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Second Chance - Passover
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL
March 29, 2026, Israel
Cohanim, descendants of Aaron the High Cohen (Priest) reenacting the Passover rituals. (not conducted since the destruction of the Holy Temple in the year 70 C.E.)
I was just paying a "Shiva Visit'. When a member of the community suffers a loss, the death of one of the six immediate relatives, he or she must sit Shiva, which means seven. For seven days, unless interrupted by a holiday, the mourning stays home, sits in mourning and observers the age-old rites and traditions of the mourner. During this time daily prayers, three times per day, are held in the home of the mourner and friends, family, and members of the community come to pay their respects and visit the mourners.
Honoring the dead, and honoring our friends is considered one the hightest value in Judaism. People will travel long distances to "pay a Shiva visit", i.e. visit and comfort the mourner. During this time we will hear and share stories about the deceased, offer condolences and try our best to comfort the mourners. My dear Mike, his two sisters, and their mother, are currently sitting Shiva here in our community. I have made an effort to be there every day, twice, to participate in the prayers and to learn honor my friends and comfort the mourners. One comes to inspire and one leaves inspired. I found a small book with some Biblical lessons from the deceased, Syd Klein of blessed memory and those words triggered some thoughts and inspired today's blog.
The holiday/festival of Pesach, Passover is soon upon us. Jews around the world will gather together to observe the holiday by conducing the "Seder" (the Order) and revisiting the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the history of the Jewish people. It is a message of hope and of freedom. But in ancient times it was very different.
In ancient times the main event was the Passover sacrifice, the bringing of a lamb as an offering to God. This practice has been discontinued, other than by the Samaritans, and has been replaced by a symbolic shank bone on the Passover table. In ancient times one had to be ritually pure to offer this sacrifice. (That is a very complex topic, ritual purity, not for now). The Torah/Bible has an interesting, or unusual, law about his offering.
But there were certain men, who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day; and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. And those men said to him: 'We are unclean by the dead body of a man; wherefore are we to be kept back, so as not to bring the offering of God in its appointed season among the children of Israel?' And Moses said unto them: 'Stay ye, that I may hear what God will command concerning you. And God spoke to Moses, saying: Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD; in the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs; (Book of Numbers, Chapter 9)
Thus we see his unusual law, that if you missed the first opporutnigy to celebrate Passover, and to bring the animal sacrifice, you have a second chance, a month later. I have always found this very unsual, and this policy does not apply to any other Jewish holidays or laws, in fact in the oppoiste. If the time has passed, you have lost the opporuinty.
Syd Klein, may he rest in peace, and he was a sweet and kind man whom I had the pleasure of meeting, offered the following interpretation, it is a second chance, and the message is that everyone in his life deserves a second chance, a second opportunity. It is a powerful message. The Passover celebration was very important, but what if one became impure through contact with the dead, he could not offer a sacrifice in the holy temple, or if he was away on business, and he could not get back on time, something we can certainly relate to in our own times, God is giving him a second chance. He is given a second opportunity. And the message is, sometimes things happen, things beyond our control, unforeseen circumstances, or simply mistakes. The lesson from the Bible is, give the individual another opportunity.
The individual who gave his lesson was the son of poor immigrants. He himself grew up in difficult circumstances, but he always had a smile, he worked hard and he succeeded, his own life story of one of being given a Second Chance and making the most of it.
May we all be given a second chance in life, and may we make the most of it. Rest in peace dear Mr. Klein, and thank you for the lesson.
Moshe Katz, 7th dan Black Belt, Israeli Krav Maga. Certified by Wingate Institute. Member Black Belt Hall of fame, USA and Europe.
Understand the Israeli Fighting Mentality - Israel a Nation of Warriors by Moshe Katz
What is the cultural background of Krav Maga? What makes it unique? What makes the Israeli military so effective? Why are Israeli security systems used all over the world?
What are the Biblical origins of Krav Maga and who was the first Krav Maga instructor?
What weapons and military strategies did our Biblical ancestors use?
How has Krav Maga developed in Israel and what are its goals?
All that and more in this unique book.
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