Parshat Shmini

When Moses “Consoled” Aaron (Leviticus 10:1-3)

Questions by Joel Cohen

Ostensibly seeking to do no intentional harm, but nonetheless breaking God’s dictate, Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, took a fire pan and placed incense upon it and they brought “an alien flame” as God had commanded against. The fire came forth and consumed them; and in an instant they died. Moses came to his brother Aaron and said, “Of this did God speak, saying: I will be sanctified by those who are nearest Me, thus I will be honored before the entire people.” And Aaron was “silenced.”
What could Moses have possibly meant or intended by his comment? In the cold night of Aaron’s despair, having disastrously lost his two sons, Moses offered a platitude – when, given his unimaginable loss, Aaron needed comfort. Moses could have told Aaron that Aaron’s loss was his loss too, offering comfort that he too suffered greatly in the loss. Moses could have said that “Your sons are in a better place in the presence of God – and their punishment will enable us all able to lead a less sinful life.” And if really going for the gusto, Moses could have said, “Your sons have preceded you to prepare your place in heaven, making better your transition – for surely heaven will be your resting place too, when your time comes.” But no, Moses offered a trite remark – akin to the formulaic comment we, today, make at the home of a mourner.
Couldn’t Moses have used this tragic moment to teach the Children of Israel how to better comfort those who suffer from personal tragedy? Or was Moses simply a Lawgiver – the Law was violated and God, as always, needed to be honored above all else. To put it otherwise, was Aaron “silenced” – or was he instead astounded by what Moses offered him that most horrible day in his life?

Rabbi Adam Mintz

Joel---I am surprised that you are so startled by Moses’ words of comfort to Aaron. Aarons’ two sons had just perished while they were serving in the Tabernacle. What a terrible way to die---how could Aaron have seen it as anything other than a rejection by God of his sons’ actions. Their service was not accepted as service to God rather rejected by God and the cause of their demise. It is not coincidental that the Torah does not specify exactly what the sons of Aaron did to deserve the death penalty. What does it mean “for sacrificing foreign fire before God.”? Commentators have argued about the meaning of these words for centuries but Joel, I guess that can be next year’s topic.
So, with that introduction, we can begin to understand Moses’ words of comfort. At a time when words cannot possibly provide a true sense of consolation, Moses attempts to put the episode in a context that Aaron can both understand and one in which he will not consider his sons as sinners. You see, in the ancient world, they believed that “good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people”. So, if the sons of Aaron died, they must be bad people! No, says Moses, God sanctifies Himself with those who are closest to Him. Nadav and Abihu were not bad people---they were actually those “who were closest to God”. Aaron was not consoled and his silence reflects his inability to grasp the moment and deal with the moment. Yet, the reassurances from God’s servant Moses that his sons were not sinners but were those who were close to God must have made Aaron feel better.
We don’t have the ability when paying a shiva visit to offer insight into God’s relationship with the deceased. Aaron was fortunate that his brother’s shiva visit included a reassurance from God about the righteousness of his sons. Maybe Aaron’s silence was his way of thanking his brother for those words of comfort.

Eli Popack

Joel, to add to what Rabbi Mintz has said, There is much in the Torah's account, and in the words of our Sages, Nadav and Avihu's act was not a neccesarily a "sin". The Torah records Moses' words to Aaron immediately following the tragedy: "This is what G-d spoke, saying: 'I shall be sanctified by those who are close to Me.'" Rashi, citing the Talmud and Midrash, explains his meaning:
Moses said to Aaron, "When G-d said 'I shall be sanctified by those close to Me,' I thought it referred to me or you; now I see that they are greater than both of us."

Following the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, G-d specifically commanded that their example should not be repeated: And G-d spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who came close to G-d and died: "... Speak to Aaron your brother, that he come not at all times into the Holy... So that he die not..." (Leviticus 16:1-2). The Lubavitcher Rebbe adds: The purpose of this Divine command was not to limit the degree of self-transcendence and closeness to G-d attainable by man. On the contrary: the commandment empowered us to accommodate, as a physically alive human beings, the very fire that consumed the souls of Nadav and Avihu. Hence the "strange fire" of Aaron's two sons was also "strange" in a positive sense: an unprecedented act that introduced opened a new vista in man's service of G-d.

As an aside: , Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov Says : "It is only out of a great kindness on the part of the Almighty that one remains alive after prayer."
Prayer is the endeavor to transcend the enmeshments of material life and come close to one's essence and source in G-d. When a person truly achieves this closeness--when he truly prays--he can experience an attachment to G-d of the magnitude that "released" the souls of Nadav and Avihu. But G-d has enabled us (in the very act of commanding us to do so) to incorporate such sublime experiences into our daily, humanly defined lives.

While he had just lost his sons, possibly Aaron was silenced because he accepted his brothers view of how great his sons were, and more importantly how high of a level they had reached. Not dissimilar from your comment that Moses could have comforted his brother by saying your sons have gone to a better place.