Dear Friends;
I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;
” Parsha in a Nutshell ”
Parshat Shemini begins by discussing the events which occurred on the eighth and final day of the inauguration service in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). After months of preparation and anticipation, Aaron and his sons are finally installed as Kohanim (priests) in an elaborate service. Aaron blesses the people, and the entire nation rejoices as Hashem’s presence rests upon them. However, the excitement comes to an abrupt halt as Aaron’s two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, offer a “strange fire before G-d, which He commanded them not” and die before G-d. Aaron is silent in face of his tragedy.
Aaron is informed that the Kohanim are forbidden to enter the Mishkan while intoxicated, and the Torah continues to relate the events which occur immediately after Nadav and Avihu’s tragic death. The portion concludes with a listing of the kosher and non-kosher animals, and various laws about tumah, ritual contamination!
” Dvar Torah ”
In the course of life, sometimes, startling and shocking events take place. Sometimes we are faced with a tragedy. What do we do, if G-d forbid, a tragedy befalls upon us? “Why is this happening to me”, we may ask ourselves? How do we handle the pain? How do you carry on with our lives? So many questions pop up in our heads with hardly any convincing answers. Even with all the consoling and solace that the rest of the people try to give us, we still don’t find comfort. So how are we suppose to react in the case of a tragedy?
Well, in this week’s parsha, the Torah also talks about a painful tragedy. The story goes as follows: After the completion of the construction of the “Mishkan” (G-d’s mobile Sanctuary), it was time for Mishkan’s inauguration. The excitement was filled in the air. Everyone came to watch this joyful event, somewhat similar to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the tallest building built in the city — in this case, the house of G-d. The structure of the Mishkan was completed and all the vessels were placed in their right spots and the alter was all ready to begin the first sacrifice ceremony. For seven days Moshe, Aaron and his sons rehearsed the inauguration ceremony’s procedures, and finally, it was on the eight day that G-d’s Presence would finally descend upon the Mishkan, and it was time for the ceremony to start.
But, suddenly, the celebration went terribly wrong. The Torah tells us that “the two eldest sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, they put fire in them and placed incense upon it; and they brought before Hashem an alien fire that He had not commanded them to bring.” Immediately, “a fire came forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died” !! The Torah continues with the consolation given by Moshe to Aaron by saying the following: “of this did Hashem speak, saying ‘I will be sanctified through those who are nearest to Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people.” And Aaron’s response was that he kept silent!
Wow, what a tragedy! But the commentators don’t waste anytime to bombard us with explanations. Some say that the reason for their death was that they came in drunk into the sanctuary in front of G-d. Others say that they disrespected their teachers Moshe and Aaron, by not consulting with them first before bringing their own offering to Hashem. Another midrash says that this was a punishment to Aaron for helping the Benei Israel to build the Golden Calf. And the commentaries goes on and on and on….
But to me, and maybe to Aaron too, non of these explanations justifies their harsh punishment. Why should two people who were among the most holy people in their generation, who by mistake brought an offering to Hashem, got killed immediately in front of the entire nation?? Is this justice?? Isn’t Hashem being a little too harsh?? The same G-d of mercy that forgave the nation for their despicable sin of the Golden Calf, couldn’t find it in his heart to forgive two of his loyal servants for bringing an unwanted gift for Him, even if they may have had a drink or two??
Well, Rabbi Yissachar Frand has an interesting insight in regards to Aaron’s sons tragic death. He says that although, all of the explanations for Nadav and Avihu’s death may be true, but none of the explanations should be convincing, because we should never be content with the reasons given for someone’s death! Hashem wants us to feel sorry for the deceased and to feel compassion towards the dead! Every dead person deserves to be mourned for. We are not here to judge people and to find a justified reason for someone’s death!! We have to assume that anyone who dies was a good person and the only reason he died was because of the will of G-d! Do we have to understand why? No! But do we have to accept Hashem’s decision? Yes!
But how are you suppose to react to a tragedy. The answer is also given in this week’s parsha in the fascinating phrase which says: “and Aaron was silent!!” After all the solace and comfort that Hashem and Moshe tried to give to Aaron, he was still in shock and hard for him to accept. It’s hard for anyone to get comforted, when loosing a child or a loved one! But Aaron kept Silent! He did not complain! Although he may have not understood why Hashem performed such a harsh punishment to his two beloved sons who were the two highest priests of the time and were respected by the whole congregation; he still had faith in G-d that he knows what he is doing! He kept silent, in order not to show lack of faith due to lack of understanding!!!
Yes my friends, our religion is not a religion of logic; it’s a religion of faith. In times of distress and misfortune, sometimes we search for answers but our efforts seems to be used in vain. We are not content. Nothing seems to make sense. We may even start questioning G-d’s decision, but it does not give us the rights to loose faith in him. After all, if we believe that G-d is a superpower, then our lack of understanding should not bother us so much, since we believe that G-d has more power of understanding and judgment. We learn from Aaron’s silence that not being content with the reason for a tragedy is not a sin, but loosing faith in Hashem, is. Remember that our G-d is a compassionate G-d, who is slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth. He loves his people and he wants the best for us. He doesn’t want to hurt us and if we are faced with a tragedy, we should believe that Hashem knows what is best for us and we should accept his decision.
In the Oxford dictionary, a “tragedy” is defined as a “sad event; a series of drama with an unhappy ending”! In the Torah, however, a tragedy is defined as a sad event which is an act of G-d, which we don’t understand, but we believe that Hashem surely does!
Shabbat Shalom & Regards;
Martin