The Zohar writes regarding Pesach Sheini, "On this day, it is announced in heaven, 'Whoever hasn’t yet seen the Shechinah should come now to see the Shechinah before the gates close... This is announced on the 14th day of the second month (Pesach Sheini). The gates [of heaven] will remain open for seven days. Afterwards, they close."
The Ropshitzer Rav zt'l asks why the gates close after seven days. Why can't they remain open? He answers that in this week, there is Lag b'Omer, a day of great salvations. The gates can close at the end of the week because all our needs were certainly granted and our tefillos answered, so they no longer need to remain open.
It is a very special seven days, a week of seeing the Shechinah and a week of salvations. It is a week when the gates of heaven are open; only a fool wouldn't take advantage of this tremendous opportunity.
The Torah (Bamidbar 9) tells that there were people who were tamai and thus unable to bring the korban Pesach on erev Pesach. They approached Moshe and Aharon and said (Bamidbar 9:7) לבלתי נגרע למה אדם לנפש טמאים אנחנו ישראל בני בתוך במועדו 'ה קרבן את הקריב, "We are tamei [through contact] with a dead person. Why should we be excluded so as not to bring the korban of Hashem in its appointed time among Bnei Yisrael?"
Their question needs to be understood. They themselves said the reason they couldn't bring the Korban Pesach was that אנחנו טמאים "We are tamei..." So what were they complaining about? What were they seeking?
The Chidushei HaRim zt'l answers that the question came instinctively. It wasn't based on reason. If it had, they would have known the answer. Rather, their question was the natural shout of their souls. נגרע למה, "How can it be that we can't bring the korban Pesach? How can it be that all of Bnei Yisrael be bringing this korban, and we are less fortunate than them?"
Hashem accepted their sincere desire and gave them Pesach Sheini.
A similar episode occurred with the bnos Tzelafchad (Bamidbar 27). Moshe taught the nation the laws of inheritance, and he told them that only male children inherit their father's property. Females aren't inheritors. Bnos Tzelafchad had a problem. Their father didn't have any sons, only five daughters. They came to Moshe and said, ובנים ... במדבר מת אבינו אחוזה לנו תנה ...אבינו שם יגרע למה לו היו לא, "Our father died in the desert... he had no sons. Why should our father's name be eliminated from his family because he had no sons? Give us a portion along with our father's brothers."
Hashem told Moshe they were correct with their claim and deserved an inheritance. And Hashem added that whenever a person doesn’t have sons, his daughters inherit his estate.
These two episodes are similar in that in both stories, people complained to Moshe about a certain halachah, and Hashem agreed with them both times. But there is a significant difference. For bnos Tzelafchad, the halachah that was revealed was Hashem's original plan. Hashem said (Sifri 134) כתובה כבר לפני זו פרשה, "This portion of the Torah [that daughters inherit in the absence of sons] was already written before Me in heaven." The halachah already existed, only it became revealed through bnos Tzelafchad. Whereas, for the people who pleaded נגרע למה, their pleading and their request created a new halachah. Pesach Sheini was a new halachah that didn’t exist previously. It was created in the merit of their pleas and intense desire to bring the korban Pesach.
We learn from this the strength of holy desire. If one desires spirituality, even if the option isn’t available, Hashem will open new avenues and possibilities to grant his wishes.
One Shabbos parashas Behaloscha, the Beis Yisrael zt'l waved his arms about a becher in his hand and exclaimed, "!נגרע למה !נגרע למה. This is such a wonderful claim! And because of it, Hashem says, תצא מאתי חדשה תורה, I will give them a new Torah, a new halachah." Their desire for the korban Pesach created a new halachah.
The Beis Yisrael zt'l (Behaloscha 5723) writes, "It seemed that there was no hope [for the people who were tamei] but their strong desire and their proclamation of נגרע למה, granted them the opportunity to bring a korban Pesach on Pesach Sheini because man can open gates even when they appear closed. As Chazal (Pesachim 85:) say, 'Even an iron wall cannot separate the Jewish people from their Father in heaven.' Similarly, Shlomo HaMelech said (Mishlei 8:34), אדם אשרי יום יום דלתותי על לשקוד לי שומע, 'Praiseworthy is the person who listens to me, to hasten to my doors every day...' This means that one should stand by the door even when it appears to be closed and wait there every single day until the doors open because when one desires, Hashem helps him."
