Shemini (Leviticus 9:1-11:47)
OVERVIEW
In the last parashah, Aaron and his sons were dedicated as priests and now, in Shemini, the ceremonies for the consecration of the altar have begun. The service begins with Aaron, the High Priest, bringing some 40 offerings. After completing the offerings, Aaron blesses the people with Birkat Cohanim (the Priestly Blessing). Then the next set of offerings are to be brought, but something tragic occurs. Nadav and Avihu, Aaron's two oldest sons, prepare their offering, but, the text tells us, they approach the altar bringing a "strange fire". They are immediately "consumed" right then and there by a fire exploding out from God. Aaron remains silent as his sons' bodies are removed by their cousins, and Moses warns Aaron and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Itamar, not to mourn. God later speaks directly to Aaron, warning him not consume liquor or other intoxicants.
The dedication continues. Further rules are given about the korbanot, and then the parashah lists which animals, birds, fish and insects are permitted or forbidden as food, giving the framework for the laws of Kashrut.
IN FOCUS
And Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire therein, and laid incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Eternal, which He had not commanded them. And there came forth fire from before the Eternal and devoured them, and they died before the Eternal." (Leviticus 10:1-2)
PSHAT
Nadav and Avihu, as Aaron's oldest sons, are next in line to him in the hierarchy of the priesthood. In this role, they offer their offerings second, after their father. When their turn comes, the two brothers approach the altar with their fire pans and incense. There is something wrong with their offerings though, which are described in the text as aish zarah - literally "strange fire". It should be noted here that the term used for idolatry is avodah zarah - "strange worship." Whatever they did wrong, it clearly deviated from God's command, and there was an immediate response. Fire flashed forward and killed them, although the source of the fire is not clear. It is described simply as coming "from before God".
DRASH
This is, and always has been, one of the most disturbing passages of the entire Torah. What was it that Nadav and Avihu did that was so bad that it warranted God taking their young lives immediately. Here they were, two newly trained Priests with the oil of ordination still wet between their eyes, stepping up to the altar for the first time with their offerings, and they are dramatically killed by God for some error in their offering. No second chance, no opportunity to correct their mistakes. Zap. As Nehama Leibowitz wrote, "The true motivation of this divine act of retribution has puzzled all our commentators, down the ages."
Since God killed the two priests, most streams of our tradition have assumed that that brothers did something wrong, and have striven to identify their sin. Some posit that Nadav and Avihu were drunk when they entered the sanctuary. This is substantiated by the fact that immediately after their death, God warns Aaron against drinking. Leviticus Rabbah gives a Midrash on this, comparing God to a king who had a faithful member of his household killed for drunkenness, and then warns the successor upfront to avoid drink. The first should have known better. The second is explicitly warned.
Others see Nadav and Avihu's death as resulting from earlier sins. Nadav and Avihu had been among the elders of Israel who gazed upon the Divine Radiance on Sinai after the giving of the Torah. There, it states, "God did not send forth His Hand against the aristocrats of the Israelites although they had gazed upon God..." (Exodus 24:11) Rashi states that God did not punish them then because it was a day of joy, but waited until the time of another sin. All of the seventy elders eventually perished by fire.
The commentators suggest that another was Nadav and Avihu's arrogance. We are told that they never married because they felt no woman was good enough for them. Also, they sought power before their time; when they walked behind Moses and Aaron they would say, "When will these two old men die so that you and I can lead the people? And, perhaps most significantly, they took it upon themselves to offer an alternative sacrifice without inquiring first from Moses or Aaron. Ultimately, it was this action that led to their deaths
There are some though, that maintain that Nadav and Avihu were taken by God because they achieved the highest level of sanctity. Rashi, citing the Talmud and Midrash, states, "Moses said to Aaron, "When God said 'I shall be sanctified by those close to Me,' I thought it referred to me or you; now I see that they are greater then both of us."
We will probably never truly understand why God took the lives of Nadav and Avihu. Nevertheless we struggle to understand the lessons we can learn from their deaths. They died because of "strange fire". Personally speaking, as a Cohen and one who has been ordained, I struggle constantly with the question of the nature of the fire I have to offer. Will my efforts to draw nearer to God and represent the people be perceived as "strange fire" or something more? How will God receive my efforts? And how am I to know? If each of us are to avoid a fate like that of Aaron's sons, we need to probe deep inside, and perhaps seek spiritual guidance, to assure that our offerings will always be acceptable.
D'var Aher
And Aaron was silent (Levititcus 10:3)
...And refrained from weeping, although his two sons lay dead before him in the Tabernacle. Because of this, he merited having the law of drinking wine told to him alone, and not through Moses.
