In Response to Death
Parashat Hashavua
Yeshivat Har
Etzion
This
parasha series is dedicated
Le-zekher Nishmat HaRabanit Chana
bat HaRav Yehuda Zelig zt"l.
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This
parasha series is dedicated
in
honor of Rabbi Menachem Leibtag and Rabbi Elchanan
Samet.
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"In
Loving Memory of Rabbi Lawrence J Hordes z"l, dedicated by his
family"
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PARASHAT
SHEMINI
By
Rabbanit Sharon Rimon
The
"days of inauguration" of the Mishkan reach their climax on the eighth day. Following seven days of preparations
(described in chapter 8), the kohanim finally commence their performance
of the Divine service. Aharon's
special service on this day is meant to bring the Divine Presence to rest in the
Mishkan.
Aharon
performs the entire service just as Moshe commanded him, following which we
read:
Moshe
and Aharon came to the Tent of Meeting, and they emerged and they blessed the
people, and God's glory appeared to the entire nation.
And
a fire emerged from before God and it consumed, upon the altar, the burnt
offering and the fats, and all of the people saw it, and they shouted and fell
upon their faces.
(9:23-24)
And
it is precisely at this auspicious moment that the terrible tragedy occurs the
death of Nadav and Avihu.
Many
different explanations have been offered for their sin and the reason for their
punishment. In this shiur,
we shall not address the cause of or reason for their deaths; instead, we shall
turn our attention to the reactions of their close family who witness the
terrible event: Moshe and Aharon (as well as Aharon's surviving sons Elazar
and Itamar).
The
first response that we would expect to find is a cry of shock and anguish. However, the Torah describes no such
reaction. The first response that
the Torah records is that of Moshe, formulated carefully in measured
words:
Moshe
said to Aharon: This is what God spoke about, saying, I shall be sanctified
among those who are close to Me, and I shall be glorified before all the
people.
(10:3)
Before
we attempt to understand the meaning of this statement, let us consider Aharon's
response to it:
And
Aharon was silent.
Aharon
accepts Moshe's words, and holds his peace. It is possible that prior to this,
Aharon wept and cried out at the death of his sons, and that Moshe's words
caused him to be silent. However,
the Torah does not describe any shouting on Aharon's part. It records only the silence with which
he accepted the deaths. Perhaps his
silence was an expression of shock.
Perhaps the silence was external, while inwardly his feelings raged and
his thoughts ran wild. However, it
may also be that his silence flowed from an inner acceptance of God's
judgment.
Let
us return to Moshe's words and try to make sense of them. "I shall be sanctified among those who
are close to Me, and I shall be glorified before all the
people."
This
statement comprises two assertions.
The
one is that Nadav and Avihu are counted among "those who are close to Me." In
other words, their death came specifically because of their intense proximity to
God, and not because of their distance from Him (as we may have assumed, in
these circumstances).
The
second assertion is that their death brings about the "I shall be sanctified"
and the "I shall be glorified before all the people." In other words, the death
of Aharon's sons has a positive effect: it brings about a sanctification of
God's Name in the eyes of the entire nation.
Moshe's
words offer Aharon a meaningful consolation. Firstly, Moshe makes no accusations
against Aharon's sons; he in no way suggests that they were sinners.[1]
On the contrary, he tells Aharon that his sons were close to God. This is a great
comfort.
When
the son of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai died, his disciples came to comfort him
He said to him: "Iyov had sons and daughters, and they all died on the same
day. He accepted consolation for
them; you, too, should accept consolation..." He said to him: "Is it not
sufficient that I am sorrowful for myself, that you recall for me the sorrow of
Iyov?!"[2]
Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh came in
and said to him: "Let me offer you a
parable. To what may this be
compared? To a person to whom the king entrusts a certain deposit. Each day this man weeps and moans,
saying: 'Woe is me! When will I safely be exempted from [responsibility for]
this deposit?!' You too, my master, had a son. He studied Torah Chumash, the
Prophets, the Writings, Mishna, Halakha, Aggada and he departed from the world
free of sin. You should accept
comfort for having returned your deposit whole." He said to him: "Elazar, my
son, you have comforted me in the manner that people offer comfort." (Avot
de-Rabbi Natan, 14)
True
consolation lies in showing that the deceased managed to do good during his
life, and died as one loved by God.
In addition, Moshe assures Aharon that the deaths of his sons have a most
positive result: their deaths are a sanctification of God. Their deaths are not incidental; they
have meaning.
