(2007/5767)

In Parashat Acharei Mot, God links the laws of the Yom Kippur service to the deaths of Aharon's two sons, Nadav and Avihu. While their deaths undoubtedly hurt Aharon greatly (and temporarily crippled him, as seen in Parashat Shemini), there was still work to be done, and after they were laid to rest, Aharon needed to get on with learning the complexities of the Mishkan's operation. But why link their deaths to Yom Kippur? I believe these two questions to be fundamentally connected.

Before we can understand that connection, however, we must answer a basic question. Why did Nadav and Avihu die? Weren't they trying to do something noble? Weren't they trying to bring an additional Korban during the celebration of the Chanukat HaMishkan? While that may have been the case, they made a serious error: they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Do not mistake this for mere coincidence; being in the wrong place at the wrong time does not necessarily mean they were unlucky. Running across the street during a red light puts you in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is entirely your fault. People were told explicitly to stay out of the Heichal during this part of the service. Why? Because the holy fire that was coming to ignite the Mizbeiach for the first time was headed through that very spot. While their aim was pure, Nadav and Avihu’s choice of timing was not. Had they listened to instruction and not attempted to make an extra offering, bringing an alien fire, they would not have been in the path of traffic, so to speak.

The Eigel HaZahav falls under the same category. While the intention of the people was pure, the execution was tainted by the assumption that they could simply decide what would represent them to God. Instead, God provided very specific instructions as to what could serve that purpose. The Eigel was a noble idea, but it was more than what was ordered. Aharon understood this lesson better than his sons; after all, he was the one who built the Eigel in the first place. Surely the point was not lost on him.

I remember my old NCSY advisor telling me not to be "frummer than God." While the line sounds like a joke, his point was serious: God has provided us with a roadmap. Even Chumrot, in the proper context, are a part of the Halachic system. But when we start deciding that we know how to worship God better than generations of carefully laid out guidelines, we open ourselves to the risk of Nadav and Avihu. With holy purpose, with noble goals, with righteous intent, they walked into the path of the fire.

The Yom Kippur service in the Chumash is incredibly detailed, and the process enumerated in Masechet Yoma is even more so. The Kohen Gadol is even forced to swear that he will not alter the service in any way. Why is this so important? Because the Yom Kippur service is too precise to be played with by humans who are incapable of truly understanding God's intentions. Nadav and Avihu made this mistake, as did Kohanim Gedolim of the Tzeduki sect who, believing their interpretation of the Torah to be more correct, died as they violated this oath.

Passion in religion is vital. Without it, our religious practice becomes stilted and uninspired, turning into rote repetition of unreal actions with no more intellectual or spiritual stimulation than staring at a wall. But we must also be careful not to overindulge that sense of passion for these laws and practices. While we can take their performance to greater and greater heights within the four Amot of Halacha, we cannot decide to run off in a new direction, disregarding the intent that binds our faith.