We learned of the instructions for the Mishkan in Terumah and Tetzaveh, with a slight spillover into Ki Sisa. We are told in Ki Sisa of the appointment of Betzalel and Oholiav. And with the interlude of the Golden Calf, we will see the people actually donating and the building the various parts of the Mishkan in next week’s double parsha Vayakhel-Fekudei.
The dedication of the Mishkan was meant to be an incredible moment in time. The people were meant to have that connection that we see at the end of the regular haftorah of Ki Sisa (which we are not reading this year due to Parshas Parah), when fire comes down from the heavens, Eliyahu HaNavi triumphs over the Prophets of Baal, and the people declare the phrase which inspires the end of Yom Kippur for us – Hashem Hu Ha’Elokim!
At the time of the dedication of the Mishkan in Vayikra chapter 9, fire similarly comes down and consumes that which is on the Mizbeach. And the only thing we don’t see is that incredible declaration.
The fact that Shlishi (of Shmini) begins AFTER the following verse gets in our way of following the flow of the narrative. כג) וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַיֵּ֣צְא֔וּ וַֽיְבָרֲכ֖וּ אֶת־הָעָ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־יְקֹוָ֖ק אֶל־כָּל־ הָעָֽם: (Moshe and Aharon came to the tent of meeting, and they exited and blessed the people. The glory of God appeared to the people). There the second Aliyah ends, and the third Aliyah begins in the following way.
(כד) וַתֵּ֤צֵא אֵשׁ֙ מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְקֹוָ֔ק וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ אֶת־הָעֹלָ֖ה וְאֶת־הַחֲלָבִ֑ים וַיַּ֤רְא כָּל־הָעָם֙ וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּ וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם: (A fire came down from before the Lord and consumed [what was] on the Mizbeach, the burnt offering and the fats, and the people saw it and sang and fell on their faces.)
If SHENI had ended at this point, we’d conclude the Mishkan dedication with this indelible image. SO inspiring!
But because Shlishi begins where it does, and immediately transitions to the Nadav and Avihu story, the fire which comes out in the last verse of chapter 9 is easily overlooked in deference to the story of Nadav and Avihu that has its own fire, and is thereby lost to the tragedy of the loss of 2 of 5 kohanim, 40% of the Kohen population.
We basically miss it. We miss the song, the praise of the Almighty, the inspiration, all on account of a distraction - a terrible, devastating distraction, which is so difficult to comprehend.
In Shmini the people sing, וַיַּ֤רְא כָּל־הָעָם֙ וַיָּרֹ֔נּוּ וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶֽם, they fall to the ground… and with Eliyahu, the verse tells usוַיַּרְא֙ כָּל־הָעָ֔ם וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ יְקֹוָק֙ ה֣וּא הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים יְקֹוָ֖ק ה֥וּא הָאֱלֹהִֽים, the people see, they fall, but do they sing? Do they feel connected to God?
Netziv argues that they sang over the past. And they fell on their faces concerning the future, that God’s presence should be among them... Bowing = Tefillah (prayer) In other words, what took place in both tales with the falling on the face was Prayer!
How could we gloss over it, run right through it, to get to the story of Nadav and Avihu’s demise? Moshe’s response to that death, that God had indicated בקרובי אקדש, that He would be sanctified – which is based on something we read last week in Tetzaveh – may have been said to try to placate his distraught brother. But all of that is troubling. We can’t give explanations for why people die!
But perhaps we can ask what was God trying to prove here?
If God, for example, wanted Nadav and Avihu to die, He could have had that happen in any number of ways. Nadav and Avihu could have died at night, in their sleep, and while tragic, it wouldn’t have happened in the middle of everything. The dedication would have still been special, but we wouldn’t have been distracted by the tragedy in the middle of everything. And we would have only gained from our reading of the dedication narratives, and the commitment of the people.
