Ziv: Parashat Shemini

I may be sanctified among the people of Israel

...”And Aaron was silent” (Leviticus 10:3)... A father’s silence at the moment of losing his sons is deafening to us. The very day when Aaron and his sons awaited the most important moment of their lives : to be finally consecrated priests, after seven days of preparations - two of the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu “offered foreign fire before the Lord, such as he had not commanded them” (Leviticus 10:1). The consequences were instantaneous : “fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10:2). It is then that Moses says to Aaron : “This is what the Lord meant when he said, ‘Through those who are near me I will show myself holy, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” (Leviticus 10:3) - upon hearing these words, the father of Nadab and Abihu, the new High-Priest of Israel remained silent. Aaron, who as we have seen in our studies, is the new Adam in the new creation that is the tabernacle, loses his two sons, just as the latter did - because of an unfortunate sacrifice. But should we understand the words of Moses when he speaks of God’s foretelling of the event? Rashi responds : “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” (Exodus 29:43). Do not read “through My glory,” but “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 All-Mighty, 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!” - [Vayikra Rabbah 12:2]. But how does this honor the All-Mighty? Rashi continues : “When the Holy One, blessed is He, exacts judgment upon the righteous, He becomes feared, exalted, and praised. Now, if this is so concerning the righteous, how much more is it so concerning the wicked! Similarly, the verse says “You are awesome, O God, from Your sanctuaries” (Psalm 68:36). Do not read “from Your sanctuaries,” but “because of Your sanctified ones”.

We can now understand Aaron’s silence, and that of his two remaining sons as well as the words of Moses when he forbids them to mourn Nadab and Abihu : “Do not dishevel your hair, and do not tear your vestments, or you will die and wrath will strike all the congregation” (Leviticus 10:6). As God has said to Moses, He is sanctified by those who are nearest to Him - and it was to be by the two sons of Aaron, His servants, who acted in an excess of love. The grace of God toward them is demonstrated by a detail in the text : when the brothers of Nadab and Abihu come to carry their bodies outside the camp, they “carried them by their tunics out of the camp” (Lv 10,5) - the tunics, therefore, remained intact - the fire did not burn them.. The most holy day shows us God’s mercy towards us who can sin by an excess of love.. the death of Nadab and Abihu was not in vain : God was sanctified not only by His justice, but also by His mercy. Shabbat Shalom.