Matzah Breakfast on "Second Chance Passover," Pesach Sheni, פסח שני

For years I've been missing the boat, forgetting to celebrate "Second Chance Passover," Pesach Sheni, פסח שני.

Passover, Pesach is one of the holidays we are commanded to celebrate, as written in the Torah, Bible, the first five Books. These texts are thousands of years old, and we Jews still read and follow the Mitzvot/Commandments. When you think about it, it's quite amazing. For thousands of years we Jews have followed the calendar, the same holidays according to ancient texts.

When we were a small people all living in the Holy Land, making it to the Beit Hamikdash for holidays was doable. And since Passover was so important Gd gave us a second chance, because sometimes people found it impossible for very legitimate reasons.

The Torah mentions two official excuses for “missing” Pesach Rishon (on 14 Nissan) and being commanded to bring the KP on 14 Iyar – TAMEI, ritually defiled because of contact with a dead body or other source of TUM’A and DERECH R’CHOKA, “far” away from the Mikdash.

So today, even though I celebrated a large family seder with my family a month ago, I ate matzah. Did you?

Family Passover/Pesach Seder, 5779, 2019

Of course, being that we strictly follow Jewish Law, we have no pictures from our actual Passover/Pesach Seder. The memories will stay for generations, Gd willing.

My grandfather, who was otherwise a strictly shomer Shabbat, a Sabbath observer, apparently allowed my Uncle Donny to take the photo just below. I guess it was a combination of not fully comprehending the halachic aspects of photography and not being able to resist the cleverly worded requests of my Uncle Donny.

Shankman-Vishnevsky family Seder, Brooklyn, NY, most probably 5709, 1949

I'm not in this Seder picture, since if I've dated it correctly, it was just over a month before I was born. Yes, now you know how old I am.  I recognize everyone in the picture. Not only my maternal grandparents, but my parents, aunts, uncle and even two of my cousins here have already passed away. I'm pretty sure it's 1949, because Uncle Izzy is sitting there next to my grandfather holding Cousin Butchy. Passover 1948, just a couple of weeks before Israel's Declaration of Independence, he was most probably in the Holy Land, or staffing one of the boatloads of illegal immigrants as a high ranking volunteer in the Palyam.

The photo below was taken after Shabbat/first day Passover, when it's permitted to photograph. Outside of Israel where people celebrate two Passover Seders and have two days of "restrictions," instead of playing piano, they'd be doing Seder #2. One of my older granddaughters was practicing that complicated piano piece  and then was joined by a couple of younger ones. Let that group photo, which shows no faces or identifying features suffice as family Pesach photo.

Multi-hand piano "concert," Passover, 5779, 2019

This year our daughter hosted the Family Passover/Pesach Seder. All our descendants, except one, attended. It was a great thrill to see all of our grandchildren interacting, from the teens to the infants.

Food was  a combination of strictly Ashkenaz and Tunisian traditions. The customs and tunes were also a harmonized combination. Only the very last songs in the Haggadah were loudly sung by in very Ashkenaz tunes. Nobody else could outlast us.

We celebrated Passover and family togetherness. Just a month before the entire clan came to us in Shiloh for the Purim Seuda/Feast. Thank Gd we make efforts to get together whenever possible. I feel very blessed.

Chag Kasher VeSameach to All of You