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Parshat Shemini
2005
The Value of Community
This week's parsha, Shemini, offers us both a dramatic narrative of events and concludes with what will become the basis of the laws of kashrut. Following the dedication of the Tabernacle and the ordination of the priests, two of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, wait outside the Tent of Appointed Meeting for seven days and nights. On the eighth day, Moses summons Aaron and his sons to bring a specific offering before God. Aaron and his sons prepare the animal sacrifices as they are commanded, and as a result "the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came forth before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering... and all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces" (9:23-44). This awesome moment illustrates the visible presence of God and indicates that the sacrifice was successful; God appeared to the people as a result.
The parsha continues: "Now Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Lord alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.' And Aaron was silent." (9:24- 10:3)
This sequence of events raises a number of questions about the circumstances under which the two brothers died; we are not told the exact reason why they are killed. Midrash Rabba offers an insight suggesting that the brothers were not married and did not have children. Although they were not killed as a result of this situation, the Midrash tells us that they felt they were too special to marry just any woman of the community, given their higher status as children of Aaron.
Additionally, the Midrash offers an explanation about the fire that consumed the brothers. It says that "and it consumed them" does not actually refer to the fire, but to the brothers' narrow focus of worshiping God that cut them off from the community because they were so consumed with the duty to perform his commandments.
From this Midrash we are able to better understand the reasoning behind such a harsh punishment. Judaism focuses on the community rather than just the individual. Jewish practices like the minyan, sitting shiva and text study are done through groups and communities rather than on an individual basis. Similarly, Aaron makes the first sacrifice as a representative of the Jewish community rather than as an individual. Herein lays the mistake of his sons and the lesson that we can take from this parsha. By considering themselves superior to the rest of their community, they in effect separated themselves from God and lost sight of the meaning and purpose of their actions.
Rabbi Shimon Felix further expands upon this idea of communal separation. He comments that their offering of a "strange fire, which they had not been commanded to bring" places Aaron's sons above Aaron and Moses. Felix suggests that this offering is a spontaneous and creative act, one that did not adhere to the strict laws that God sets forth. Thus, Nadav and Avihu's act is holier (than a strict observance of the law) and privileged. Again, realized through the prism of a communal structure, we can best understand Nadav and Avihu's actions by seeing their separation from the community. Unable to partake in the communal ritual, they instead exceed the community's boundaries and place themselves above everyone else, in this case, the communal leaders Moses and Aaron.
Both of these stories illustrate the need for community, the need to reach out to others to achieve a spiritual connection as well as the detrimental consequences that can occur when one turns away from the community or acts as though he/she has no need in connecting with the community. Community plays a special role in the work we do as an organization. Our best moments often take place when we come together as a community. When we push ourselves to go further with our students and reach out beyond our traditional base, we create a sense of community, and thus holiness, that we can't otherwise achieve on our own. Our inability at times to realize our greater place within the Jewish community can blind us to the needs of students and the greater Jewish community, however. This parsha offers a stern warning to such actions and the value that Judaism places on that community. We can all learn a valuable lesson from the tragedy of Nadav and Avihu and remember that we are not separate from the community but rather a part of a much broader idea, the Jewish community. At times, we may lose focus of the greater picture and become consumed with our particular mission and issues, but the Torah portion this week reminds us of the importance of creating context and maintaining balance between our own work and the work of our greater community.
Prepared by Stephanie Schwartz, Hochberg Israel fellow
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Shemini at MyJewishLearning.com.
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