Chapter 10 of the book of Vayikra (Leviticus) has been the cause of much conversation and little agreement. The question is on God’s swift action to kill Nadav and Avihu: What exactly was the sin of Nadav and Avihu?
The Torah states (Vayikra 10:1-4): The sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it. And they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded.
The Talmudic Rabbis, followed by the Midrashic Rabbis, have an array or other possibilities: They were drunk with wine (while performing the Temple service) (Leviticus Rabbah 20). Perhaps they neglected to wash hands and feet upon entering the Temple, or perhaps they neglected to wear the priestly robes fashion in earlier parshiyot, or perhaps they were naked, various Rabbis put forth. Others posit, They taught halacha in the presence of their teach Moses (Eruvin 63a & Yoma 53a) or They did not beget sons or marry (Lev. Rabbah 20).
I find this to be a prime example of commentaries that fit the times. The reasoning of the Rabbis, while all plausible explanations for punishment based on our knowledge of other areas in Judaism, is simply not supported by the relevant Torah verses. That by no means proves them false, but I believe they are more likely to have been put forth as reasons due to the social/cultural/political condition of the Jews at the times in which they were espoused. What I would like to focus on however, is what I find to be the more relevant lesson from Nadav and Avihu. Based on Rashi and the Netziv, we see the necessity to find the balance between intellectual and emotional worship of Hashem.
In commenting on Nadav and Avihu, Rashi quotes two opinions on the reason for their death:
Rabbi Eliezer says: The sons of Aaron died only because they rendered halachic decisions in the presence of their teacher Moses. Rabbi Yishmael says: They entered the Sanctuary while intoxicated with wine.
Again, neither reason is related to the “alien fire” mentioned in the Torah (although Rabbi Yishmael does bring contextual proof for his reason). But Rabbi Eliezer’s answer is the one I find most intriguing, particularly in light of Rashi’s seemingly contradictory commentary on the same story which states that Nadav and Avihu were in fact greater than Moses and Aaron (based on Vayikrah Rabba 12:2). If they were “greater” than Moses, Rabbi Francis Nataf asks, why would it be wrong to render halachic decision in Moses’ presence? Should not Moses defer to the more knowledgeable men? No, Rabbi Nataf explains, because “the rabbis teach that one should respect even a foolish old man, justifying this position by saying that his experience alone is worthy of respect” (Kiddushin 33a). The wisdom of our elders, who have experienced so much more, cannot be out-bid by the knowledge of youth. Each generation gains more and more knowledge, learns more and more science, math, philosophy, halacha…but experience is what is most admired. It is experience that life provides. The mind does not reign supreme in Judaism, but must be combined with history, tradition, and the heart.
This explains why Nadav and Avihu were potentially killed by God’s hand for not deferring to the elder Moses. But I still find the following quote by the Netziv to be the most favorable explanation, the most based on the “alien fire” in the text of the Torah:
Even in Moses’ day there were sects among the Israelites that were fervent in their love of the Lord, but did not adhere to the boundaries set down by the Torah…. Therefore Moses told the Israelites that this is not the way. Rather, they should remove such evil inclinations from their hearts, for even such desire, albeit directed towards worshipping the Lord in sanctity, nevertheless does not follow the way that the Lord wishes. Rather, it is no other than an evil inclination, leading Israel’s great leaders to err and stray through this desire…. If we seek to love the Lord in a way which is not that of the Torah, with everyone doing as they please and forming bands of people worshipping together, that is against the will of the Lord, blessed is He. (Ha’amek Davar, Leviticus 9:5)
What a beautiful concept, balancing on such a thin line. My heart says “yes, do this for Hashem my God!” But the Torah says “no, the way laid forth is that way, not this.” Our challenge is to direct our heart to the way of the Torah, to channel it in the ways set forth. There is freedom in many areas…in prayer and personality. But when the Torah says X you shall not do Y. This is a challenge in so many ways and even so many great Jews have been guilty of wavering, if not falling completely off, this tight rope. Indeed Yehuda ha-Levi states in The Kuzari that the golden calf was just such an instance. The Jews wanted to build a calf not as an idol, but to worship Hashem…yet it lead to unexpected idolatrous behavior. We must to this day follow the halachot Within this intellectual framework we must set our heart; within this intellectual framework is where our souls can be at peace; within this intellectual framework our emotion in worshipping Hashem must abide.
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