Shmini Limits

The story of Nadav and Avihu, Aaron's two eldest sons, who died on the day the sanctuary was dedicated, is one of the most tragic in the Torah.

It's referred to on no less than four separate occasions.

It turned a day that should have been a national celebration into one of deep grief.

Aaron, bereaved, could not

speak. A sense of mourning fell over the camp and the people. God had told Moshe that it was

dangerous to have the divine presence within the camp. But even Moshe could not have guessed that

something as serious as this could happen. What did Nadav Anavivou do wrong?

An exceptionally broad range of interpretations have been given by the sages.

Some say that they aspired to lead the people and were impatiently waiting for Moses and Aaron to die.

Others say that their sin was that they never married, considering all women to be unworthy of them.

Others attribute their sin to intoxication. Others again say that they didn't seek guidance as to what they should do and what they were not permitted to do on this day.

Yet another explanation is that they entered the Holy of Holies which only the high priest was permitted to do.

The simplest explanation, though, is the one given explicitly in the text.

They offered Aish Zara, strange fire that was not commanded.

Why should they have done such a thing, and why was it so serious in error?

The explanation that makes most sense

psychologically is that they were carried away by the mood of the moment. They acted in a kind of

ecstasy. They were caught up by the sheer excitement of the inauguration of the first

collective house of worship in the history of Avram's children. Their behavior was spontaneous. They wanted to do

something extra, uncommanded, to express their religious fervor. What was wrong with that?

Moshe had acted spontaneously when he broke the tablets after the sin of the golden calf.

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