The Limits Of Spirituality
Nadav and Avihu died in an act of sanctification; our goal should be to sanctify God through our lives, not our deaths.
By Rabbi Moshe Morduchowitz. Provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox congregations.Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron's four sons, were killed, the Torah states, "when they came close before God." The Torah then goes on to describe the service performed by Aaron on Yom Kippur.
Who were Nadav and Avihu, and what do their deaths have to do with Yom Kippur?
Furthermore, why were they killed? Is it not the duty of every Jew to strive to come close to God?
Nadav and Avihu died during the sanctification of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
"They offered before the Lord an alien fire, which He had not commanded... and a fire came forth and consumed them."
They were not just killed; they were consumed. Their death can be viewed as sacrificial. Describing their death, the Torah adds two words: They died "before God." God did not distance Himself from them, but reached down and brought them up. "Bikrovai ekodeish, I will be sanctified through those who are close to me," God says of Nadav and Avihu. They were the tzaddikim (righteous people) of their generation and died attempting to find Godliness and spirituality in their own way.
By attempting to experience God in His fullness, they sanctified themselves, but their mere physicality could not endure it.
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