Behaalotekha: Num. 8.1-12.16
The Haftarah is Zechariah 2.14-4.7.
GOD AND UNANTICIPATED CIRCUMSTANCES
A couple of times in the Book of Numbers, after God has given a
command, some people complain that, through no fault of their own,
they cannot fulfill the commandment. One of those instances is in
our Torah portion, at chapter 9, verses 6 and following.
After God has given the command to offer the Passover sacrifice a
group of men complain to Moses and Aaron that they were ritually
impure, and so were prohibited from offering the sacrifice. Moses
goes to talk with God and comes back with an answer; these men and
also those on a "long journey" may offer the Passover sacrifice a
month later. This is the origin of the little known holiday of
Second Passover.
The connection between ourselves and God is a two way street. God
does not demand of us the impossible. God will make allowances, if
we truely open our hearts.