This,
too, is a great comfort.
Moshe's
words to Aharon, at this terrible moment, are uttered with great sensitivity,
and they succeed in comforting Aharon.
"And Aharon was silent" not only outwardly, but also inwardly. He was silent with an acceptance of
God's judgment.[3]
Thus
far we have related to Moshe's words as consolation offered to Aharon. However, Moshe himself states that his
words are actually God's words: "This is what God spoke about, saying, I shall
be sanctified among those who are close to Me." What is the meaning of this
message? Nowhere in the Torah do we find God uttering these words, nor is there
any indication anywhere that such a terrible event will
happen.
Ramban
explains:
For
God's "word" [includes] His decrees and His thoughts and the matter of His ways;
the [term] "speaking" applies to all of these[4]
For here, Moshe says that this incident is what God had decreed, saying to
Himself, "I shall be sanctified among those who are close to Me" that they
should not break through to My sanctity, "And I shall be glorified before the
entire nation" that they should show honor to My dwelling
place.
Ramban
explains that indeed there is nowhere in the Torah that God actually utters the
words, "I shall be sanctified among those who are close to Me." However, what
Moshe is telling Aharon is that the death of his sons is "the word of God" in
the sense of a Divine decree.
According to this explanation, Moshe's words are an expression of
acceptance of Divine judgment, an acknowledgment that everything proceeds from
God.
This
is yet another element in the consolation: death is God's decree. Why did God decree thus? In order to
teach the nation how, and to what degree, to be cautious in showing honor to the
Mishkan.
Akeidat
Yitzchak offers a similar explanation:
For
this terrible event itself was the Divine word, through which He spoke to His
nation and to His pious ones
(sha'ar 59)
According
to this view, Moshe tells Aharon that the death of his sons is God's way of
conveying a lesson to the nation.
However,
other commentaries understand the verse as reporting that God had actually told
Moshe in advance that something was going to happen. Rashi (adopting a Midrash) indicates a
verse that may be interpreted as hinting to this
intention:
"This
is what God spoke about
" where did He speak about it? "And I shall meet there
with Bnei Yisrael, and it shall be sanctified with My glory" (Shemot
29:43). Do not read,
"bi-khevodi" (with My glory), but rather "bi-mekhubadai" (through
those whom I honor). Moshe said to
Aharon: Aharon, my brother, I knew that the Mishkan would be sanctified through
those who were close and familiar to God, and I believed that it would be
through myself or through you. Now
I see that they [Nadav and Avihu] were greater than myself and you." (Rashi on
Vayikra 10:3)
According
to Rashi's explanation, at the time of the establishment of the Mishkan, in
Parashat Tetzaveh, Moshe was already told that "it [the Mishkan] shall be
sanctified by My glory (or My honor)" and these words were a hint that one of
the 'honored ones,' one of the people close to God, would die on the day that
the Mishkan was finally inaugurated.
However, the simple meaning of "it shall be sanctified through My glory"
is different, as Rashi himself explains in Parashat
Tetzaveh:
"It
shall be sanctified" [this refers to] the Mishkan.
"Through
My glory" that My Presence will rest in it. (Rashi on Shemot
29:43)
Nevertheless,
the simple words may be hinting at something deeper, as Rashi goes on to explain
there:
And
there is a midrash aggada: Do not read "bi-khevodi," but rather
"bi-mekhubadim sheli." Here He hinted to him of the death of Aharon's
sons on the day of the inauguration, and this is what Moshe referred to in
saying (Vayikra 10:3), "This is what God spoke about, saying, I shall be
sanctified among those who are close to Me." Where did He 'say' this? [Here, in
the words,] "It shall be sanctified with My glory."
According
to Rashi, then, God had hinted to Moshe that something would happen on the day
of the inauguration of the Mishkan.
Moshe had understood the hint, but had not known exactly what was going
to happen.
Ibn
Ezra, too, maintains that Moshe knew that something was already destined to
happen. However, to his view, God's
message to Moshe is not to be found in the written text. Rather, it was conveyed to Moshe
privately, and therefore we cannot find any verse to support the
prediction.
"This
is what God spoke about" God already told me that He would show His holiness
through those who were close to Him
.
(Ibn Ezra on Vayikra 10:3)
According
to the explanations of Rashi and Ibn Ezra, Moshe knew in advance that a
catastrophe was predestined for the day of the inauguration of the Mishkan. He did not know exactly what was going
to happen, but throughout that day he went about with a sense of
foreboding.
