Pesach Sheni

Pesach Sheni means “Second Passover [Sacrifice].” It marks the day when someone who was unable to participate in the Passover offering in the proper time would observe the mitzvah exactly one month later. It is customary to mark this day by eating matzah—shmurah matzah, if possible—and by omitting Tachanun from the prayer services. The day represents the “second chance” achieved by teshuvah, the power of repentance and “return.” In the words of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch, “The Second Passover means that it’s never a ‘lost case.’”