Tzav into Shemini 2022
Isaac’s Parsha Corner · 2022
“The children of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, each took his own personal fire pan. And they each placed a fire into the pans. And they placed incense upon it [upon the fire]. And they brought before God a strange fire that He had not commanded them. And a fire exited from before God and consumed them and they died right there in front of God.” (Lev 10: 1-2)
The Midrash goes to great lengths to identify the particular sin that would justify the death penalty that was meted out to Nadav and Avihu. Some say that they performed service while drunken. Some say that they refused to marry, finding no women worthy of their position as sons of Aaron. Some say that they wished for the demise of Moshe and Aaron so that they could take over the leadership. Some say that they acted without asking for guidance. Some say they entered the Holy of Holies, where they were not permitted to go. For more explanations, see the commentators on the Chumash.
The pasuk “Kaasher Tzivah Hashem es Moshe“– As God had commanded Moshe – features prominently in the context of the building of the Mishkan. This phrase is repeated eighteen times in Parshat Pikudei. Every aspect of the construction and installation of the Mishkan was executed exactly as commanded. Notably, the expression is repeated verbatim or nearly so in Parshat Tzav and Shemini fifteen times in reference to the consecration ceremony of Aaron, his children and the Mishkan. There, too, the Torah places an emphasis on doing precisely as was commanded.
In the telling of the story of the sin of Nadav and Avihu, the Torah uses the phrase “that He had not commanded them.” After stating more than thirty times in the previous parshiot that everything associated with the building and consecration of the Mishkan must be executed as commanded, it is clear that Nadav and Avihu were guilty of violating that requirement. The Torah has several prohibitions regarding the addition or deletion of any of the mitzvot, for example, “You shall neither add nor delete any of my commandments”. This is often referred to as Baal Toseph. Normally, violating Baal Toseph does not warrant the death penalty. In the context of the building and the consecration of the Mishkan, however, a different standard was applied. Everything had to be “Kaasher Tzivah Hashem es Moshe“– As God had commanded Moshe.
There are times and opportunities for creativity in religious life. The building of G-d’s home on earth was not one of them.
Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H