#avihu

וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי ה’ אֵשׁ זָרָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוָּה אֹתָם: וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה’ וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם וַיָּמֻתוּ לִפְנֵי ה’ (ויקרא י, א-ב)AND AHARON’S SONS, NADAV AND AVIHU, EACH TOOK HIS PAN, PUT FIRE IN THEM, AND PLACED INCENSE UPON IT, AND THEY BROUGHT BEFORE G-D FOREIGN FIRE, WHICH HE HAD NOT COMMANDED THEM. AND FIRE WENT FORTH FROM BEFORE G-D AND CONSUMED THEM, AND THEY DIED BEFORE G-D. (VAYIKRA 10:1-2) 

The deaths of Nadav and Avihu were not a punishment for their actions, according to one explanation suggested by the Ohr Hachaim (on Vayikra 16:1). Rather, they died by “Divine kiss,” in a manner akin to the deaths of Moshe and Aharon, i.e., they sensed G-d’s closeness to the point that their souls expired from sheer ecstasy.

According to this interpretation, the Torah’s characterization of the incense offered by Nadav and Avihu as, “Foreign fire, which He had not commanded them,” must be understood not as criticism of their offering, but as praise of its virtue. It is called “foreign” because it wholly surpassed the fixed service in the Mishkan, for unlike the sacrifices that Aharon offered upon G-d’s explicit command, Nadav and Avihu offered their incense without requiring instruction. Their union with G-d was so deep and so much a part of them that they instinctively sensed G-d’s desire and acted accordingly.

This explains why, after his sons’ deaths, Moshe told Aharon, “This is what G-d has said, ‘I will be sanctified through those near to Me’” (Vayikra 10:3). Based on the Midrash, Rashi explains that Moshe said to Aharon, “I knew that this House was to be sanctified through G-d’s beloved ones, but I thought it would be either through me or through you. Now I see that they were greater than both of us!” Nadav and Avihu, through their profound union with G-d, elicited a Divine response even greater than the G-dly revelation elicited by the sacrifices that Moshe and Aharon offered. Their instinctive worship of G-d, without requiring instruction, caused, “The House to be—truly and inherently—sanctified.”

"And Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his pan, put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and they brought before the Lord foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. And fire went forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord spoke: I will be sanctified through those near to Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.' And Aaron was silent."

Rashi says: "But when did He speak? [It was when He said], 'And I will meet with the children of Israel, and it will be sanctified through My glory (בִּכְבוֹדִי) ' (Exod. 29:43). Do not read בִּכְבוֹדִי, 'through My glory,' but בִּמְכֻבָּדַי, 'through My honorable ones.' Moses said to Aaron, 'Aaron, my brother! I knew that this House was to be sanctified through the beloved ones of the Omnipresent, but I thought it would be either through me or through you. Now I see that they [Nadab and Abihu] were greater than I or you!'" ~Rashi

He finds his brother sitting outside the tent, legs crossed in a lotus position, staring out into the desert. “You also could not sleep?”

Nadav shakes his head silently.

Avihu sits beside him. “Does Daddy know?”

“No,” says Nadav forcefully. “He cannot.”

“Why?”

“Because he will try to stop us.”

“You do not trust his faith?”

“It’s not about his faith that I worry. His blood, too, is holy. Perhaps holier than ours. He too could be the consecration offering. And if he begs the Lord, or asks Uncle Moses to beg the Lord on his behalf, I worry the Lord will consent to take him instead.”

“That cannot be his burden,” says Avihu.

“No,” agrees his brother. “The People must have their Priest, especially now that the Lord will have a dwelling place with them. And it should be one whom they already trust. And they trust Aaron.”

“And, Nadav, he is our father. Who has served the Lord since before the People left Egypt. We cannot allow him to have this death. He does not deserve this death!”

For the first time, Nadav turned to look at him. “Do we deserve this, brother? Is it punitive? Does the Lord intend to make an example of us, to show what happens when one disobeys His commands?”

“We are not disobeying.”

“But the People will not know that. Nor will Daddy. Even Uncle Moses does not know that we were commanded to light our own fire. To all of them, it will seem that we are foolish—even drunk—that we are mocking the Lord’s commandments. And then that we are punished for our disobedience.”

“Uncle Moses will come to recognize the truth,” says Avihu, laying a comforting hand on his brother’s shoulder. “We are holy. And through our offering of ourselves, the Lord will be sanctified and come to dwell among our People.”

“We do this for them?”

“Yes.”

“And for Him?”

“Yes. We do this so that the People will be able to carry Him with them always. So that they and He can become one.”

They sit in silence for several minutes, while Nadav lays his head on Avihu’s shoulder.

Finally, he whispers, “I am afraid, brother.”

“I know,” says Avihu. “I am too.”

“Daddy will not be permitted to mourn us.”

“Why not?”

“The Priest cannot mourn the sacrifice,” says Nadav, simply.

“At least he does not have to be the slaughterer, like Father Abraham—”

“In the end, Father Abraham did not have to slaughter his son either.”

“The Lord is merciful,” says Avihu. “To not require fathers kill their sons, even for the glory of His name.”

“I—It is so selfish of me, brother, but I almost wish it could be Daddy. To sacrifice us. It would be easier.”

“No, it would only be easier for us. Not for him.”

Nadav sighs. “Of course. But I fear…I fear I will not have the strength, alone.”

“We will not have to do anything. The Lord will take us. We only need to present ourselves. Besides,” says Avihu, gripping his brother’s hand. “You will not be alone.”

“I am glad.”

“I am too.”

They sit in silence, without counting the time, until dawn. They are huddled together when they hear the shofar sound, rousing the camp and stirring their souls.

Expectations

Why were Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, punished with sudden death? According to the opinion of R’ Yishmael cited in the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 12:1), they died because they entered the Mishkan while under the influence of wine. The proof, says R’ Yishmael, is that immediately following their death G-d warned Aharon and his surviving sons not to drink wine before entering the Mishkan. In support of this explanation, the Midrash relates a parable of a king who had a devoted domestic aide whom he once found at the entrance to a tavern. The king executed him without a word, and appointed another aide in his place. We might not have known why the first aide was put to death, continues the Midrash, but when the king instructed the new aide, “do not enter the doors of taverns,” the cause for the first aide’s execution became evident.

Rashi quotes this explanation in his commentary on the Torah and refers the reader to the Midrashic parable: “This is analogous to a king who had a domestic aide etc., as taught in Vayikra Rabbah.” Though he does not quote the parable in full, Rashi draws attention to its opening words. In doing so, Rashi addresses a most troubling issue raised by this explanation. How could Nadav and Avihu be punished for entering the Mishkan while intoxicated if they had never been instructed otherwise? The warning not to drink wine before entering the Mishkan was told to Aharon immediately after their deaths, not before!

To explain this, Rashi highlights that the Midrash compares Nadav and Avihu to a trusted aide to the king, a member of his household (בן בית, in Hebrew.) The aide was held accountable for his behavior even though he hadn’t been warned to do otherwise, because as a member of the king’s household he should have intuitively sensed that such behavior was contrary to the king’s desire.

The same is true of Nadav and Avihu, of whom G-d told Moshe, “through those nearest to Me, I will be sanctified” (10:3). Even if entering the Mishkan after drinking wine had not yet been forbidden explicitly, yet as members of G-d’s household, as it were, the appropriate mode of conduct for the King’s house should have come to Nadav and Avihu instinctively…

Artista: Avihu (אביהו) Titulo do Album: Avihu (אביהו) Ano: 03/02/2010 Genero: Pop, Mizrahi