The
Midrash describes this most powerfully:
Where
the text reads, "He who observes the commandment will know nothing that is evil"
(Kohelet 8:5), who is this referring to? [It refers to] Aharon, as it is
written: "And you shall not come out from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting
for seven days, and you shall remain at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting day
and night." Moshe said to Aharon and to his sons: Observe [the customs of]
mourning for seven days, so that it will not befall you
they observed [his
command], but did not know why they were observing it, as it is written: "He who
observes the commandment will know nothing that is evil." "And one with a wise
heart knows the time and the manner" (Kohelet 8:5) this refers to
Moshe, to whom God had already said, "And I shall meet there with Bnei Yisrael,
and it shall be sanctified with My glory" (Shemot 29): I shall be
sanctified there through those whom I honor.
And
Moshe performed the service throughout the seven days of inauguration, and was
afraid to say it, lest the Divine Attribute of Justice strike him, as it is
written: "It shall be sanctified with My glory." And so all he did was to tell
Aharon, Observe mourning for seven days.
He
said to him: Why?
Moshe
replied: So the Holy One, blessed be He, told me, for so I have commanded. Since they observed the seven days of
mourning, when the eighth day came, Nadav and Avihu entered to sacrifice, and
the Attribute of Justice struck them and they were burned, as it is written:
"And a fire emerged from before God and consumed them and they died before God."
Moshe came and said to Aharon: "This is what God spoke about, saying: I shall be
sanctified through those who are close to Me." Where did He say this? In the
wilderness of Sinai: "I shall meet there with Bnei Yisrael and it shall be
sanctified with My glory." And so Moshe tells Aharon: When God told me, "I shall
be sanctified through those who are close to Me," I thought that He would strike
me or you. Now I know that they
(Nadav and Avihu) are greater than me and you. "And Aharon was silent" this was a
comfort to him. Therefore it says,
"He who keeps a commandment shall know nothing that it evil."
The
Midrash describes Moshe as knowing that something is going to happen, and
fearing that he himself will be harmed.
Despite his foreboding he continues to perform the service as required,
but at the same time he commands Aharon and his sons to observe the customs of
mourning, hoping that perhaps this will ward off the impending
catastrophe.
What
is the significance of Moshe's foreknowledge?
According
to Ibn Ezra, God tells Moshe explicitly (without this message being recorded in
the Torah) that His Name will be sanctified through one of the people close to
Him. The question then arises: why
is such a shocking and tragic event required in order to show God's
holiness?
According
to Rashi, there was no explicit message; rather, God told Moshe, "It shall be
sanctified through My glory (or My honor)," and from this Moshe understood that
the Mishkan would be sanctified through the death of one of the people honored
by God.
How
did Moshe arrive at the conclusion that something would have to happen in order
for the Mishkan to be sanctified?
Did
Nadav and Avihu die because they sinned, or was their death on this day a Divine
decree that was necessitated by the circumstances, even if they did not
sin?
Perhaps
the Midrash is telling us that the sin (or mistake) on this day was
inevitable.
For
the first time in history, mortals were building a "house for God" a material,
physical structure in which God's Presence would dwell. This is not a simple matter. How can any material substance, and any
limited space, house and contain God's Presence? And how can mere mortals
withstand the descent of God's glory into their midst, and His Presence among
them, within their camp?
Moshe
understands that a situation of "it shall be sanctified with My glory" cannot
and will not come about easily. He
understands that in an event of this magnitude, every detail is critical. The entire nation must be ready for the
Divine Presence. In particular, the
kohanim who perform the Divine service must be especially careful
with every tiny detail. At a time
of such intense Divine proximity, any small mistake is critical, and may entail
disastrous consequences. It is for
this reason that those who are "close to God" face the greatest
danger.
"It
is very tempestuous round about Him" the way of a mortal is that the fear of
him is greater among those who are far than among those who are close by. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is not
so: the fear of Him is greater among those who are close by than among those who
are far away, as it is written, "I shall be sanctified among those who are close
to Me." (Yalkut Shimoni, Tehillim, 760)
We
may perhaps go one step further and suggest that not only is it clear to Moshe
that the situation of God's closeness involves danger, but it is clear that
there will be some mistake that will lead to catastrophe.
Why
is this so?
