Bigger Than Both of Us

By Rabbi Joshua (diminutively known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

This week's pariahs recounts the incident of Nadir and Avid, two sons of Aharon, who brought a 'strange fire' at the inauguration of the sanctuary, and were put to death through a fire descending from heaven. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, in his Torah commentary, explains the fundamental error that Aharon's sons made, in a way that helps us understand a Talmudic comment about them, as well. Rabbi Hirsch says that the inauguration of the sanctuary was a monumental event in the history of the Jewish people, with God revealing Himself to them as a nation. We may add that this achievement of an intimate relationship with God, carrying over, as the Ramban says, the experience of revelation at Mt. Sinai on a permanent, basis, marked the completion of the redemption process that began with their exodus from Egypt. At such a time, there was no place for individuals to place their own spiritual advancement above the experience of the nation. However, this is exactly what Nadav and Avihu did, Although they had good intentions, as mentioned by Rav Hirsch and elaborated upon by the Neitziv in his Ha'amek Davar, their primary concern should have been the advancement of the nation, and they should have therefore done the service in the mishkan exactly as they had been instructed, without adding their own personal element. By acting otherwise, they demonstrated that, to some degree, their involvement if their holy work was self-motivated, and prone to error in its execution.

Rabbi Hirsch's explanation s in line with the remarks or Rabbi Avraham Yitchak HaKohein Kook, in his work Orot. he writes there that a characteristic trait of the great men of the Jewish nation has always been that as they become greater, their focus on the nation increases. We find this in connection with Moshe from the very beginning of his development as a mature man. The Torah tells us, in parshas Shemos, that when Moshe grew up, he went out to observe the burdens of his brothers ( Shemos, 2:11).. Rashi comments that the word 'vayigdal'- and he grew- does not mean that Moshe simply reached a certain age, because we were already told in the previous versa that 'the lad grew up.' he then cites the midrash which explains that the first verse refers to growth in years, while the second verse refers to growth in rank, meaning that Moshe attained a certain position of prominence in Pharaoh's court. Following this midrash, then, the Torah is telling us that as soon as Moshe attained a certain degree of prominence in Egypt, he tried to use that position to help his people. This attitude of Moshe remained with him throughout his life, and perhaps it was in this way that he became the most humble man on earth, as the tells characterizes him in parshas Beha'aloscha.

The Talmud in Sanhedrin (52 a) tells us that once, Moshe and aharon were walking, Nadav and Avihu were walking behind them, and the rest of the nationwas following behind. One of the two brothers noc said to the other one, ' when will these two old men die and we cwill lkead the generation ?' This incident was undoubtedly known to the rabbis of the Talmud through a tradition, but the attitude which it reflects is identical with tat described by Rabbi Hirsch based on the verses in the Torah. Nadav and Aihu viewed the leadership of the nation, just as they viewed their spiritual advancement, from a personal standpoint, rather than from the viewpoint of the nation. While, for the nation, Moshe and Aharon were certainly the best leaders they could possibly have, Nadav and Avihu yearned for the time when they would take over for them. They may have had good intentoins in mind, thinking that serving as leaders would bring them closer to God, but, again, they were thinking of themselves rater than thenation as a whole. The fact that they assumed they would take over the leadership may, in fact, indicate that they were originally meant to do so. In fact, the Chafetz Chaim doies say that they were originally worthy of becoming the kleaders of the nation aftwer Moshe and Aharon. However, their focus on their own advancement rather than that of the nation made them unfit for the task, and, as Rabbi Hirsch explains, led to their tragic deaths.