For the First Time in 2,000 Years: Lamb Brought to Temple Mount for
Second Passover
Several Jews were arrested on Sunday at the gates of the Temple Mount after they managed to bring a lamb onto the Mount to sacrifice it for the second Passover. The Chozrim La’Har (Return to the Mount) Movement reported that for the first time in two thousand years, a live goat was brought onto the Temple Mount, with the aim of sacrificing it for the Pesach Sheni (second Passover) sacrifice.
In the days of the Temple service, Pesach Sheini was an additional opportunity to bring the Passover sacrifice. Those who were unable to bring the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice) in its proper time, on the afternoon of the 14th of Nisan, were permitted to do so one month later, on the 14th of Iyar.
Pesach Sheini (second Passover), which occurs on the 14th of Iyar, one month after the Passover offering is offered, embodies the concept of a “second chance” more than any other holiday.
But there were some men who were unclean by reason of a corpse and could not offer the Pesach sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moshe and Aharon, Numbers 9:6
Those men said to them, “Unclean though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting Hashem‘s offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” Numbers 9:
Moses asked God for guidance and was told they should bring the sacrifice one month later. Two types of people were permitted this second chance: those who were ritually impure at the time of the Passover offering, or those who were on a “long journey” and could not make it to Jerusalem in time.
In the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva related the tradition that the men who approached Moses were Mishael and Elzaphan, who had become impure after carrying the bodies of Nadab and Abihu after they were burned in the Holy of Holies. However, the opportunity to bring the Passover sacrifice on Pesach Sheini was not limited to those who were impure because they were in contact with a dead body. Rather, anyone with any ritual impurity would also be given this second chance.
The laws for the second Korban Pesach were similar to the first. The lamb of the Second Passover was to be roasted over a fire and eaten on the eve of the 15th of Iyar, together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs. However, the Seder’s other commandments and rituals were not observed. Though chametz (leavened food) was not prohibited on Pesach Sheini, the offering of Pesach Sheini had to be consumed with matzah and could not be eaten on bread.
It is important to emphasize that unlike other holidays, which were unilaterally commanded by God, this holiday was inspired in response to individual outcry.
The Book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 30:1) narrates how King Hezekiah, who ascended the throne in 727 BCE, celebrated Pesach Sheni in the first year of his rule. He offered the Pesach Lamb, and the Kohanim and Levites carried out the full Temple Service for Passover, as they had not been properly purified to perform the first Pesach.
But Hezekiah took it even further. Before offering this Passover sacrifice, all idols were removed from Jerusalem. Hezekiah’s Pesach Sheni was more than just a second chance at bringing the one sacrifice. It was a second chance for Israel, an opportunity to return to God.
The Chozrim L’Har movement explained their intentions.
“The only way to completely defeat Hamas, facilitate the release of all the hostages, and entirely uproot and eradicate Arab terrorism is by engaging in intense activity on the Temple Mount, and nowhere else. Only through full sovereignty on the Temple Mount, the renewal of the sacrifices, and the building of the Temple will we triumph.”
The movement stated that the Israel Police is trying to hide the historical event that took place on the Temple Mount.
“This is serious misconduct in which the Israel Police is hiding important information from the public within the framework of official announcements,” the spokesperson for the movement said. “By hiding the facts, they hope to divert attention away from the Jewish national mandate to serve God on his Holy Mountain.”