On
the simplest level, this is necessary in order to teach the nation the proper
caution and respect towards God's sanctity. If everything proceeds smoothly, how
will the nation learn to fear the power of God's sanctity? How will they know to
what extent they must be cautious?
For
this reason it was necessary that someone err and die; in this way the entire
nation would understand the significance of the Mishkan and its
sanctity.
In
addition, it becomes clear that a sin, or error, on this day was fundamentally
inevitable. The settling of the
Divine Presence with such intensity, upon mortal subjects, could not take place
without casualties. Mortal subjects
cannot contain the power of sanctity of such an occasion, and therefore it was
inevitable that something would break under this weight.[5]
Throughout
the seven days of initiation, Moshe performs the service meticulously, with a
great fear in his heart lest the inevitable error come about through his own
actions; lest the sanctity of the Mishkan become manifest through him.
On
the eighth day, Aharon performs the service, and the Torah emphasizes that he
does so in accordance with all that Moshe has commanded him. Moshe, meanwhile, observes his
performance, filled with dread lest Aharon's service be found imperfect, and the
Mishkan be sanctified through him.
However, all goes smoothly, and the Divine Presence indeed
descends:
And
Moshe and Aharon came into the Tent of Meeting, and they emerged and they
blessed the people, and God's glory appeared to the entire
nation.
And
a fire emerged from before God and it consumed, upon the altar, the burnt
offering and the fats, and all the people saw it, and they shouted and they fell
upon their faces.
(23-24)
And
it is then right at that inspired moment that the error leading to the death
of Nadav and Avihu takes place. The
fire that emerges from before God, characterizing the settling of the Divine
Presence, consumes those who are close to God, who did something different from
what God had commanded.
When
God is close, His command must be followed precisely. There is no room for human initiative,
arising from human feelings.
Following
the death of Nadav and Avihu, there are three exchanges that are recorded
between Moshe and Aharon.
In
the first exchange, which we discussed above, Moshe comforts Aharon, telling him
that his sons were close to God, and that their death has brought the entire
nation to an understanding of the powerful sanctity of the Divine
Presence.
The
second exchange is a command:
Moshe
said to Aharon and to Elazar and to Itamar, his sons: Do not allow your hair to
grow long, nor rend your garments, lest you die and [God's] anger come upon the
entire congregation. And your
brethren, the whole house of Israel, will bewail the fire which God has
kindled.
And
you shall not emerge from the entrance to the Tent of Meeting lest you die, for
the oil of Divine anointment is upon you.
And they did as Moshe had spoken.
(10:6-7)
Moshe
commands Aharon and his sons not to mourn for their sons and brothers. It is a very harsh command; one that
clearly arises from the fear "lest you die" a fear that has accompanied Moshe
throughout the inauguration of the Mishkan. One disaster has already taken place
Nadav and Avihu are dead. Moshe
warns that there is still a need for great caution. So long as this intensely spiritual
event is taking place, we cannot allow ourselves to halt the Divine service and
mourn. There is no room for human
feelings and weaknesses. The Divine
service must continue, and it must be performed flawlessly for otherwise there
may be further deaths. The intense
closeness to the Divine Presence requires that man set his feelings and desires
aside, and devote himself completely to the Divine service.
Aharon
and his sons accept Moshe's words without opposition, and they do as he
commands. It is therefore
surprising to discover the third exchange between Moshe and
Aharon:
And
Moshe diligently sought out the goat for the sin offering, and behold it had
been burnt;
And
he was angry at Elazar and at Itamar, the remaining sons of Aharon,
saying:
Why
did you not eat the sin offering in the holy place, seeing that it is a holy of
holies, and [God] has given it to you to bear the transgression of the
congregation, to atone for them before God.[6]
Behold,
its blood was not brought into the holy place[7];
you should have eaten it in the holy place, as I commanded. (16-18)
Aharon
has accepted the Divine judgment; he understands that at this time of close
proximity of the Divine Presence he must leave his personal feelings aside and
continue to fulfill the instructions meticulously. However, the text then goes on to tell
us that Aharon and his sons have decided, on their own initiative, to introduce
a change, and that Moshe is very angry as a result. His anger is understandable in view of
the enormous tension that envelops him on this day. Moshe understands that even the
slightest deviation from God's command is likely to have catastrophic
consequences. After the death of
Nadav and Avihu as a result of a slight change, Aharon and his surviving sons
should have been even more careful.