Before connecting this tale to the Parah Adumah, we can take a brief detour to see the context of how the Parah is introduced to us. Chapter 16 is the Korach story, which includes a challenge Moshe issues to some Korach’s supporters, to offer Ketores (sound familiar?). 250 accept the challenge, a fire comes from heaven and consumes them.
In Chapter 17, Elazar Hakohen is instructed to take the pans and turn them into a cover for the Mizbeach, as a remembrance and reminder to people that God is in charge. The people then complain – even after being reminded that Ketores is only for Kohanim to bring (this despite the fact that Nadav and Avihu similarly died while bringing ketores) – and a plague is brought upon the people, from which 14,700 people die until Aharon heroically enters with a pan and stops the plague.
Then chapter 18 begins with these verses: 18:1 - God said to Aaron: You, along with your sons and your paternal tribe shall expiate any sin associated with the Sanctuary. You and your descendants will [also] expiate any sin associated with your priesthood…. 18:6 - I have thus taken your brethren the Levites from among the [other] Israelites as a gift to you. They are given over to God to perform the Communion Tent service. 18:7 - You and your sons shall be entrusted with your priesthood, so that your service shall include everything that pertains to the altar and to anything inside the cloth partition. This is the gift of service that I have given you as your priesthood. Any unauthorized person who participates shall die.
Certainly Nadav and Avihu are missed in this narrative, and perhaps they’re even referenced in a way which might be insensitive. This passage is followed with more rules about Kohanim and Leviim to round out Parshas Korach. Then we get to Chapter 19, Parshas Chukas, and the rules of the Parah.
Just take a careful reading of the opening verses of Chapter 19, and we see how Elazar had a role of taking the slaughtered cow’s blood for sprinkling. The cow would then be burned. The Kohen would throw some ingredients into the cow, which would also be burned. It seems Elazar became Tameh from this process. The Kohen who burned the cow became Tameh. And the person who gathered the ashes became tameh. They’d all have to immerse in a mikveh and not be available for service until evening.
I’m already counting 3 people. How many kohanim were there at this point? 3. Aharon. Elazar. Itamar. Is there a clearer passage in which Nadav and Avihu’s absence is more felt?
We read this parsha today because it is a reminder that people need to get ready for the coming holiday of Pesach, and need to be sure they could eat the Korban Pesach b’taharah.
We have this whole story because of the Pesach Sheni episode in the Torah, in which people who were tameh could not participate in the Korban Pesach at the right time. Why were they Tameh? Some argue they were the people who handled Nadav and Avihu.
Nadav and Avihu’s death is a tragedy of tragedies. But trying to figure out why they sinned or what the Sanctification of God are distractions from the greater story. Yes, there is tragedy. But there is also an awareness of how critical every Kohen is, and perhaps by extension how critical is every member of klal Yisrael! The Mishkan needs to function. Aharon and Elazar and Itamar need to pick up their broken pieces and work on helping the people serve God.
We don’t understand the chok that has cow ashes purifying people. But in a Mishkan/Mikdash time, if I want to serve God through the bringing of offerings, I need to do what I am instructed to do to be able to get there.
Nadav and Avihu’s deaths are a distraction from the Mishkan. At the same time as we can’t ignore the tragedy we have to embrace that we have a job to do. Similarly, the distraction of the halakhot of the Parah prevent us from feeling the loss of Nadav and Avihu even further.
And why? Because I still can’t understand Moshe’s answer to Aharon that Nadav and Avihu’s death was a sanctification that God had ordained as something He needed to happen at that time. Which just shows I can admit that I don’t understand how the Master of the World operates. Which is OK. Rav Aharon Lichtenstein used to say that as well. It is OK to live with questions. Even with questions, and maybe even despite my questions, I still must choose to do God’s will.
That’s a choice many of us make every day.
Our challenge is to balance God’s will, our human empathy, weeding out distractions, to find meaning in life, even and especially when we don’t understand.
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