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 “

Tragedy! Oxford dictionary defines it as “a very sad event; a serious drama with an unhappy ending which often involves someone’s death”! Tragedy is unfortunately something that we have no control over it. It can happen to anybody.The rich and the poor, the religious and the secular….. no one is immuned from it. How do we deal with a tragedy, how do we react to death of someone close to us, how do we cope with the pain? These are the questions that we all pray we would not need to know the answers for, but in reality, it’s inevitable for a tragedy not to happen to any of us.

In this week’s parsha, we also learn about a very painful tragedy. The two elder sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, die together in an instant. 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 altar was all ready to begin the first sacrifice ceremony. Aaron and his sons have been appointed as the only Priests to do the ceremonies. For seven days Moshe, Aaron and his sons rehearsed the inauguration ceremony procedures, and finally, it was on the eighth day that G-d’s Presence would finally descend upon the Mishkan, and it was time for the ceremony to start. The congregation were anxiously waiting to watch this fascinating, never-seen-before event.

But, suddenly, the celebration went terribly wrong. The Torah tells us that just before the ceremony started, the two eldest sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, entered the Mishkan without authorization. They decided to offer their own incense, something they assumed would surely bring joy to their Creator. But tragedy struck. A fire came forth from the heaven. And the fire that should have consumed their offerings, consumed them instead, and they both died in an instant! Moshe tried to console Aaron by saying: “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 the Torah reveals to us Aaron’s reaction:  “And Aaron was silent”. The man who had been Moses’ spokesman could no longer speak. The man of speech became speechless!!

The immediate question that comes to mind is, why?! Why did Nadav and Avihu have to die in such tragic way? What did they do that it was so wrong?! It seems that they just brought an unauthorised sacrifice. But it was still just a gift! The same G-d of mercy that forgave the entire nation for their despicable sin of the Golden Calf, why couldn’t he find it in his heart to forgive two of his loyal servants for bringing an unwanted gift for Him by mistake??

Well, many explanations are given. Some say that the reason for their death was that they came drunk into the sanctuary in front of G-d. Others say, they were too eager to exercise leadership, that’s why they took their own initiative which was disrespectful in the eyes of Hashem. Another opinion says that they disrespected their teachers Moshe and Aaron, by not consulting with them first before bringing their own offering. And the commentaries goes on and on and on….

But still, to me and maybe to Aaron too, none of these explanations justifies their tragic death. The punishment does not justify the act! Yes, maybe they had a drink or two before they entered the Holy of the Holies, maybe they were too eager to get to a leadership position, but to die in an instant in front of the whole congregation…. is this justice?!

After searching for an answer for awhile, I came across a beautiful explanation given by Rabbi Frand. 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 reason of 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 are here to love everyone and accept that the only reason for someone’s death is because of G-d’s will! Do we have to understand G-d’s will? No! But do we have to accept Hashem’s decisions? Yes! Nadav and Avihu should not be remembered as two drunken outcasts who committed a sin, but rather, they should be remembered as the high Priests and the loyal servants of G-d who were rightfully given a respectful funeral and mourning period. Aaron kept complete silence after this tragedy, because any show of emotions or any spoken words could have revealed lack of faith in G-d! His silence shows that although he may not have understood why his sons died, but he still believed in Hashem, wholeheartedly!

Yes my friends, our religion is not a religion of logic; it’s a religion of faith. In times of distress and tragedy, 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, chasbe shalom, but it does not give us the right to lose 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 losing 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.

Yes, Oxford dictionary may define a tragedy as a “a very sad event with an unhappy ending”, but in Judaism, a tragedy is defined as “a sad event which is an act of G-d beyond human understanding, and we have faith in Him that he surely knows what he is doing!”

Shabbat Shalom, Rosh Chodesh Tov & Regards;

Martin