Alshikh comments:
He
[Moshe] was angry at [Aharon's] remaining sons. As "brands plucked from the fire" they
should have been cautious lest they err in some matter of the service, like
their brothers. For once a person
is burnt by fire, he should be extremely vigilant
afterwards.
Yet
here we find that Aharon answers Moshe in contrast to the previous "exchanges"
in which Aharon actually remained silent and acquiesced to Moshe's
words:
Aharon
spoke to Moshe: Indeed, this day they have offered their sin offering and their
burnt offering before God. [After]
such things have befallen me had I eaten the sin offering today, would it have
been favored in God's eyes? (19)
What
is Aharon's response to Moshe?
According
to Rashi, the text is recording a halakhic debate as who whether or not it would
have been proper for Aharon and his sons to eat the sin offering while they were
in a state of mourning (although unable to observe the customs of
mourning). Moshe insists that all
of the Divine service must continue as prescribed, notwithstanding the personal
circumstances of the kohanim.
Aharon argues that all of the service prescribed for that particular day
of the Mishkan's inauguration must be followed, but when it comes to the sin
offering for Rosh Chodesh which is a fixed law for all generations there is
room to excuse him from eating it in the prescribed
manner.
According
to Ibn Ezra, Aharon and his sons ate a small amount from the offering and then
burnt the rest. Moshe was not aware
that they had partaken of it. As he
understands it, what Aharon is telling Moshe is that he ate a quantity of the
sin offering that would be favorable in God's eyes.
However,
if we listen carefully to Aharon's words and try to sense the tone in which they
were uttered, this sounds less like a halakhic debate. Aharon does not offer Moshe an
unequivocal, clear response, proposing a logical halakhic explanation for his
failure to eat the sin offering.
Instead, his brief response, summing up the events that have just taken
place, end in a question mark: "[After] such things have befallen me had I
eaten the sin offering today, would it have been favored in God's
eyes?"
Aharon
is expressing his feeling that it would not be favorable in God's eyes to
continue everything as usual.
Admittedly, the sacrifices are offered as commanded, and Aharon and his
sons have refrained from adopting any outward signs of mourning, but Aharon
feels that there is a limit: the sin offering cannot be eaten in this
situation.
Why
not?
Shadal
explains:
"Indeed,
this day they have offered" I and my four sons offered our sin offering and
our burnt offering, to atone for ourselves. Nevertheless, 'such things have befallen
me' two of my sons died. This
must mean that we are not favored before God. And if this is so
then how can we atone
for the congregation, when we ourselves are despised by God? And had we
nevertheless eaten it, imagining that we were still favored before Him and
worthy of atoning for the, then 'would it have been favored in God's eyes'?
Would He not be even more angry at us for this brazenness?
To
Shadal's view, Aharon felt that the death of his sons showed that there was some
sin attached to him and his sons, for which their offering had not achieved
atonement, and therefore he felt unworthy of eating of the sin offering in order
to atone for the nation.
Rashbam
(commenting on verse 19) suggests a different reason for Aharon not eating the
sin offering:
In the midst of this [auspicious] greatness, this great tragedy has come upon
us. "[After] such things have
befallen me" how can I eat the sin offering, one of the holy sacrifices
prescribed for all generations, on this day where our joy has become soured and
mixed?
A
similar
idea is proposed by Korem[8]:
Meaning
Notwithstanding that I overcame my sorrow and did not weep, so as to show in
public my acceptance of God's judgment, would it be favorable in God's eyes for
me to eat the meat of the sin offering with joy and contentment, while my heart
was full of anguish and sorrow? For the meat of the sacrifices should properly
be eaten with joy and not with mourning.
Aharon
feels that he cannot eat the meat of the sacrifices in a state of such
sorrow. He continues to perform the
service, and shows no outward signs of mourning, but he cannot bring himself to
perform an act that so inherently expresses joy.
As
Nechama Leibowitz explains:
If
we read these verses as they were uttered, we find that they do not constitute a
halakhic debate
but rather a justification that is uttered out of the feelings
of his heart on that bitter day
.
Although Aharon has accepted upon himself the special prohibition (of the
customs of mourning) and has accepted God's judgment, he is not commanded nor
is it expected of him that he be filled with joy. For this reason his heart tells him that
he need not force himself to eat the sin offering, for the offering is not some
magical act
but rather a symbol of the pure thoughts of he who brings it and of
he who performs it. Therefore his
heart tells him that he need not force himself to eat the sin offering [an
aspect of the Divine service] which should be done with great
joy.
