Shabbat Shmini

Vayikra Chapters 9-11 - Two Brothers Go Wrong

by Rabbi Jeremy Rosen

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen

“When Moshe and Aaron came out, they blessed the people. And the Presence of God appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from God and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces. Then Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu each took his fire pan, put incense in it and fire and they offered before God alien fire, which had not been commanded.

And fire came from God and consumed them, and they died before God. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what God meant by saying “Through those close to me I illustrate to the people what holiness means.” (Vayikra Chapter 10).

This week's Torah reading starts off with the installation by Moshe of Aaron as the high priest. They offer a sacrifice and miraculously fire comes out of heaven and ignites the sacrifice on the altar. A feat that will be repeated many years later when Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel . So that the phenomenon of fire coming out of heaven is a recurring motif and usually a sign of Divine approval. This time it's followed by a tragedy.

Two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, decide to offer their own incense. Only this time when fire comes out from heaven it consumes them. The text simply says it is because they offered fire that had not been commanded. They had independently intervened with their own contribution.  They were indirectly challenging the prescribed procedure. Hadn’t they seen the Divine fire just minutes before? Were they not afraid of challenging Divine instructions? What were they thinking?

One explanation is that immediately after this incident, the Torah talks about how priests should not be drunk when they perform their functions. By implication this new instruction was given in response to the event.  Nadav and Avihu were drunk and that led them to do something that normally they would not have done. This was an act of insubordination that could only be explained by the effects of alcohol.

Another explanation is that these two were walking behind Aaron and Moshe and said to each other  “How long will these two old men carry on keeping power in their hands.” They thought it was time for them to rule.  This is such a common theme. Where a younger generation grows impatient and thinks of usurping power.  The conflict of generations. Which here leads to catastrophes.

The explanation that I find most interesting is that these two men were really extremely pious and spiritually committed. So fired with enthusiasm and so passionate that they found it difficult to stand by and watch what was going on without being able to contribute in some way. To show their passionate commitment, they went overboard by doing more. This is an important lesson and one of the pitfalls  of religion. So often people with the best of intentions can get so swept up in a passionate commitment that they effectively undermine the pure core of religion. They add so many different layers both of obligation of custom that it all but obscures the purity of the original vision. This is a message not to overdo things. 

This incident comes before the Torah goes on to list the types of animals that we can, and we can't eat. An example of a simple law that enumerates what animals one can and can't eat. Yet this has been expanded into a huge preoccupation with the multiplication of different forms of religious certification, and excessive detail. although on one hand is testimony to commitment caring wanting to do the right thing, it can often go so far that it misses the core foundation of religion which is how we behave towards others as the ultimate principle that God through his prophets keeps on hammering home to us.

It's not the ceremony that is the priority.  It is the way we behave to others that matters most. Not to miss the wood for the trees. God’s reply  is that one expects more from those who are closer.

Shabbat Shalom

Jeremy

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Jeremy Rosen was born in Manchester, England, the eldest son of Rabbi Kopul Rosen and Bella Rosen. Rosen's thinking was strongly influenced by his father, who rejected fundamentalist and obscurantist approaches in favour of being open to the best the secular world has to offer while remaining committed to religious life. He was first educated at Carmel College, the school his father had founded based on this philosophical orientation. At his father's direction, Rosen also studied at Be'er Yaakov Yeshiva in Israel (1957–1958 and 1960). He then went on to Merkaz Harav Kook (1961), and Mir Yeshiva (1965–1968) in Jerusalem, where he received semicha from Rabbi Chaim Leib Shmuelevitz in addition to Rabbi Dovid Povarsky of Ponevezh and Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Shapiro of Yeshivat Be'er Ya'akov. In between Rosen attended Cambridge University (1962–1965), graduating with a degree in Moral Sciences.