The Weekly Sedra – Parshas Acharei Mos

The Rebbe says:

1. The first verse of this week’s Torah portion reads, “Vah’yi’da’bear Hashem El Moshe Acharei Mos Shnei B’nay Aharon B’kar’va’sam Leefnay Hashem Va’ya’moo’soo – And Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of two sons of Aharon (Aaron) who brought an (unauthorized) offering before Hashem and they died”.

2. The Rebbe now questions the need for the last word in this verse:

If the verse already told us that Hashem is speaking to Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) “after the death of two sons of Aharon”, why does the verse conclude by repeating that “they died”?

3. The Rebbe now brings up a second query:

Our Sages tell us that the two sons of Aharon- Nadav and Avihu- were punished because of four things:

Reason one: “They came right in front of Hashem”. They went into the Kodesh Hakadashim (the Holy of Holies).

Reason two: “They were missing garments”. They were not wearing the garments that a Kohen (Priest) must wear when he performs the Service.

Reason three: “They didn’t have children”. The law is that a Kohen must have children to be able to perform the service in the Kodesh Hakadashim (the Holy of Holies), however Nadav and Avihu didn’t have children.

Reason four: “They didn’t have a wife”. The law is that a Kohen must have a wife to perform the Service, and Nadav and Avihu didn’t have a wife.

In the Torah verse which tells us about the death of Nadav and Avihu there must be some sort of hint as to why they were killed; in other words, this verse must hint at these four abovementioned reasons. However, the verse seemingly doesn’t address the issue. We must therefore set out to explain how the verse does indeed enumerate the reasons for their death.

4. The Rebbe now asks a third question:

How is it possible for the two sons of Aharon Hakohen (Aaron the High Priest)-Nadav and Avihu- to sin like this? Nadav and Avihu were on such an elevated level that Moshe Rabbeinu, their uncle, said of them to his brother Aharon, “Aharon my brother, I had known that the Temple would be sanctified with those who are loved by Hashem and are intimate with Him, and I thought that this would be me or you, but now I see that they (Nadav and Avihu) are greater then you and I”! If so, how could they come to sin (and die for it)?

5. The Rebbe now explains how Chassidus looks at the sin of Nadav and Avihu:

Chassidus explains that the sin of Nadav and Avihu was not just a simple case of someone sinning against Hashem (Heaven Forbid).

Their sin was this: They had hoped that their very strong connection to Hashem would eventually lead to their Soul’s departure from their bodies and becoming one with Hashem. Indeed this is the meaning of the words in our verse, “B’kar’va’sam Leefnay Hashem Va’ya’moo’soo”, which we explained earlier to simply mean, “they brought an offering before Hashem and they died”: The word “B’kar’va’sam” also means “they came close”, so the verse is saying, “Because they came so close to Hashem this brought to their death”.

Why is this a sin? What is wrong with them wanting to leave this world and be one with Hashem?

Our Sages tell us that “we live against our will”. This means that even though we would love to leave this world with all its tests and battles and cleave to Hashem instead, we must stay down here in this world because Hashem wants it this way; being that Hashem desired to have a dwelling place in this physical world, we must fulfill H is desire.

6. The Rebbe now explains how we have the answer to our first and third questions:

Nadav and Avihu were definitely very close to Hashem and very dear to Hashem, but they thought that the ultimate service to Hashem is to become one with Him and to leave this coarse physical reality. However, this is not what Hashem wants; Hashem wanted them to stay here and make a dwelling place for Him specifically in this world. Therefore we can now understand how Nadav and Avihu could sin the way they did and die for it; we now have the answer to our third question.

Additionally, we now have the answer to our first question: The verse repeats the word, “Va’ya’moo’soo – and they died”, to explain why the two sons of Aharon died. Because the sons of Aharon came close to Hashem without realizing that they must stay here in this physical world- “B’kar’va’sam Leefnay Hashem Va’ya’moo’soo – they came close to Hashem hoping to become one with him”- they died.

7. The Rebbe now explains the answer to our second question (as to how we see in our verse the four reasons that our Sages gave for their death):

The common denominator between all the above mentioned four reasons for their death is that they served Hashem by trying to leave this physical world. How do we see this?

The first reason that our Sages gave was, “They came right in front of me”. In other words, they went higher and higher until they were right in front of me without thinking of going back.

The second reason was, “They were missing garments”. The Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi) tells us that by fulfilling Mitzvos (commandments of Hashem) a person gains “garments” of Holiness; every time a Jew does a Mitzvah Hashem’s light covers over him like a shield and enables him to receive more revelation. Consequently, when our Sages say that Nadav and Avihu were “missing garments” they are saying that they did not care to fulfill the commandments of Hashem which are done in this physical world with physical objects.

The third and fourth reasons were, “They didn’t have children”, and, “They didn’t have a wife”. The same point is stressed here; they did not bother with the commandment of “be fruitful and multiply” to bring down souls into bodies. Their whole service to Hashem was in a mode of leaving the body, definitely not to bring more Souls into bodies.

Finally, we also have the answer as to how all of these reasons are seen in the verse describing their death: All of these reasons given by our Sages are (in a deeper sense) referring to a method of service where one tries to leave this physical world and they are hinted at in the Torah when the verse says, “B’kar’va’sam Leefnay Hashem Va’ya’moo’soo – they came close to Hashem in the hopes of becoming one with Him and they died”.

8. The lesson for each of us in our lives:

As we mentioned earlier, our Sages tell us that, “We live against our will”. Some times we may feel that we would much rather be enjoying Hashem and basking in His infinite light instead of dealing with the hustle and bustle of the physical world. But the Torah tells us that what Hashem wants even more then our desire to become one with Him is to make a dwelling place for Him in this physical world.

Translated and adapted by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume three.