We
may take this idea a step further.
Not only is Aharon not obligated to eat the sin offering with joy,
but we must ask as Aharon does whether it would even be favorable in God's
eyes for him to do so. Would God
really want Aharon to ignore completely the death of his two sons? There is some
significance to their deaths, and if Aharon would pay no attention to it,
ignoring the event and its message, and go on to eat the sacrifice with a joyful
heart, this would be a distortion that could not be favorable in God's
eyes.
Rambam
(Laws of Fasts, chapter 1) teaches that when some disaster befalls the nation,
it is important to understand the reason for it and to repent; not to ignore
it. This is the same message that
Aharon conveys to Moshe: despite the fact that the sacrificial service
continues, it cannot be that everything continues as usual. He says this not out of the natural
human feelings of a father who cannot "continue as usual" while his dead sons
are laid out in front of him, but rather out of a sense of, "would it be
favorable in the eyes of God?" It cannot be, he argues, that God wants a person
to ignore death. Death is meant to
shock a person, to teach him something.
If he continues his usual routine, as though nothing had happened, then
apparently he has not yet internalized the meaning of the
death.
Moshe's
greatness is manifest in his ability to accept Aharon's words:[9]
And
Moshe heard it, and it was favorable in his eyes. (20)
In
the Haftara we read of another event, similar to the one recounted in our
parasha. David decides to
bring up the Ark of God's Covenant to Jerusalem, and the text describes the
great celebration surrounding the procession. Then, suddenly, it goes horribly
wrong:
And
they came as far as the threshing floor of Nakhon, and Uzza stretched out to the
Ark of God, and he took hold of it, for the oxen shook it.
And
God's anger burned against Uzza, and God smote him there for his error, and he
died there with the Ark of God.
And
David was angered for God having burst out against Uzza, and he called the name
of that place Peretz-Uzza, to this day.
And
David feared God on that day, and he said: How will the Ark of God come to
me?
So
David did not move the Ark of God to him, to the city of David, and David
carried it off to the house of Oved-Edom, the Gittite. (II Shmuel
6:10)
Here,
too, the occasion is a special day, a sort of "inauguration," and here too we
find a death of one of the people who "comes close" to God a death that comes
about as a result of coming too close.
However,
there are also some differences between the two accounts, and these expose some
important emphases.
Firstly,
Nadav and Avihu's action is described in the Torah as a sin: they "sacrificed a
strange fire which [God] had not commanded them." From this we learned that in
order to draw close to the Divine Presence, it is necessary to perform
everything exactly as God has commanded that it be done.
In
the case of Uzza, in contrast, there is no mention or hint of sin; perhaps even
the opposite: he tries to "save" the Ark of God from falling. Nevertheless, he is immediately struck
dead.[10]
From this we learn that excessive closeness to the Divine Presence can kill a
person even in the absence of sin.
Another
difference concerns the reaction of the spectators. The reaction of Moshe and Aharon (who
themselves are close relatives of the dead!) is one of acceptance of God's
judgment. They continue the daily
service as usual, as if nothing had happened.
David
cannot accept what has happened - "David was angered." In the wake of this
incident he experiences a great fear, and chooses not to continue bringing up
the Ark. Instead, he installs it in
the home of Oved-Edom, the Gittite.
The fear of further victims prevents David from bringing the Ark of God
up into his capital.
This
reaction is quite understandable.
If proximity to God demands a standard so high that it is unattainable by
mortals, and every instance of intense proximity brings death, then people are
likely to fear God's Presence and to avoid it.
Moshe
teaches us a different perspective.
Moshe knows in advance that God's intense closeness will claim
victims. Nevertheless, he does not
refrain from building and inaugurating the Mishkan, and he even performs all of
the sacrificial service himself.
Even after his fears prove well founded, and Nadav and Avihu die, he does
not halt the ceremony of the inauguration of the Mishkan. He demands that it continue, with
meticulous care taken in every detail.[11]
Moshe
teaches us that God's Presence is admittedly "dangerous," but we should not
willingly forego it. Rather, we
must try our best and do all we can to achieve closeness to God in the proper
manner.
The
power of God's sanctity and its dangers are inseparably bound up with one
another. The great danger arises
from the enormous power, and the enormous power may cause danger. However, if God has commanded that a
Mishkan be built, it must be possible for Divine power (on this level) to
connect with mortals. Mortal people
who draw close to God in accordance with His instructions, with halakha,
are continually ascending in holiness.
