This week’s Parasha can be neatly divided into two sections. The first tells of the initiation of sacrifice in the Mishkan by Aaron and his sons. The second lists the types of animals that are permitted and forbidden for Israelites to eat. We will focus on the first section this week.
In the first section, Aaron offers his very first sacrifices, and everything works beautifully. At the end of Chapter 9, The Presence of God appears to the people, and fire comes forth from before God and consumes the sacrifices on the altar.
But then, in Chapter 10, everything goes wrong. Two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Abihu, offer “alien” or “strange” fire to God. Fire again comes forth from before God, but this time it consumes these two men and kills them. Many explanations have been offered by our commentators as to why these two men are killed. Were they drunk? Were they too ambitious? Were they too pious? Did they simply get too close? We will explore these ideas and yours during our discussion. Furthermore, we’ll ask, what is this episode meant to teach us about God and the act of coming close?
There’s more to this story though. Towards the end of Chapter 10 Moses and Aaron have an argument about the fact that Aaron and his sons had refrained from eating their portions for the purification offering. They are required to eat these portions, however they refrain from doing so because they are in mourning. This raises questions about what role takes precedence, the role as a public figure and priest and the role as a grieving father.
Looking forward to discussing all of the above and more, I’m sure, on Saturday morning!
