Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47
Why were Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, struck dead in the desert tabernacle (mishkan)? Everything was all set for the inauguration of regular sacrificial worship in the mishkan, and then this tragedy—why?
The Torah seems to suggest several answers. To begin with, it says that Nadab and Abihu had brought a “foreign fire” (esh zara) into the mishkan just before the incident. This probably did not mean fire itself, but rather the sweet-smelling embers of incense that were burned inside the mishkan. If so, then saying that the incense was foreign might mean that it had been put in the innermost part of the mishkan, where it would indeed be foreign. Or, possibly, Nadab and Abihu’s offering was foreign in the sense that the coals that they had put in their incense pans had come from an ordinary “outside” source rather than from the incense altar itself. Or perhaps they had somehow omitted from, or added to, the required ingredients of an incense offering, or had put the proper ingredients in the wrong proportion—either way making their incense “foreign.”
Then again, it might be that Nadab and Abihu were drunk, or even just a little tipsy, at the time. After all, not long after this incident, God says to Aaron, “Do not drink wine or any other liquor, you and your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, lest you die” (Lev 10:8). Was not this a subtle hint as to the cause of Aaron’s two sons’ death?
Whatever the precise reason, or combination of reasons, what seems most significant is what Moses says to Aaron immediately after his sons have been struck dead: “This is what the Lord (intended by] saying: ‘I will be sanctified by those close to Me, and I will be honored before all the people.’ And Aaron kept still.” Apparently, this is the lesson of the whole incident. But what do these words mean exactly?
“Those close to Me” refers to the kohanim, the priests who bring offerings into the desert sanctuary (mishkan) and are closest to the Holy of Holies. If so, I think a somewhat freer, but clearer, translation might be: “This is what God (intended) by saying: ‘If the kohanim respect My sanctity, then I will be honored by all the people.’” In other words, whatever Nadab and Abihu’s particular slipup had been—putting their incense in the wrong place, or having made it from the wrong ingredients, or in the wrong proportions, or any of the other explanations offered—these two sons of Aaron had not properly respected God’s sanctity. Failure to do so was a grave offense, since it might in turn lead the people as a whole to make light of their religious duties.
The Torah characteristically phrases this warning in the positive: “If the kohanim respect My sanctity,” Moses says, “then I will be honored by all the people.” But stated the opposite way, this was a grave warning: improper priestly procedure can have disastrous effects not only for the kohanim but for the people as a whole. This is what Moses told Aaron in God’s name, and Aaron knew that he was right. That’s why he remained silent and did not offer a word of protest.
Shabbat shalom!
