Rabbenu Bachye begins his discussion of Parshat Acharei Mot, as he does every parsha, with analysis of a pasuk from Mishlei. In this case it is 23:1, “If you sit to dine with a ruler, don’t lose track of who is before you.” Rabbenu Bachye interprets this to mean, among other things, that one must remain cognizant of his limitations and not seek wisdom or honor that is out of reach.
This idea connects directly with the experience at Har Sinai of the atzilei bnei Yisrael (the distinguished ones from among the nation), a group which our Sages associate with Nadav and Avihu. There the Torah tells us that Hashem didn’t “send His hand against them” as they “perceived the Divine and ate and drank” (Shemot 24:11). Rabbenu Bachye sees in the eating and drinking of these individuals a parallel to “dining with the ruler” from the aforementioned verse in Mishlei. He explains that, according to one opinion, Hashem had already at that point determined that Nadav and Avihu would have to die, but he chose to defer the execution of this penalty until a suitable amount of time had passed so as not to diminish the joy of receiving the Torah.
Indeed, there is another opinion also referenced by Rabbenu Bachye that due to Aharon’s complicity in the worship of the Golden Calf, all of his sons were doomed to die. Through Moshe’s tefillot and intercession, this decree was reduced so that only half of them – two of the four sons – came to an untimely and childless end. According to Rabbenu Bachye, there were two flaws in the conduct of Nadav and Avihu which brought about their demise; one was a conceptual flaw and the other was a prohibited act. The conceptual flaw relates to what we have already discussed – inasmuch as they sought to understand something that was beyond their comprehension and even went so far as to teach Torah in front of Moshe Rabbenu (see Abarbanel on Vayikra 10:1, for example). The physical act they performed was bringing their fire into the Mishkan, separate from the prescribed framework for the offering of the ketoret.
It is interesting to note that all of these ideas really complement one another, and there is a unifying perspective where we can see that Nadav and Avihu did not really “fit” into the mold of their generation and to the needs of the moment. They died not so much because they were flawed and iniquitous – we are all flawed – but because they were tremendous tzaddikim and the sorts of errors they made were those of the great who aspire to be too great. They are not documented to have experienced moral failure of any degree. But we can see that in their earnest attempts to be more and to achieve more (and perhaps as reflected in their father’s attempt to help Israel to do better), they effectively removed themselves from this world.
This view is also consistent with another opinion found in Chazal, brought down by the Ohr HaChaim on our parsha and later by Rabbi David Abuchatzera, Hy”d, in Petach HaOhel. According to this other opinion, Nadav and Avihu didn’t die because of any fault of their own. The Torah goes out of its way to tell us that they died “in drawing near to Hashem” (Vayikra 16:1) to emphasize that this is what brought about their death: getting too close, in a manner of speaking. Really, this view is consonant with the above framing, because reality is rarely simple or straightforward and many factors combine to precipitate the events that shape our destiny. Rav Abuchatzera, who would himself become a martyr in later years, explains that sometimes it is specifically the best of the generation who are taken, in times of trouble, to serve the Divine Will, which is inscrutable to us.
It is only in this light that we can understand Moshe’s words (ibid. 10:3), intended to console Aharon: “I will be sanctified by those closest to Me.” Indeed, if they had died solely because of their own failures, in what way would this be a consolation to Aharon at all? Rather, the needs of the moment and the shortcomings of the entire generation necessitated the sacrifice of these great tzaddikim. Had we and they been perfect, then the deaths would not have been necessary, but unfortunately – until the final redemption – there are times when progress is only achieved through suffering, perseverance, and resilience.
May the memories of the fallen of the Security Services of Israel as well as the victims of terror be a blessing to us.