I am under the impression that in ancient times, if unable to be home for the holiday of Passover, there was an alternate date about a month later. True or False?
Many ask if they can observe the “Second Passover” if they’re out of town when the holiday comes.
The story with the alternate Passover is this: A group of Israelites had missed the Pesach (Passover) offering of the first month because they had come in contact with the dead, making them ritually unclean (See the Book of Numbers 9:6). One may not participate in the offering when in an unclean state. G-d then told Moses of a new mitzvah that allowed those who missed the first Pesach to have a second Pesach exactly one month following the first. The first Pesach was on the fourteenth of Nissan, the first month, and the second Pesach would be on the fourteenth of Iyar, the second month. This new mitzvah was a second chance to offer the Paschal Lamb.
At the time we had the Tabernacle and the Temple we were able to fulfill the mitzvah of offering a special Pesach offering of a lamb. A feast would follow, very similar to the Pesach Seder that Jews do today, and a portion of the Paschal Lamb would be eaten as dessert. At our Seders we include some symbols of the lamb – the Afikoman and the bone on the Seder plate for example – but without a Temple we cannot offer a lamb ourselves. In light of the great significance of the Pesach offering, the principal service in commemoration of the Exodus, G-d gave them this new mitzvah. Those who could not offer it the first month because of ritually impurity, because they were too far from the Temple, or for any other reason, were given the fourteenth of Iyar to make it up. In Hebrew it is called the “Pesach Sheni” – “Second Passover offering”.
We do not have a Temple today so this mitzvah does not apply. We eagerly await when we can rebuild the Temple and fulfill this mitzvah once again. Nonetheless it is still customary among many Jews to eat a bit of Matza on the second Passover to mark the significance of the day.
If indeed you cannot be home for Passover I’d suggest contacting Jeff Seidel’s office and searching their database. Jeff is famous for his Jewish hospitality networking program and his office would be more than willing to find you a Seder to attend.
Wishing you a wonderful Passover,
Rabbi Mordechai Dixler