Sefer Bamidbar begins with the counting of the Jewish nation. Rashi (Bamidbar 9:1) notes that sefer Bamidbar should have started with the halachos of the korban Pesach and Pesach Sheini because that occurred on the 14th of Nisan, while the counting occurred a couple of weeks afterwards, in Iyar. Rashi (9:1) answers, ומאוחר מוקדם סדר שאין למדת בתורה, "This teaches us that there isn't an order of before or after in the Torah." The Torah doesn't always write events in chronological order.
Nevertheless, there must be a reason the order was changed. Rashi adds "It's because this episode is a disgrace for the Jewish people, because in all the forty years that they were in the desert, this was the only korban Pesach they brought..."
Why was this the only korban Pesach brought in the desert? One explanation, stated in Chazal, is that it was dangerous to circumcise new-born children in the desert. The arid climate wasn't conducive to healing since the northern wind didn't blow there. Consequently, the parents had children without bris milah, which made it forbidden for them to eat the korban Pesach.
But we can ask, why is it a disgrace that only one korban Pesach was brought in the desert? They did nothing wrong. They were keeping the halachah that forbade them from bringing a korban Pesach because they had uncircumcised children.
The Imrei Emes zt'l (Succos, אמר וללוי) answers that had they truly desired to bring a korban Pesach, Hashem would have given them the opportunity to do so. Strong desire breaks down barriers. Where there is a will, Hashem arranges a way. Something would have been worked out. Perhaps Hashem would have created a new halachah to help them perform the mitzvah. Apparently, they didn’t desire it enough, and that’s the disgrace.
Rashi writes that when the people who were tamei asked Moshe נגרע למה, "Moshe told them, 'ה יצוה מה ואשמעה עמדו, 'Stand here, and I will listen to what Hashem commands.' [Moshe spoke] as a student who is certain he will hear an answer from his teacher. Fortunate is a human being who is so confident that he can speak with the Shechinah whenever he chooses."
The Shinover Rav zt'l asks: Moshe was the humblest person. Why was he certain that Hashem would speak with him? The Shinover Rav answers that Moshe’s confidence was in the merit of the people who were shouting נגרע למה. Moshe was certain that Hashem would answer him in the merit of their strong desire.
The moral of the story is when one wants something, Hashem will help it happen. Therefore, desire ruchniyos, and Hashem will help you succeed.
The Midrash (Mishlei 12) states, "Whoever lies on his bed and thinks, 'Tomorrow I will do a favor for ploni,' he will rejoice with the tzaddikim in Olam HaBa..." The Midrash doesn't state that he is rewarded for his good deeds, but rather for his desire to do the good deed. And we can assume that because of his good intentions, Hashem will help him succeed and do many good deeds.
The Shem MiShmuel (Korach 7765) writes, "My father [the Avnei Nezer] told me that if a person desires Torah and mitzvos throughout his life, he will certainly not end up in Gehinom. Even if he is sentenced to Gehinom, I guarantee he will fly out of there like an arrow."
Someone said to the Nesivos Shalom zt'l, "I think that when I die, they will write on my tombstone, 'Here lies the person who wanted' (השאיפות בעל)." This man desperately wanted to serve Hashem but always failed. The Nesivos Shalom replied, "If I were in a cemetery and saw a tomb inscribed, 'here lies the baal hashe'ifos,' I would stop there to stay a few chapters of Tehillim." Because desiring to serve Hashem is a wonderful level.
The Midrash tells a story of a drunkard whose children wanted him to realize how disgusting his addiction was. So, one day, they got him drunk, and when he fell asleep, they carried him to the cemetery and lowered him into a grave. They hoped that when he woke up in the graveyard, he would realize that he was ruining his life with his drinking. When they left the area, wine merchants arrived at the street alongside the cemetery. Suddenly, the merchants thought they heard war cries, so they hid their barrels of wine in the cemetery and ran away. When the drunk woke up, a trickle of wine was coming out of a barrel directly into the grave where he was lying. He didn’t ask any questions. He opened his mouth and drank the wine. Three days later, the children realized that they didn’t act correctly. They shouldn’t have left their father in the cemetery. So they went to see how he was doing. They found him drinking wine. They realized that Hashem had arranged it for him. As Chazal say, "The way a person wants to go, Hashem leads him there." He wanted to drink, so he received his desires. The children decided they would take turns providing their father with wine. Each week, another son gave him wine.
