What is fanaticism? When does passion cross the line into fanaticism? What are we willing to live for and what are we willing to die for? These are questions humans have struggled with throughout time. In this week’s Torah portion we read the story of Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s sons, who bring an unwanted offering into the Tabernacle and are killed on the spot, “Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before ADONAI alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from ADONAI and consumed them; thus they died” Our sages have explored this story over the centuries. Rashi (12th C. Germany) citing an earlier midrash says they were killed because they were drunk when they entered the sanctuary. The Ohr haChaim (18th C. Morocco) wrote that Nadav and Avihu approached the sanctuary out of their great love for God which blinded them to their sin. The Sfat Emet (19th C. Ukraine) seems to reconcile the two opposing positions by suggesting that Nadav and Avihu were intoxicated by their love of God and the Torah. Both the Or haChaim and the Sfat Emet seem to be saying that if we are not careful our passions and our commitments can lead us into danger. Jewish religious practice has always tried to put fences around human passions and behaviors with sometimes contradictory rulings. Murder is a crime, but killing in self-defense is not. Wars started for the glory of a king are a great sin, but wars of self-defense must be fought. Our rabbis understood that human beings have an incredible ability to rationalize any behavior and that untamed passions can lead to tragedy. So they tried to temper human passions with a system of law and commanded behavior to cultivate our better selves. We might all be well advised to apply that same logic to our own lives lest we end up like Nadav and Avihu, consumed in fire
Shmini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47, Parshat Ha Shavua for Shabbat, Saturday, March 26, 2022
March 25, 2022 by Dean Kertesz • Drashot
What is fanaticism? When does passion cross the line into fanaticism? What are we willing to live for and what are we willing to die for? These are questions humans have struggled with throughout time. In this week’s Torah portion we read the story of Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s sons, who bring an unwanted offering into the Tabernacle and are killed on the spot, “Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before ADONAI alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from ADONAI and consumed them; thus they died” Our sages have explored this story over the centuries. Rashi (12th C. Germany) citing an earlier midrash says they were killed because they were drunk when they entered the sanctuary. The Ohr haChaim (18th C. Morocco) wrote that Nadav and Avihu approached the sanctuary out of their great love for God which blinded them to their sin. The Sfat Emet (19th C. Ukraine) seems to reconcile the two opposing positions by suggesting that Nadav and Avihu were intoxicated by their love of God and the Torah. Both the Or haChaim and the Sfat Emet seem to be saying that if we are not careful our passions and our commitments can lead us into danger. Jewish religious practice has always tried to put fences around human passions and behaviors with sometimes contradictory rulings. Murder is a crime, but killing in self-defense is not. Wars started for the glory of a king are a great sin, but wars of self-defense must be fought. Our rabbis understood that human beings have an incredible ability to rationalize any behavior and that untamed passions can lead to tragedy. So they tried to temper human passions with a system of law and commanded behavior to cultivate our better selves. We might all be well advised to apply that same logic to our own lives lest we end up like Nadav and Avihu, consumed in fire
~Rabbi Dean Kertesz