Shemini: Ownership

This is the week of Yom Hashoah, Holocaust remembrance day. The story of the death of Nadav and Avihu, described in this week's parsha, is one of the religious paradigms used to soothe the feelings elicited by the Holocaust. The comfort derives from the reaction of Moshe and Aaron to this unexpected tragedy, a  death associated with the performance of the sacred service.

 בקרבי אקדש ועל־פני כל־העם אכבד וידם אהרן

Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent.

The verse is a knock out punch.

Moshe implies that catastrophe was pre-ordained. Until now, we did not understand the meaning of  Gd's words. The death of Nadav and Avihu, the destruction of European Jewery -  with its Torah study and religious devotion - was predicted as the way to  demonstrate Gd's holiness.  Nadav, Avihu, the six million, they  were sacrifices, korbanoth ( that is what my parents called them).  They are  the krovai.

How comforting is that? We just don't understand how the world works. Welcome to the unfolding of the Divine plan.

The second word: ekadesh,  is translated as "will be holy"  We know that Nadav and Avihu  ( and many holocaust victims, and victims of war) were  killed by fire.  When the Torah forbids certain hybrids, it uses a form of  this word, tikdash.  In that context, it means consumed by fire.  Perhaps there is a hint of that meaning here, as well.  My parents also called the holocaust victims kedoshim: holy ones -  or burnt ones.

Aaron's reaction, vayidom, is translated as silence. He was struck dumb. But it is hard to avoid the other meaning of this phoneme - dam, blood. I can imagine the blood rushing to  Aaron's face, or draining from his body, as he hears this "explanation" for the death of his two eldest sons, as he realizes how dangerous this temple service is.

The first mention of sacrifices, the story of Cain and Abel,  results in the death of one of the supplicants and the ( silent)  blood, dam, of Abel cries out.  The blood of my ancestors is still screaming in my ears. 

The simple reading of  the story  is that  Nadav and Avihu  were presumptuous, they took the service upon themselves, they took too much ownership.  Later, in the story of Korach, we see the same qualities punished in the same way.  When Korach and his band demand a role in the service  that was no granted to them, they do exactly what Nadav and Avihu did: take firepans with incense - and they come to the same end: they die from the service, leaving behind sanctified pans.  Pretense is a fatal error in this religion business. 

That makes me wonder about Yom Hashoah, a holiday legislated by the Knesset  in 1959, not fully accepted by all Orthodox communities. Is this taking too much on ourselves?  Would Gd prefer us  bloody  and dumbfounded?