Today is Pesach Sheini. It’s not a holiday that usually gets much attention (besides making sure to eat matzah today), but it has an important lesson for us.
What does Pesach Sheini commemorate? In the first year after the Jewish people left Egypt, they were commanded to bring the Korban Pesach (Passover offering). However, the korban could only be brought if you were tahor (ritually pure). There were some people who were tamei (ritually impure) who weren’t able to participate in the mitzvah. They came to Moshe and asked him, “why do we have to miss out on this mitzvah?” Moshe asked Hashem (G-d) wha
t to do, and Hashem gave us the holiday of Pesach Sheini – a “second” Pesach, where those who missed the opportunity to bring the korban Pesach the first time would have a second chance.
This teaches us that it’s never too late – we always have a second chance. We can always choose to improve our ways and turn our life around, no matter how we acted the day before.
This also applies to dreams. When the idea to start a magazine for Jewish girls first popped into my mind as a sixth-grader, I turned to my friend and said, “wouldn’t it be cool to publish a magazine for Jewish girls?” She said that it would never happen, so I pushed the idea to the back of my head. It was only a year later that I reconsidered the idea and gave it a “second chance”. When I thought about it a second time, I realized that I really could do this if I really wanted to.
Have you had any ideas or dreams that you pushed aside? Maybe someone else discouraged you, or maybe you thought they were too impractical. Maybe you just got busy and forgot about your idea. Today is a great time to give your dreams a second chance – think about what you really want to do and how you can make it happen.
It just occurred to me – why not start a Jewish boys’ magazine too? It’s not like boys are looking at fashion magazines and stuff, but there really should be a magazine with 100% kosher literature for boys to enjoy as well!
You’re not the only one who’s thought of that – it’s occurred to me more then once that it would be good if there was a boy’s equivalent of YALDAH (maybe “YELED” ;) )and other people have commented on this website before saying their brothers or sons wish there was a boy’s magazine. Problem is, though, the people reading your comment are all girls, and it wouldn’t make much sense for a girls to start a magazine for boys! :)
YALDAH fans, try to convince your brothers to start a Jewish boy’s magazine! :) :) :)