The reiterated poignant tragedy of Nadav and Avihu (Leviticus 10:1-3 and 16:1) reveals deep paradox and unanswered question. Why would God punish with death the well- intentioned sacrifice of his priestly servants, however ‘strange’ that offering? Why would religious practice that seeks God’s pleasure expose you to mortal danger?
- Shimshon Rafael Hirsch (1808-88) following Midrash Vayikra Rabba (traditional rabbinic narrative) found unbearable hubris in the need of Nadav and Avihu to seek personal attention and offer something unasked, a hubris so dangerous it brought their destruction. For Biblical Jewish leadership demanded self abnegating acceptance of the prescribed authority of God. The people’s urgent needs would not be met by even the most insistent charismatic personality, but by disciplined adherence to divine command. God struck them dead lest their charisma go unchallenged. But after they were struck down, we read: “” and (their father) Aharon was silent?!” (Leviticus 10:3). Rabbi Levi Lauer of Jerusalem comments: ‘The following is told of the Kotzker Rebbe (Menahem Mendel 1787-1859) which offers an appreciation of paradox and unanswerable question. Recall it’s the Kotzker who declared, maybe with Aharon in mind, “Nothing is as whole as a broken heart nor cries out more compellingly than silence.” Once, a hasid broke into the years long, self imposed [perhaps manic-depressive] isolation of the Kotzker, for he had deeply troubling thoughts. “What are these thoughts?” asked the Rebbe. “Woe is me, Rebbe. I hesitate to express them. Even in Gehinom there will be no forgiveness for them. They come [from my subconscious] against my will.” “What are they?” impatiently insisted the Kotzker. “Rebbe, sometimes I think, Heaven forefend, there is neither Judge nor justice in the world.” “And what do you care?” [Imagine that response from your therapist to a “breakthrough” moment.] “Rebbe, if there’s neither Judge nor justice, there can be no meaning to creation.” “And what do you care [and anyhow, who are you to worry] whether there’s meaning in creation?” “But Rebbe, if there’s no meaning to creation, there can be no meaning to the words of Torah.” “So what do you care if there’s no meaning to the words of Torah?” “Rebbe, if there’s no meaning to the words of Torah there can be no meaning to life and that matters to me a great deal. [Imagine a devotion to Torah so complete you really feel meaningful life and the words of Torah are inseparable.] Responded the Kotzker: “If that’s truly what’s disturbing you, then you are a kosher Yid/Yehudi kasher, a fit and appropriate Jew, and for a kosher Yid are permitted the most disturbing thoughts.”May we learn well enough to appreciate both questions without adequate answer and the power of paradox, and thus save ourselves from a religious arrogance that imperils all within our reach.’
You shall not go about as a talebearer amongst your people; you shall not stand by your fellow’s blood (19:16) The Talmud , Erachim 15a, states that: “Evil talk kills three people: the speaker, the listener, and the one who is spoken of.” The Lubavitcher rebbe explains: The speaker obviously commits a grave sin by speaking negatively of his fellow. The listener, too, is a partner to this evil. But why is the one who is spoken of affected by their deed? Are his negative traits worsened by the fact that they are spoken of? Indeed they are. A person may possess an evil trait or tendency, but his quintessential goodness, intrinsic to every soul, strives to control it, conquer it, and ultimately eradicate its negative expressions and redirect it as a positive force. But when this evil is spoken of, it is made that much more manifest and real. By speaking negatively of the person’s trait or deed, the evil speakers are, in effect, defining it as such; with their words, they grant substance and validity to its negative potential. But the same applies in the reverse: speaking favorably of another, accentuating his or her positive side, will aid him to realize himself in the manner that you have defined him.
Prepared by Devorah Abenhaim
