"It came to pass on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his
sons and the elders of
Following this procedure as specifically prescribed by YHVH resulted in “…
the glory [kavod] of YHVH appear[ing] to all the people" right
after Moshe and A’haron blessed them (v. 23). According to Nechama Leibowitz,
"The revelation of the Divine glory here denotes a reward for their
efforts in erecting a Sanctuary for the Shekina".[1] “And
fire came out from before YHVH and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on
the altar. And all the people saw it, and they shouted and fell on their faces"
(v.24). These sin offerings, therefore, became a demarcation point, separating
sinfulness and profanity from YHVH's Holiness and Glory. The motif of the holy
or clean versus the profane or the unclean is threaded throughout this Parasha,
as we shall continue to observe.
When
the above-described scene reached its peak, with "fire [coming] out from
before YHVH… consuming the burnt offering…", as we just observed, we are
suddenly transferred without as much as a breather into the next one, with its
parallel yet contradictory elements. And so we read in 10:1 about A’haron’s
sons, Nadav and Avihu, taking censors and putting fire and incense on them,
which YHVH had "not commanded them".
Theirs was a fire of their own making ("zara" - foreign,
strange, of a different kind), which they brought near before
YHVH, and "so fire went out from YHVH and devoured them" (v.
2). When the Children of Yisrael and their leaders did as they were
commanded (ref 9:10) and drew near to YHVH, His fire consumed
the offering and He showed them His Glory. But when Nadav and
Avihu brought near that which YHVH did not command, the
consequence was that a fire went out from Him, but consumed them
(ref. 10:1-2). The similar or identical terms used to describe both episodes make
for a sinister symmetry, one that demonstrates that often there may be but a
fine line which separates the holy from the profane, the desirable from the
detestable. An example of contrasting terms, that serve to highlight
certain situations is seen in 9:24, where we read that the people "shouted"
- (va)yaronou - joyfully. In contrast, after Nadav and Avihu's sad
annihilation, it says that A'haron was utterly silent, or even motionless
- (va)yidom – root of d.o.m (ref. 10:3). In Psalm 94:17 the expression
"dwelling in silence" ("shachna duma”),
denotes death. In Psalm 115:17 it is written: "The dead do not praise
YHVH, nor any who go down into silence" (duma, once again).
"By
those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I
must be glorified" (10:3) is the explanation as to why Nadav and Avihu,
because of their lofty positions, had to be totally obedient to YHVH and could
not misrepresent him as they had done. In fact, they are called here by YHVH
"k'rova'i" - those who are close (or near) to Me -
and as such, YHVH was to “be rendered holy" ("eka'desh")
by, or through, them. In addition,
their actions were supposed to glorify YHVH and this way to also
influence others to do likewise, with "eka'ved" being the
term used, meaning "heavy", and by implication "highly
esteemed".
In the second part of chapter 10, Moshe instructs A'haron and his two
"remaining sons" (v. 12) to not display any signs of mourning. On the
other hand, the rest of Yisrael was given permission to "bewail the burning
which YHVH has kindled" (v. 6, italics added). Interestingly, the
“burning” here is eerily detached from the particular individuals who had just
perished, neither is it in any way connected to human beings in general or even
to death. The word used, which sounds so dreadfully detached, is "s'refa",
meaning "burning” or “to burn". It appears that
emphasis is put here on the calamity inflicted by YHVH, with the priests being
expected to identify with His approach (hence His strict orders to them not
to display signs of mourning over the death of their relatives), whereas the
“whole house of
In the following section (10:12-20), Moshe reproves A'haron and his remaining
(“nota'rim”) sons, El'azar and Itamar, for not having eaten the remaining
(“noteret”) offering, which was rightfully theirs. Instead, they burned
the goat for the sin offering ("soraf" v. 16 – identical word
to the “fire” mentioned in 10:6 above, which consumed Nadav and Avihu), making
a fire of their own and getting rid of that which they were supposed to
consume. In trying to be over cautious, they too were not fully obedient to the
instructions of YHVH. Notice the application
of identical terminology to the priests and to their work of service, be it the
fire or the sacrifices (as we noted also above concerning Nadav and Avihu).
Here we also
hear A'haron expressing himself for the first time after the loss of his two older sons, a loss he refers to tersely as, “such things [that]
have befallen me" (v. 19), and wondering if the eating that was required “would
have … been good - (ha)yitav - in the eyes of YHVH. And Moses
heard and it was good - (va)yitav - in his eyes" (vs.
19-20). The echoing of A'haron's "good" in Moshe’s response seems
to indicate that the brothers were once again in one accord.
The “remaining offering” that the priests were to eat is called here that
which is “due” to the priests, because in Hebrew it is derived from “chok”, the
‘legal’ portion. A similar reference to one’s portion is referenced by the
writer of Proverbs. There it says: “Give me neither poverty nor riches -- Feed
me with the food allotted to me” (30:8). The “food allotted to me” is “lechem
(literally bread), which is legally apportioned or allotted to me”. The same
expression is found, of course in the “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:11: “Give us
this day our “lechem chok” – the bread/food that is legally our portion.
Our Parasha clearly brings out the role of the priests in the Israelite
society, and their view of their office. S.R. Hirsch elaborates on this issue: "The
Hebrew priest is part of the nation, and his position is not an isolated one
before God, but one that he occupies only within and through the nation….”
Regarding the sacrifices and their function relative to the Almighty and to the
worshipper, he says: “The closeness of and approach to God… may only be found
through obedience to and acceptance of God's will… The offering means to place the offerer at
God's service, i.e., he wants to fulfill God's wishes through his offering. All
offerings are therefore forms of Divine demands which the offerer, through his
offering, accepts as the guidelines for his future conduct".[2]
In line with the theme of
separating the clean from the unclean, the rest of the Parasha (chapter 11) is
devoted to the type of animals, fish and fowls permitted for consumption, as
well as to those that are forbidden. It is interesting that verses 4-7
constitute a list of four animals, all of which have one of the two traits
required, but are devoid of the other. However, the first trait mentioned in
all four cases happens to be the one that fulfills the requirement, whereas the
specification of the missing one is second. The lesson to be learned here is
simple: even though things may seem
'right' or 'proper' at first sight, they should be investigated further, lest
deception sets in (e.g. notice the order of adjectives in the title of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil). The above tragic scene, with
Nadav and Avihu, A’haron’s sons, who may have had ‘good’ intentions,
illustrates this point even more poignantly. YHVH’s holiness and His charge upon
His people, to be “set apart as He is”, cannot be measured by human standards
of ‘good’ and ‘evil’, and requires unquestionable obedience.
"You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing
that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them, lest you be
defiled by them, for I am YHVH your Elohim. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves,
and you shall be holy, for I am holy. Neither shall you defile yourselves with
any creeping thing that creeps on the earth, for I am YHVH who brings you up
out of the
Aligning themselves with their Elohim and His ways is what makes the
Israelite Nation a "holy nation". Partaking of that which is
abominable in His sight or even coming into contact with it renders those who
choose to do so just as abominable - "sheh’ketz". “You shall not make yourselves (lit. “your soul”)
abominable – teshak’tzu - with any creeping thing that creeps” (v. 43). The "abomination (of desolation)"
in Daniel 11:31 and 12:11 employs the same word, with a certain modification
(“shikutz”).
Our Parasha, quite characteristically, ends with a clear reminder of its
theme: “to distinguish, [or separate], the unclean from the clean…" (11:47).
Notes
1. New Studies
in Vayikra Part 1, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah Education and
Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc.,
2. Ibid
