Raising the Bar
(based on an original Meturgeman Drasha, Parshat Shmini, 24 Nisan, 5762)
In my very first post, I brought proof from the Torah that Hashem has a double standard, judging B'nei Yisrael more harshly than the other nations. I also made the claim, there and in other places, that within Am Yisrael He raises the bar for those that are (or claim to be) closer to Him...but I never brought proof. It's about time I did. (There are other Midrashic interpretations to these events, but here we are dealing with the simple pshat in the Torah.)
(Some of this pshat comes from the Hertz Chumash, which was a tremendous aid to my understanding in my early days as a Ba'al T'shuva.)
Parshat Shmini begins with high hopes; Aaron and his sons are about to assume their roles as the Cohanim in the Mishkan. And suddenly it changes to tragedy, as his two eldest sons, Nadav and Avihu, are stricken dead before him. Aaron has yet to say a word, but one can imagine what might come out of his mouth if given the chance: anger, bitterness, protest. Immediately Moshe says to him, "This is what Hashem has said: 'by those close to Me will I be sanctified, and in front of all the people I will be honored.'" And Aaron is silent. (VaYikra 10:1-3)
What's happening here? What were Nadav and Avihu doing, and why did they die? What would Aaron have said and why was he silent? And what does it mean for us?
Physically we know what they were doing. They took censers and brought "strange fire before Hashem, which He had not commanded them." On that miraculous day, all the fire was supposed to come directly from Hashem, and none of the Cohanim should have created any fire.
The Torah doesn't say why they did it, but from the context it would appear that they were trying to participate in the joy and celebration. They wanted to do that little bit extra to show their love of God. So what's the big deal? Why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? And even if not, is this a sin worthy of death? This was probably Aaron's first reaction; what he might have said if Moshe hadn't stopped him.
If you or I had done something like that, Aaron would have been right. It's no big deal. But what Moshe was reminding him was that he and his sons had reached the highest level of Kedusha, they had come closer to Hashem than anyone else except Moshe himself. And when you are that close, nothing less than perfection is expected or allowed, especially 'in front of all the people.' If they had not been punished, if Aaron had protested, or if he or his two remaining sons had mourned, Hashem would NOT have been honored in front of all of B'nei Yisrael, and the nation would have been doomed to perish -- just like every other nation where it is understood that the powerful are above the law.
And Aaron understood this, so he was silent.
And WE need to understand. In this day and age, the world sees everything that happens; there is no understanding for weakness that can lead to hypocrisy, only scorn and hatred for the hypocrites. When Jew with Kippot on their heads (or black hats or shtreimels) behave badly, it shows the world that our religion has no value...and Hashem is NOT sanctified and NOT honored. It doesn't matter that there are also great acts of chesed in the dati community; that gets buried under the bad.
The Gemara (Yevamoth 121b) says that Hashem judges Tzaddikim "to the degree of a hair's-breadth." In this day and age, EVERY DATI JEW IS CONSIDERED A TZADDIK! Until we learn to ACT as such, we will live in constant fear of 'fire from Hashem,' either delivered directly or through our enemies. Once we do learn the lesson, all the rest will follow and it will be time for Mashiach.
In my very first post, I brought proof from the Torah that Hashem has a double standard, judging B'nei Yisrael more harshly than the other nations. I also made the claim, there and in other places, that within Am Yisrael He raises the bar for those that are (or claim to be) closer to Him...but I never brought proof. It's about time I did. (There are other Midrashic interpretations to these events, but here we are dealing with the simple pshat in the Torah.)
(Some of this pshat comes from the Hertz Chumash, which was a tremendous aid to my understanding in my early days as a Ba'al T'shuva.)
Parshat Shmini begins with high hopes; Aaron and his sons are about to assume their roles as the Cohanim in the Mishkan. And suddenly it changes to tragedy, as his two eldest sons, Nadav and Avihu, are stricken dead before him. Aaron has yet to say a word, but one can imagine what might come out of his mouth if given the chance: anger, bitterness, protest. Immediately Moshe says to him, "This is what Hashem has said: 'by those close to Me will I be sanctified, and in front of all the people I will be honored.'" And Aaron is silent. (VaYikra 10:1-3)
What's happening here? What were Nadav and Avihu doing, and why did they die? What would Aaron have said and why was he silent? And what does it mean for us?
Physically we know what they were doing. They took censers and brought "strange fire before Hashem, which He had not commanded them." On that miraculous day, all the fire was supposed to come directly from Hashem, and none of the Cohanim should have created any fire.
The Torah doesn't say why they did it, but from the context it would appear that they were trying to participate in the joy and celebration. They wanted to do that little bit extra to show their love of God. So what's the big deal? Why shouldn't they be allowed to do so? And even if not, is this a sin worthy of death? This was probably Aaron's first reaction; what he might have said if Moshe hadn't stopped him.
If you or I had done something like that, Aaron would have been right. It's no big deal. But what Moshe was reminding him was that he and his sons had reached the highest level of Kedusha, they had come closer to Hashem than anyone else except Moshe himself. And when you are that close, nothing less than perfection is expected or allowed, especially 'in front of all the people.' If they had not been punished, if Aaron had protested, or if he or his two remaining sons had mourned, Hashem would NOT have been honored in front of all of B'nei Yisrael, and the nation would have been doomed to perish -- just like every other nation where it is understood that the powerful are above the law.
And Aaron understood this, so he was silent.
And WE need to understand. In this day and age, the world sees everything that happens; there is no understanding for weakness that can lead to hypocrisy, only scorn and hatred for the hypocrites. When Jew with Kippot on their heads (or black hats or shtreimels) behave badly, it shows the world that our religion has no value...and Hashem is NOT sanctified and NOT honored. It doesn't matter that there are also great acts of chesed in the dati community; that gets buried under the bad.
The Gemara (Yevamoth 121b) says that Hashem judges Tzaddikim "to the degree of a hair's-breadth." In this day and age, EVERY DATI JEW IS CONSIDERED A TZADDIK! Until we learn to ACT as such, we will live in constant fear of 'fire from Hashem,' either delivered directly or through our enemies. Once we do learn the lesson, all the rest will follow and it will be time for Mashiach.
posted by meturgeman | 9:57 PM
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