The saying that “it is never too late—there is always a second chance” has a positive ring to it. In essence, the saying means that although you may have failed the first time around, you have a second opportunity. And this time around, not only can you right your wrong, but it will be even better because you have learned from your first experience! If you think about it for a moment, however, there is a negative connotation as well. You failed the first time. But don’t feel badly, because you can pick yourself up and try again. But what about the people who didn’t fail to begin with? What about them? Do they, too, have a “second chance?” Can they experience the benefits of a second chance without actually ever failing first?
This week’s Torah portion, Behaalotecha, talks about the first time that a group of Jews were unable to bring the Pascal offering because they were ritually impure. They complained to Moses, asking, “why are we different?” They tried to defend the Jews but found then that they were going to miss out? Moses turned to G-d for guidance. G-d responded by telling them that in a month’s time, they would be able to bring a “second Pascal offering.” From this, we learn that there is always a second chance.
This new law eventually came to include any “new” Jew (bar/bat mitzvah or a convert) who joined our peoplehood between Passover and the second Passover (this mini one-day Passover). The “new” Jew also has to bring an offering on this day, which means that this is not just about second chances, but also about first chances.
Aha! Here is the deeper meaning of the saying that “it is never too late—there is always a second chance.”
The first time around, even if one cannot bring the Pascal offering they are still observing the holiday of Passover, albeit not to the fullest. But observing they are. So the lesson of the first holiday, which is of humility, is there—that of remembering that there is a G-d that took us out of Egypt. On the second Passover, when bread is permitted to be eaten, only a person who missed the first Pascal offering brings an offering now. But the lesson of the second holiday, that of transformation (finishing up what was started), applies to everyone.
To put it another way, the emphasis is not on the actual offering itself, but on the lesson that the holiday teaches us. The first step is humility and second is transformation. The offering is the boost that helps propel us to the desired level. Either we get the boost up front, or we get it later on.
Looking at it this way, having a second chance has no negative connotation at all. The lesson in life either came early or late, but one is not better than the other.