38 March 28 • 2019
jn
Rabbi Jennifer
Lader
Power And Responsibility
I
n this week’
s Torah portion,
Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’
s eldest
sons, are killed in a Divine fiery
blaze after offering an esh zarah, a
“strange fire before the Lord.”
While commentators across
the board argue about what
exactly Nadav and Avihu did
to deserve such a quick and
violent death, the majority
of them agree that Aaron’
s
sons performed unauthorized
and innovative acts of ritual.
No matter what the two men
actually did wrong, it’
s clear
they did something that wasn’
t
expressly spelled out by the
rites that were previously in
place.
This interpretation poses
a particular problem for lib-
eral Jews, who innovate, flex,
redefine and grow based on
the ever-changing needs of our con-
gregants in an ever-changing world.
As a movement that aims to keep our
spirituality and ritual original and
inventive, we are faced with a biblical
narrative that seemingly punishes
two priests, appointed by God, for
doing just that.
Orthodox Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch takes this narrative as a direct
Divine message against the liberal
movements of Judaism. He writes,
“We can understand that the death
of the priestly youths is the most
solemn warning for all future priests!
Not by fresh inventions, even of
God-serving novices, but by carrying
out that which is ordained by God
has the Jewish priest to establish the
authenticity of his activities.”
However, Nadav and Avihu’
s story
cannot simply be intended as an
allegorical warning against liturgi-
cal innovation, as Hirsch argues.
Judaism is an evolving faith, which
has played a huge role in its histori-
cal longevity. Jews have been revising
and modifying ritual since ritual
was around for us to amend. Had
Judaism been unable to work with-
in a creative framework, the entire
religion would have been lost
with the destruction of the
Beit HaMikdash. By modifying
our religious practice into a
community-oriented mobile
religion, we survived.
So, if we reject the idea
that innovation is seen as a
sin against God, where does
that leave us with the sudden
demise of Nadav and Avihu?
Directly after their deaths,
God instructs Aaron as fol-
lows: “Do not drink wine or
strong drink, you and your
sons with you, when you enter
the Tent of Meeting, lest you
die.” (Leviticus 10:9-11).
From this juxtaposition of
verses, Rashi infers that Nadav and
Avihu were, in fact, guilty of an SUI,
sacrifice under the influence. This
transgression warranted a swift pun-
ishment from above, not because of
any malicious intent, but because
these men were chosen as leaders
and role models of their community.
They were so infatuated with their
newfound power that they took
advantage of their situation, pushing
ethical boundaries with no fear of
consequence.
In the words of a true scholar of
our time, Spiderman’
s Uncle Ben,
“With great power comes great
responsibility.” We have the right to
expect the spiritual leaders of our
community to be mentshen. Because
without honoring the ethical foun-
dation of our tradition, all of our
hard work keeping Judaism fresh
and relevant in today’
s world goes to
waste. ■
Rabbi Jennifer Lader is a rabbi at Temple Israel
in West Bloomfield.
Parshat
Shemini:
Leviticus
9:11-11:47;
Ezekiel
36:16-38.
(Shabbat
Parah)
spirit
torah portion
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