Fire Went Forth - Shemini 5785

 One of the subjects I get asked about most frequently is the origin of the Oral Torah and its relationship to the Written Torah. Isn’t the Oral Torah made up later by men?  How can you say it’s Hashem’s will when it was not written by Moshe and has no source in the Five Books?

My answer is that it is all from Hashem. The Torah was written by Moshe as dictated by Hashem and contains layers upon layers of meaning all written in code. Moshe then transmitted orally what the code is and how to understand it. The Sages didn’t make anything up. They carefully followed the code we received from Moshe and that is how they figured out what Hashem is really saying in the often obscure words of the Torah. 

I want to share an example from this week’s Parsha. I encourage you to put on your “Talmudic thinking cap” and come with me on a little intellectual journey. 

The Torah recounts the story of Aharon’s two sons who shockingly died at a moment of intense joy and holiness. The Mishkan (Sanctuary in the desert) had been dedicated for seven days. Moshe had trained Aharon and his sons to perform all the services and sacrifices. 

Now on the eighth day was the inauguration. Aharon took over and indeed for the first time a fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices. This was the moment the people had been yearning for - the sign from Hashem that He had forgiven them for the Golden Calf and that he was present among them. As the Torah says (Vayikra 9:24): Fire went forth from before Hashem, and consumed the ascent-offering and the fats upon the Altar. All the people saw this, sang praises, and fell upon their faces, prostrating themselves.

But then tragedy struck. Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took a fire pan, put coals that were on fire in it, placed incense upon the fire, and thus brought before Hashem a fire that was foreign, inasmuch as He had not commanded them to offer it up.  Fire went forth from before Hashem and consumed them, and they died before Hashem. (Vayikra 10:1,2)

What did they do wrong?  Seems pretty clear that they were punished for the sin of “bringing a foreign fire” for which they were not commanded. Let’s see what Rashi says in the Oral Torah:  “Fire went forth. Rabbi Eliezer says: The sons of Aaron died only because they decided a matter of halachah (law) – to offer up the incense – in the presence of their teacher, Moses. Rabbi Yishmael says: They died because they entered the Sanctuary after drinking wine. You may know that this is so, for after their death, Hashem warned those remaining not to enter the Sanctuary after drinking wine. 

Does it not seem that Rashi is sharing a couple of reasons that are completely different from what the text says?  Where does Rashi get the idea that there were reasons other than that they committed a grave sin by offering “foreign incense”?  Is he trying to minimize the sin and make it seem less grave?

The secret to the answer lies in Rashi’s headline - the words he quotes from the verse: “Fire went forth.”  Rashi picks his headlines very carefully, directly related to the subject he is discussing. Would it not have been more appropriate to white the words “and consumed them” which is really the description of their death?  

In fact Rashi’s choice of those words to quote is very specific because in these words lies a hint that there was more to the story if we look deeper. Notice that two verses earlier, when the Torah described the great wondrous and miraculous revelation of Hashem’s Presence to consume the sacrifices, the exact same words are used: “Fire went forth.” (In Hebrew “Vatetze Aish”, the same phrase is used in both verses.)

If one is a great revelation and the other a punishment, why would the Torah use exactly the same phrase?  Rashi quotes these words, therefore, and says that this is a code, to teach us that in fact the fire that consumed them was a revelation. 

They were not typical sinners who went against Hashem’s will. They were very holy people who were so caught up in the spiritual ecstasy of the moment that they stepped forward and burned incense in the Holy of Holies, a lofty service that the High Priest would do on Yom Kippur. The Divine light was so intense that they were not able to withstand the revelation and their souls left them. This would seem to be a great mystical and spiritual service, the highest form of devotion to Hashem. So what’s bad about that?

Rashi therefore explains that they were mistaken not to ask Moshe if this was the right thing to do. They took it upon themselves to perform a service that had not been commanded by Hashem. And they had drunk wine, which removes inhibitions. In a great Tzaddik this would cause unbridled spiritual feelings to emerge and lead them to step over the line of restraint. 

It was considered a sin because our mission is to follow Hashem’s will and observe the Mitzvot, thereby transforming the world. A great mystical and spiritual experience is positive only to the extent that it fulfills that mission. No matter how spiritual and holy something may feel, if it is not according to Halacha as handed down by Moshe to the Sages through the generations, it is not considered an appropriate service. In all things we must follow Hashem’s will.