24 Apr 2025 Shemini 5785: Divine Command, Discipline, Service

Parshas Shemini begins with the celebrations taking place on Rosh Chodesh Nissan. This day is the eighth day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, and the day of the induction of Aharon and his sons into the kehunah. It is the day when the Mishkan is permanently erected, and it is also the first time that Aharon blesses the nation with the birkas kohanim. Furthermore, Moshe and Aharon jointly bless the nation with the prayer that the Shechina shall dwell upon the work of their hands.

When a heavenly fire descends to consume the korbanos Aharon has offered – korbanos offered both on his own behalf and on behalf of the nation – the people exult and rejoice. וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה’ וַתֹּאכַל עַל–הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֶת–הָעֹלָה וְאֶת–הַחֲלָבִים; וַיַּרְא כָּל–הָעָם וַיָּרֹנּוּ, וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל–פְּנֵיהֶם – and a fire went forth from before Hashem and consumed the burnt offering and the fats upon the mizbayach, and all the nation saw, and they sang praises and fell upon their faces (Vayikra 9:24).

In the midst of this holy celebration, the two eldest sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, acting on their own volition, commit a grievous and catastrophic sin, marring the ecstasy of this exalted day. וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי–אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ, וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת; וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי ה’ אֵשׁ זָרָה—אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוָּה, אֹתָם – and the sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, each took his pan, and put fire therein, and placed upon it the ketores, and they brought before Hashem a foreign fire, which He did not command them (10:1). The results of this sin are instantaneous: וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה’ וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם; וַיָּמֻתוּ לִפְנֵי ה – and a fire went forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died before Hashem (10:2).

While the commentators offer many different midrashic explanations and suggestions as to what their sin was, the basic pshat carries a weighty and fundamental message and lesson for our avodas Hashem. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, the Rav zt’l, teaches, “On the day of their installation, wearing their priestly vestments, Nadav and Avihu were overcome by ecstasy and by the desire to express their emotions. The incense that they burned was identical to that which their father Aaron had offered. But there was one significant difference. Aaron was obeying G-d’s will, while Nadav and Avihu performed an action that G-d had not commanded.

“The sin of Nadav and Avihu illustrates a dichotomy in one’s approach to religious observance: religious divine service, with its accompanying discipline, versus ceremonial experience. A mitzvah is not merely a perfunctory action. It must also translate into experiential terms. The Torah demands that we experience joy and satisfaction when we perform a mitzvah. There are two ways to achieve that exalted state: the Jewish way and the pagan way. The Jewish way requires us to fashion our lives according to G-d’s discipline, as illustrated by the word וצונו.

“The reason we perform the mitzvah is our absolute surrender to G-d’s will. Eventually, we must progress from that surrender to a profound spiritual experience that encompasses our entire being. Prayer begins as an obligatory, even compelled act, with rigid requirements of time, locations, and behavior. We are particularly aware of this during the winter or in inclement weather when we must venture out into the cold for minyan early in the morning and at night. However, as we progress in our relationship to prayer, we feel the rewards of intimate communion with G-d.

“The pagan approach, which is the antithesis of the Torah approach, begins with excitement and culminates in sin and disillusionment. It very much parallels the approach of the modern world, where one uses drugs or alcohol to create an artificial feeling of euphoria, masking one’s actual life situation of disappointment and futility… The transgression of Nadav and Avihu, whom the Torah describes as sanctified, was that they brought before the L-rd foreign fire, which He had not commanded them. The divine command and our discipline in obeying that command are the only healthy routes to religious inspiration. Any deviation is unacceptable and ultimately doomed to failure” (Chumash Masores HaRav, Vayikra, p.59-60).

During the weeks of Sefiras Ha’omer, when we count the days and weeks from Pesach, slavery and Egypt to Shavuos, freedom and Har Sinai, this is a lesson we must heed. In order to accept the Torah upon ourselves – as individuals and as a nation – we must be aware of the truism of וצונו. Our lives depend upon our adherence to the command of G-d, His Torah and His mitzvos. This adherence demonstrates our surrender to HKB”H’s ratzon in all times and all places. Unbridled passions that emerge from within one’s self are not the path to spiritual redemption. True redemption comes when we declare: all that G-d has spoken we will do and we will listen (Shemos 24:7). Adherence to His will is the greatest freedom that there is.

In an article dated March 4, 2025, “The parents of Omer Shem Tov reported that when their son was in captivity, the terrorists gave him books that IDF left behind. He received Dvar Malchus – a weekly Chabad pamphlet – which he studied throughout his captivity. The pamphlet belonged to a soldier named Yoel Elbaz, and the Shem Tov family is currently looking for him so Omer could thank him personally. The terrorists also gave him… a booklet with the Traveler’s Prayer and Psalm 100.

Omer’s father Malki reported how faith kept his son strong in captivity. “… He told us that throughout his time in captivity, he lived with the total knowledge that he would return home. Despite the inhumane difficulties he faced, he for a moment never lost hope or faith. They would recite the Kiddush for five months on a bottle of grape juice that they received. These things gave him strength. The faith, to know that he was being watched over from above, helped him survive. He said that he wanted to fast on Yom Kippur, but he didn’t know the date. He listened to the radio once in a while and one day, the Israeli stations didn’t play anything but the other ones did. Looking back, he understood that it was Yom Kippur, and he was saddened when he understood that he missed the fast” (https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/404841).

With every bracha we make and every “וצונו” that we utter, we are affirming our faith in the One Above, and our willingness to live lives of “הִנֵּנִי”, here I am, ready, willing and able to do Your will. May we have the strength, humility, faith and courage to serve Him in all times, and all places.

בברכת בשורות טובות ושבת שלום,

Michal