Information about the Month of May

The fifth (5th) month of the Gregorian calendar, May is named after the Roman goddess, MAIA. The worship of Mercury (to whom the planet is dedicated) was associated with the worship of the Roman goddess Maia who is identified as his mother by her association with the Greek goddess Maia – mother of Hermes. Both Mercury and Maia were honored in pagan festivals on May 15th the dedication day of the Temple of Mercury on the Aventine (built around 500 BC). The Romans believed that MERCURY was the god of merchandise and merchants, and is commonly identified with the Greek HERMES – the fleet-footed messenger of the gods.

Lyar is the second month on the Jewish calendar counting from Nissan. It is the period that starts on April 27, 2017 through May 25, 2017 in the Gregorian calendar. The name of this month, Iyar, spells an acronym for the phrase “I am the LORD your healer .

Shortly after the Exodus, the thirsty Israelites reached a well of bitter water.  Moses cast a tree into the water, and it miraculously became sweet. God then promised that if Israel followed His ways, “the diseases I have placed on Egypt I will not place upon you, for I am God your Healer ( אני יי רפאך ).” The acronym for this last phrase spells out the name of the month of Iyar (אייר), thus indicating that Iyar is a propitious time for healing.

What does the unique nature of this month teach us about illness as well as healing? What role do we play in blocking or facilitating our own healing? Read more on the month of Lyar @ http:// www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/2544447/jewish/A-Time-To-Heal.html Although Iyar does not contain many “special days,” every single day of the month is included in the  Sefirat HaOmer  counting—the  mitzvah  to count each of the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Sefirat HaOmer is a period of introspection and self-refinement, as we prepare ourselves to receive the Torah anew on Shavuot. Each day of Iyar represents another step in this spiritual journey toward Sinai.

The 14th day of Iyar is Pesach Sheni, “the second Passover.” This year it is observed on May 10th 2017 A year after the Exodus, God instructed the people of Israel to bring the Passover offering on the afternoon of the fourteenth of Nissan, and to eat it that evening, roasted over the fire, together with matzah and bitter herbs, as they had done the previous year just before they left Egypt.

“There were, however, certain persons who had become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, and could not, therefore, prepare the Passover offering on that day. They approached Moses and Aaron . . . and they said: ‘. . . Why should we be deprived, and not be able to present God’s offering in its time, amongst the children of Israel?’” (Numbers 9:6–7).

In response to their plea, God established the 14th of Iyar as a “Second Passover” (Pesach Sheni) for anyone who was unable to bring the offering on its appointed time in the previous month. The day thus 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.’”

It is customary to mark this day by eating matzah,  shmurah  matzah  if possible, and omitting Tachanun from the prayer services.

In the Torah it describes how God created this holiday at the request of those who, for reasons beyond their control, were unable to offer the paschal sacrifice in its proper time. One month later, they received a second chance. Pesach Sheni reminds us that it’s never too late. With sincere effort, yesterday’s missed opportunity can become today’s achievement.

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