Nadab and Abihu played with fire and didn’t live to tell about it!  One section of Parsha Shemini in Leviticus tells of strange fire and two zealous priests, sons of Aaron who did something that didn’t turn out as they expected. This is one of those stories that stands up and begs the question, What just happened?

We can find a lot of  commentary on this story but let’s look at what the words of  Torah say before anything else.

The setting is the joyous occasion of the consecration of the new Mishkan (Tabernacle) designed by the inspiration of young Bezaleel, built according to his instructions and provided for by the generous offerings of Israel while encamped in the desert. The family of Aaron has been locked up in the holy place for 7 days in a ceremony of ritual cleansing which was to set them apart forever as the chosen priests of the Most High G-d.

On the eighth day Aaron and his sons begin officially serve as priests in the now dedicated Mishkan. They prepare several offerings. Israel witnesses the Shechina glory manifested and fire from HaSHEM consumes the burnt offering and the fat pieces prepared by Moses and Aaron. At this manifestation there is great rejoicing and all the people fall on their faces in worship.

Lev. 10:1-2: “Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the L-RD alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the L-RD and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the L-RD.”

Verse 3: “Then Moses said to Aaron, “this is what YHVH meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent.”

I don’t know about you but this has always bothered me. And why should it? Well first of all it seems to say that no matter how you do things you may not get it right and may suffer from the wrath of G_d. After thinking very hard about this Shabbat afternoon, I started to unravel some things. What happened and why Moses explanation and why did Aaron fall silent?

First of all the story seems to have a tie to the story of Cain and Abel. One sacrifice was accepted, the other was not. HaShem did not destroy Cain in the first story but he didn’t approve of his sacrifice either. It was a teaching moment, perhaps. We could follow down in history to other examples, for example when king Saul spared Agag clearly against the expressed will of HaShem.

What happened: There is the element that Nadab and Abihu went beyond what was required. Was there a token of “I’ll do it my way” in this? Verse 1 says clearly “…which He had not enjoined upon them.” Or simpler, which G-d had not commanded them. So is this an instance of reinterpretation of what G-d commands? Do we not see this in almost every religion in the world. When something is not to our liking, do we reconstruct it to make sense to us? Simply put, they did not do what was commanded by HaShem.

Why they did it:
It is not specified in the narrative but afterwards it seems to be hinted at in verse 10 where G_d speaks to Moses: “Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die. This is a law for all time throughout the ages, for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane and between the unclean and the clean: and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which the L-ORD has imparted to them through Moses.””

So Nadab and Abihu had been drinking and because of that were not thinking clearly to obey the express command of YHVH. They were drunk enough to impair their reasoning. No, I don’t say that it was a sin to drink. Drinking was always a part of sacred festivities (cf: Deut 14:26), however when dealing with holy things, the priests were not to have impaired judgment and to them it was forbidden when they were to enter into the sacred service. Clearly they missed the mark in the purpose of G-d for the occasion and marred the meaning of what was meant to be glory to G-d alone. I want to emphasize that they were not killed for being drunk but for reconstructing the clear command of HaShem.

Moses explanation:

“Then Moses said to Aaron, “this is what YHVH meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.”

Aaron was clearly grieving over the sudden death of his sons and confused about what had angered HaShem. To help him with his grief, Moses explained. What I see in his words is that those who are closest to G-d are required stricter observance to the Holy things. They are in direct relationship to G-d and must not deviate in even a small way from his direct commands. Nadab and Abihu acted wrongly and since they were in a very holy position therefore much was required of them.

At that point Aaron fell silent and did not show his grief to preserve the joy in the camp at this glorious occasion. He did not contaminate himself by burying his sons, nor did their brothers, but rather some of his distant relatives took the bodies out of the camp.

Moses further commanded:
Vs 6-7: “do not bare your heads and do not rend your clothes, lest you die and anger strike the whole community. But your kinsmen all the house of Israel, shall bewail the burning that the L-rd has wrought. And so do not go outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die, for the L-RD’s anointing oil is upon you.

Moses was trying to protect both Israel and the family of Aaron from any further disaster. Aaron was commanded not to do the things that normally accompany grief. Rather this grieving was to be carried out by Israel. Aaron had to steel himself to do what most people would claim is humanly impossible. But the passage says: “And Aaron was silent.”