The
connection is the Divine will, and it is one of God's purposes in creating the
world and in commanding the construction of the Mishkan. At the same time, the connection is not
a simple matter. The connection
between "mortals hewn of material substances" and Divine sanctity requires a
special Divine service; it involves special rules. Any deviation from these rules is
dangerous, but drawing closer in accordance with the rules is truly part of
God's will. It is this that
instills man with power and sanctity, raising him up and completing
him.
Translation
by Kaeren Fish
[1] Although it is clear that there was some sin involved here. The Torah states explicitly that
Aharon's sons offered a "strange fire before God, which He had not
commanded them." However, this is not Moshe's
emphasis.
[2] The
Midrash records other "comforters" who invoke various examples of people who
were comforted for the deaths of loved ones. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai rejects all of
these consolations.
[3] Bi'ur
(Rabbi Naftali Hertz Weisel) comments: "It seems to me that this silence was not
only the absence of weeping, but also a matter of acceptance and quiet of the
soul
as in 'Be silent for God and wait patiently for him' (Tehillim
37:7)
Likewise, Aharon's heart is quieted from his sorrow, and his soul cleaves
to God
."
[4] Ramban
cites several examples proving that the word dibber does not necessarily
refer to an utterance, but can also mean a thought, an intention, or a decree:
"I myself have spoken (dibbarti) to my heart" (Kohelet 1:16)
means, "I had this thought." "And this is the davar that Yehoshua
circumcised
" (Yehoshua 5:4) meaning, this is the reason. "Because of the davar of the
money" (Bereishit 43:18) meaning, the matter. Similarly, "Let her be the wife of your
master's son, as God has spoken (dibber)" (ibid. 24:51) meaning, decreed. And likewise, "With Aviram, his
firstborn, he established it, and with Seguv, his youngest, he set up its gates,
in accordance with the word (devar) of God, which He spoke
(dibber) by the hand of Yehoshua bin Nun" (I Melakhim
16:34)."
[5] In a
similar manner to the primal sins of Bereishit (the sin of Adam and
Chava, the sin of the generation of the Flood, and the sin of the Tower of
Bavel), all of which arose from man's fundamental inability to exist in an ideal
world. In the same way, and for the
same reason, the Revelation at Sinai is followed by the debacle of the Golden
Calf. These events teach us that
man is intrinsically incapable of withstanding situations of intense spiritual
power, and therefore such occasions are always accompanied by a stumbling, a
sin.
[6] From
this verse Chazal deduce that the consumption of the meat of the sin
offering by the kohen is itself part of the process of atonement. Sifra, Shemini parsha 1: "From
where do we learn that the eating of the sacrifices brings atonement to Israel?
As it is written: "[God] has given it to you to bear the transgression of the
congregation, to atone for them before God." How is this so? The kohanim
eat, and the owner (of the sacrifice) thereby achieves
atonement.
[7] There are two different types of sin offerings: an "internal offering"
and an "external offering." In the case of an "internal offering," the blood of
the sacrifice is sprinkled upon the golden altar, inside the Sanctuary, and the
meat is all burnt. For an "external
offering," the blood is sprinkled upon the copper altar, which stands outside of
the Sanctuary, and the meat is eaten by the kohanim. "The kohen who offers it for a sin shall
eat it; it shall be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of
Meeting
And no sin offering whose blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting, to
atone [i.e., to be sprinkled] in the holy place, shall be eaten; it shall be
burnt with fire. (Vayikra
6:19-23)
The sin offering of the nation is an "external offering," and therefore
the kohanim should have eaten the
meat.
[8] As
quoted by Nechama Leibowitz, Iyunim be-Sefer Vayikra, in the section on
"Ha-Yitav be-Enei Hashem," p. 116.
[9] Just as
Aharon is ready to accept Moshe's words, as we saw in the two previous
exchanges. The greatness of both of
these leaders, and the special relations between them, find expression in their
mutual readiness to accept each other's position. In addition, the description of the
inauguration of the Mishkan records their joint efforts for the sake of bringing
down the Divine Presence to the Mishkan.
[10] The
commentators explain that his sin lay in his lack of awareness that the Ark
could not fall; that it bore itself.
[11] Eventually, David understands this, too,
and brings the Ark up to Jerusalem.