Parshat Acharei Mos
In 16:2 Hashem tells Moshe to tell Aharon. "ואל יבא בכל עת אל הקדש...ולא ימות" - that he cannot just walk into the Holy of Holies whenever he wants... and he will not die.
Rashi adds that this is so he should not die the way his sons died.
His sons died because they brought unauthorized sacrifices in the Holy. They did not just walk in. Also over there the commentaries search for alternative explanations that were the cause of their deaths. Such as they decided halacha in front of Moshe, or they entered the Holy while inebriated, etc.
So how does this warning compare to the death of Ahaon's sons?
The only answer I can think of offhand is that it is referring to the method of death. The punishment would be the same even though the offense is different (slightly).
Showing posts with label Nadav and Avihu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nadav and Avihu. Show all posts
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
no preferential treatment
Parshat Sh'mini
The children of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, enter the Mishkan in the Holy of Holies and offer an unauthorized sacrifice. For it they are punished with immediate death. In 10:3 Moshe says to Aharon, "That is what Hashem said By My close ones I shall be sanctified".
What a wicked person gets punished, people are understanding. They say he deserved it anyway. When a tzaddik gets punished it usually raises questions of faith. Why do bad things happen to good people, and the like.
These guys had heavy duty vitamin P (Protexia). There wer eonly 5 kohanim at the time, and they were two of them. They were the sons of Aharon. the nephews of Moshe. These are two people who are among an elite group and people hand-selected by God to lead the Jewish Nation.
With all that going for them, you would think they would be given a little leeway. Okay, so they did something wrong. We can let it slide. Nobody even knew they did anything wrong anyway - they did it in the Holy of Holies where nobody could see or know. Hashem could easily have slapped them on the wrist and said I will let it go this time just don't do it again.
But no. In My close ones I will be sanctified. When Hashem takes their lives, especially these people, as punishment for their actions, it makes the kiddush Hashem even greater. People see that the rules apply to everybody equally. There is no preferential treatment.
Moshe, Aharon, and families have to perform equally as, or even better than, everybody else. בקרבי אקדש.
The children of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, enter the Mishkan in the Holy of Holies and offer an unauthorized sacrifice. For it they are punished with immediate death. In 10:3 Moshe says to Aharon, "That is what Hashem said By My close ones I shall be sanctified".
What a wicked person gets punished, people are understanding. They say he deserved it anyway. When a tzaddik gets punished it usually raises questions of faith. Why do bad things happen to good people, and the like.
These guys had heavy duty vitamin P (Protexia). There wer eonly 5 kohanim at the time, and they were two of them. They were the sons of Aharon. the nephews of Moshe. These are two people who are among an elite group and people hand-selected by God to lead the Jewish Nation.
With all that going for them, you would think they would be given a little leeway. Okay, so they did something wrong. We can let it slide. Nobody even knew they did anything wrong anyway - they did it in the Holy of Holies where nobody could see or know. Hashem could easily have slapped them on the wrist and said I will let it go this time just don't do it again.
But no. In My close ones I will be sanctified. When Hashem takes their lives, especially these people, as punishment for their actions, it makes the kiddush Hashem even greater. People see that the rules apply to everybody equally. There is no preferential treatment.
Moshe, Aharon, and families have to perform equally as, or even better than, everybody else. בקרבי אקדש.
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