Avi Strauss: Rav Hirsch on Nadav and Avihu

[Taken from Rav Hirsch on Parshat Shmini]

Question: Parshat Shmini presents the interesting short story of two of Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu.  They were killed by the hand of god even though it appeared they were doing nothing inherently wrong.  They were taking they’re own initiative for serving hashem yet they were dealt the harshest physical punishment imaginable.  So the question arises, what was wrong with what Nadav and Avihu did?

Explanation:

When evaluating the errs of Nadav and Avihu several issues arise.  It wasn’t just some arbitrary punishment given to say don’t enter the kodesh kedashim, but a direct consequence of a series of mistakes compiled into one sin.

            Firstly, right after the nation was presented with the concept of korbanot, Nadav and Avihu were acting in direct violation with one of its core principles; the acceptance of the torah.  Part of the process of korbanot involves bringing the sacrifices in the nation’s vessels and by doing so, accepting the torah and all of its laws that the nation agreed to abide by.  However, Nadav and Avihu brought their korbanot in their own personal vessels.  And while we are not accusing Nadav and Avihu of straying from any mitzvot, their vessels didn’t carry the same status that the national vessels did in terms of acceptance of hashem’s torah.

            Another problem with their personal korbanot was the spirit behind them.  Kohanim are the priests in charge of representing the entire nation with service.  They are the select few that actually carry out the processes involved in direct service to hashem.  But in this case, the spirit of their korbanot was totally wrong.  They were bringing them for themselves, not for the nation.  This blatant shirking of priestly responsibility deserved punishment not only for its mistake, but to teach the important lesson to all the kohanim that their duty is to the nation. 

            Perhaps the most problematic part of their spontaneous service to hashem was its deviation from hashem’s intent.  Judaism and Paganism both believe in bring sacrifices to their gods, but Judaism does so with one important distinction.  Pagans bring sacrifices with the intent of gaining the service of their god with gifts.  In contrast, Jews bring korbanot to demonstrate our unwavering loyalty to hashem.  We bring them to show we our fervent in our beliefs of hashem and to show our dedication to him.  To bring random sacrifices without any specific command to do so is antithetical to their purpose.  In this sense, the seemingly harsh punishment for action out of goodwill was vital to insure the principles hashem wanted to instill with korbanot.