14th of Iyar -Pesach Sheni & Rabi Meir Baal HaNes' Hilula

Pesach Sheni is a special day, it's a second chance given to B'nei Yisrael for those who couldn't participate , due to spiritual impurity, in eating the Pesach kurban.

there is no obligation in Pesach Sheni to eat Matzah, although there is a minhag to do so in commemoration of the day. There is an understanding that the purity that is needed for Pesach, that we will be humble like the matzah that is flat so even a person who did not perfect his character fully can still have a portion of a spiritual connection to Hashem, this truth is symbolized in this day

Some add that 7 days straight starting the 14th of Iyar, the gates of shamayim are open and it is much easier to connect to the Hashem.

 

The Hilula of Rabi Meir Baal HaNes is Thursday night through Friday

 

lets start with a story, Talmud Avoda Zarah18 a-b

The Gemara relates: Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir, was a daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon. She said to Rabbi Meir: It is a disrespectful matter for me that my sister is sitting in a brothel; you must do something to save her. Rabbi Meir took a vessel [tarkeva] full of dinars and went. He said to himself: If no transgression was committed with her, a miracle would be performed for her; if she committed a transgression, no miracle will be performed for her. Rabbi Meir went and dressed as a Roman knight, and said to her: Accede to my wishes, i.e., engage in intercourse with me. She said to him: I am menstruating [dashtana] and cannot. He said to her: I will wait. She said to him: There are many women in the brothel, and there are many women here who are more beautiful than I. He said to himself: I can conclude from her responses that she did not commit a transgression, as she presumably said this to all who come.

 

Rabbi Meir went over to her guard and said to him: Give her to me. The guard said to him: I fear that if I do so, I will be punished by the government. Rabbi Meir said to him: Take this vessel full of dinars; give half to the government as a bribe, and half will be for you. The guard said to him: But when the money is finished, what shall I do? Rabbi Meir said to him: Say: God of Meir answer me! And you will be saved. The guard said to him:And who can say that this is the case, that this utterance can save me? Rabbi Meir said to him: You will now see. There were these carnivorous dogs that would devour people; Rabbi Meir took a clod of earth, threw it at them, and when they came to devour him, he said: God of Meir answer me! The dogs then left him alone, and after seeing this, the guard gave the daughter of Rabbi Ḥanina ben Teradyon to Rabbi Meir. Ultimately the matter was heard in the king’s court, and the guard, who was brought and taken to be hanged, said: God of Meir answer me! They then lowered him down as they were unable to hang him. They said to him: What is this? He said to them: This was the incident that occurred, and he proceeded to relate the entire story to them. They then went and engraved the image of Rabbi Meir at the entrance of Rome where it would be seen by everyone, and they said: Anyone who sees a man with this face should bring him here.

 

One day, Romans saw Rabbi Meir and ran after him, and he ran away from them and entered a brothel to hide. Some say he then escaped capture because he saw food cooked by gentiles and dipped [temash] this finger in the food and tasted it with that other finger, and thereby fooled them into thinking that he was eating their food, which they knew Rabbi Meir would not do. And some say that he escaped detection because Elijah came, appeared to them as a prostitute, and embraced Rabbi Meir. The Romans who were chasing him said: Heaven forbid, if this were Rabbi Meir, he would not act in that manner. Rabbi Meir arose, fled, and arrived in Babylonia. (Original below)

Because of the miracle story mentioned in the Talmud presented above, we see that

 

Rabbi Meir promised salvation to all who gave charity to the affairs of Eretz Yisrael for the betterment of his soul. Therefore, there are many who go to pray in his tomb, and then donate money to charity. In particular, on Passover Sheini there is a custom to visit Rabbi Meir's tomb and give charity. This custom first began in 1867, when a tomb was erected. According to custom, at the time of giving the charity, they say the expression of the prayer that appears in the Talmudic story of the miracle of Rabbi Meir: "Elo-Ha D' Meir Aneni." this we learn from Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai known as the Chida, explains that the source for the custom to call out in times of danger, “G‑d of Rabbi Meir, answer me!”