was exempt from the mitzvah due to his circumstances. 

We must not be like those who are relieved when they become exempt from a mitzvah. If it occurs that a person is indeed exempt he should at least realize that he will be lacking a mitzvah and a roshem will appear upon him. 

The parasha of Pesach Sheni came about in an unusual way. Rather than Moshe simply commanding it to Am Yisrael as usual, the question was raised by the men who had become tamei, described above. Moshe did not know the answer to their question and needed to ask Hashem for instructions. Rashi explains: 

This parasha was fitting to be said by Moshe, like the rest of the Torah, however, these people merited that it should be said through them, for Hashem brings about a merit through a merit-worthy person. 

At first sight, this appears to contradict our premise. We stated that those men who could not bring their Korban Pesach were lacking a mitzvah - a roshem would have attached itself to them, no matter that they were exempt. But Rashi calls them “merit-worthy” and deserving of a parasha in the Torah being received through them. 

Rav Gedalia Schorr gave the following answer (Or Gedaliyahu). 

The men who were tamei were indeed great in stature, holy and pure. They therefore wondered why they had the misfortune of being tamei and thus exempt from Korban Pesach. They considered their actions but could not find any misdeed that would make them deserving of losing the opportunity to bring a Korban Pesach. They therefore came to Moshe with the complaint, “Why should we be lacking?” 

Moshe replied: “You are correct - you do not have a flaw or misdeed for which you are being punished. However, Hashem brings about a merit through a merit-worthy person. He tested you to see if you were relieved or indifferent about being exempt from Korban Pesach, but you were not; you were upset. This makes you merit-worthy and thus this parasha in the Torah will be said through you.” 

The same concept is evident from the gemara in Masechet Megila (16b). At the end of the Megilah the pasuk describes Mordechai as being “Ratzuy l’rov echav - approved of by the majority of his brethren”, which implies that he was not approved of by some. Why so? The gemara explains that some of the Sanhedrin looked askance at him because he had failed to dedicate himself to Torah study, due to his communal activities, thwarting Haman. 

Obviously, Mordechai had no choice but to involve himself in matters of the community, after all, Haman was threatening to annihilate them all! Nonetheless the lack of Torah study left a roshem on him; he was lacking the mitzvah. 

The Taz (Yoreh Deah 251:6) raises a contradiction between two statements of Chazal. On the one hand they say, “Torah study is greater than saving lives”. On the other hand they rule: “We neglect Torah study in order to save lives.”  

He answers that certainly Torah study is a greater mitzvah than saving lives. However, if a person does not have sufficient merits Hashem engineers the situation that forces him to save lives and neglect Torah study. 

In a similar vein, at the beginning of our parasha Rashi relates that Aaron was upset when he saw that he played no role in the korbanot offered by the princes upon the inauguration of the mizbe’ach. Why was he upset? He offered korbanot throughout the seven days of the Mishkan’s inauguration and he was the Kohen Gadol and thus had many important mitzvoth to perform. We must say that he too felt that he lacked the mitzvah of contributing to the inauguration of the mizbe’ach. Though he was exempt, he felt that a negative roshem had attached itself to him. 

Pesach Sheni was established for all generations. This means that forever more, if a person has a great desire to perform a mitzvah, Hashem will open up avenues that allow him to do so, even if he is essentially exempt. May we all attain this attitude in mitzvah performance. 

Shabbat Shalom! 

Rabbi Gad Bouskila