381. Better Late than Never: The obligation to eat the Pesach sheini

Like the regular korban Pesach, the Pesach sheini was eaten with matzah and maror (bitter herbs; compare Mitzvah #6). The reason is the same as for the regular korban Pesach, as described at our Passover Seders: the matzah reminds us of how our ancestors rushed to leave Egypt so that their bread had no time to rise; the maror is a symbol of how the Egyptians embittered our lives with servitude.

This mitzvah applies only to men at a time when the Temple service is in effect. In the Talmud, it is discussed in the ninth chapter of tractate Pesachim; it is codified in the Mishneh Torah in the fifth and sixth chapters of Hilchos Korban Pesach and is #58 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos.