Upon the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, as their father Aharon reels from the sudden loss, Moshe addresses him and seems to placate him. This must be what Hashem meant when He said, “I will be sanctified by those closest to me, I will have honor before the entire nation.” (Vayikra 10:3).
Rashi takes this as an allusion to something Moshe learned on Har Sinai but understood only after these events. Rashi connects this with the verse in Tetzaveh (Shemot 29:43), near the conclusion of the instructions for building the Mishkan, reading, “I will be witnessed there by Israel, it will be sanctified by My glory.” Says Rashi, citing an (unspecified) midrashic source: “It should not be read as ‘My glory’ but rather as ‘those by whom I am glorified.’” Rashi’s understanding follows Vayikra Raba (12:2), which teaches that Moshe told Aharon that he heard on Har Sinai that one day he would have to sanctify the Mishkan by means of a great man. Ever since then, he had been convinced that either he or Aharon would die in the dedication. But now he understands that the two elder sons of Aharon were the greatest of them all. Thus, Aharon becomes quiet in the satisfaction that his sons were tzadikim.
The Ramban doesn’t care for this interpretation. He understands the midrashic source of the underlying reasoning, but rather boldly insists that the matter has become overcomplicated. The Ramban believes that the literal understanding of the text in Shemot is still the best and that there is a lesson there that satisfies Aharon who sits quietly in acceptance. According to the simple meaning of the text, the Mishkan is sanctified, as we saw above. Thus, says the Ramban, it should be experienced as sacred by all who behold it – the simple of the nation as well as those by whom Hashem is glorified. All together they must come to the understanding that His presence imbues the dwelling built for this purpose. The Ramban says that the fate that befell Nadav and Avihu manifests the will of Hashem, His methods and His decrees, all of which had been clearly articulated when the commandment was given to build the Mishkan.
In Ramban’s view, Moshe explains to Aharon that when Hashem said, “I will be sanctified among those closest to Me,” this meant that above all these great ones must not do anything to diminish His sanctity. Before all of the nation He must be glorified. Thus, Aharon understood not only the unique greatness of his sons, but the justice of the decree when they failed to rise to the exceptionally high standard expected of them. He was silent out of pride in his sons, acknowledgement of the appropriateness of their fate, and the understanding that it now fell on him to rise to the occasion, and behave with dignity that gives glory to Hashem.
