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SARA TUGMAN BAIS CHABAD TORAH CENTER
• presents
MYSTICISM 101 in 2001• .
A JOURNEY INTO KABALLAH
Sundays in April & May (beginning April 22nd)
at the
TORAH CENTER
5595 West Maple Road • West Bloomfield
11:00 a.m.
8:00 p.m.
lecturer: Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
lecturer: Rabbi Avraham Wineberg
Jewish Mysticism offers unparalleled insight into the mysteries of life. This
course will lead you on a journey into the self and the world around us. What is
the purpose of man? What is the purpose of Creation? How does an infinite G-d
interact with our finite world? Explore the answers to these and other fundamen-
tal issues through the ancient and profound teachings of the Kaballah.
All classes are open to the public.
No knowledge of Hebrew is required.
For more information please call the Torah Center at 248-855-6170
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Moses who spoke favorably of the
land were permitted to enter the
Promised Land. King Josiah and
King Ahab were murdered by arrows
even though the former was an
upstanding king while the latter a
corrupt one.
Similarly, Nadav and Avihu's fates
n this week's parshah, Aaron
were no different than that of the evil
and his sons participate in a
Korach. Both Aaron's sons and
seven-day initiation ceremony;
Korach were consumed by fire even
on the eighth day, they assume
though the former entered the sanc-
their duties as priests.
tuary in a spirit of reverence while
That eighth day must have been
the latter entered in the spirit of con-
filled with expectation and excite-
tentiousness.
ment. Tragically, it was dis-
According to this
rupted by the untimely
midrash, covenantal theol-
deaths of Aaron's two eldest
ogy is not so simple as say-
sons, Nadav and Avihu, who
ing that if we are good we
were killed by a Divine fire.
will be rewarded and if we
Leviticus 1 0:1 states that
are wicked we Will be pun-
Nadav and Avihu took fire
ished. The fate of Nadav
pans in which they put coal
and Avihu teaches that the
and incense and offered
system of justice is beyond
them to God. And as a
our absolute knowledge,
result, "a fire came forth
and
we certainly should
RABBI LEE
from the Lord and con-
not,
and cannot, judge a
BUCKMAN
sumed them; thus they died
person
as righteous or
Special to the
...” (10:2). The nature of
wicked
based on the way
Jewish News
their sin has confounded
he dies.
our commentators. What
What this tragic episode
could Nadav and Avihu possibly have
does is remystify the text. It insists on
done to warrant punishment by
the unknown in our quest for the
death? Did they offer a sacrifice
known, and thereby wards off a pos-
improperly? Did they enter the
sible dangerous implication of the
Divine sanctuary without being invit-
Torah's theology of reward and pun-
ed?
ishment.
Our sages enumerate no fewer
Namely, if we were to have
than 12 reasons why Nadav and
absolute knowledge of God's reac-
Avihu were killed. One rabbi suggests
tions, this would subordinate God to
that they were drunk when they
the system that God is to transcend.
made their sacrifice. Another suggests
God would then appear to be capable
that they showed a lack of respect to
of being manipulated. For if each
their teacher. A third suggestion is
human constructive act were followed
that Nadav and Avihu were improp-
by an immediate Divine, tangible
erly dressed.
blessing, then we could, in a sense,
We expect there to be a reason, for
control God.
according to the covenantal theology
The Nadav and Avihu story asserts
of the Torah, only those people who
God's autonomy. It demonstrates that
have sinned are punished. Here we
we can only control what we do, not
are faced with a punishment in search
what God does.
of a crime. And, often when there is
an abundance of explanations for a
particular mystery, it may be a sign
that there is, in fact, no explanation.
One midrash (Leviticus Rabbah
If God's ways are inscrutable,
20:1) makes a bold assertion. It says
why do we continue to seek rea-
that Nadav and Avihu were righteous
sons for bad things that happen
men and mikreh echad latsadik v'lat-
to good people? In what situa-
sadik v'larasha, both the righteous
tions is it unhelpful to search for
and the wicked have the same fate.
such reasons? How do we inte-
Neither the spies who spoke deroga-
grate a notion of reward and
torily about the land of Canaan nor
punishment into our lives given
the apparently unjustified suffer-
ing in the world?
Rabbi Lee Buckman is head of
Shabbat Shemini:
Leviticus 9:1-11:47;
II Samuel 6:1-7:17.
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Need We Discern God's Ways
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