Rav Mordechai Fogelman
Former Rosh Kollel in Washington, D.C. (2003–2006).
Currently an educator at the ORT Greenberg State High School in
Kiryat Tivon.
Volunteer at the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization.
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For translation to Spanish and Português
“And the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, each took his censer, and they put fire in them, and placed incense upon it, and they offered before the Lord a strange fire, which He had not commanded them; and fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus 10:1-2)
On the day of the Tabernacle’s inauguration, a tragedy occurs: Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the Priest, die while performing the altar service. In the Midrashim of our Sages, various opinions are brought to understand their sin.
Rashi cites a dispute among the Tannaim:
Rabbi Eliezer says: The sons of Aaron died only because they rendered a halakha in the presence of Moshe, their teacher. Rabbi Ishmael says: They entered the Sanctuary while intoxicated by wine. [The proof being that immediately after their death, God warned the remaining priests not to enter the Sanctuary after drinking wine].
Rabbi Eliezer derives his point from the words: “Which He had not commanded them”—implying that Nadab and Abihu acted according to their own judgment, contrary to what Moshe had instructed them (based on God’s command). Rabbi Ishmael links their actions to the command given immediately following the story of their death: “Drink no wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tent of meeting, that ye die not; it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations.”
The Sefat Emet (1887) explains that it is impossible to suggest that Nadab and Abihu, who were great righteous men, drank wine before entering the service out of disrespect. Rather, their goal was to awaken their hearts in order to reach a state of great fervor and passion in the service of God.
The Sefat Emet concludes:
“But the Priest, who is a messenger of the Almighty, was not permitted to add any power or excitement of his own. This is called ‘which He had not commanded them’—for all the service was required to be solely as a mission from the Blessed Place. And the Holy One, Blessed be He, is as exacting with the righteous as the breadth of a hair.”
The Priest’s work within the Sanctuary must be precise, according to God’s command.
In another teaching (1899), the Sefat Emet cites his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, adding another layer to the understanding of the “strange fire”:
“One must learn from this that the essence of performing a Mitzvah is through the power of the command, and this is higher than all ‘intentions’ ($Kavanot$). For Nadab and Abihu were giants of the world and had deep intentions, unifications, and secrets in their actions; nevertheless, because He had not commanded them, they were punished.”
The Mishnah in Pirkei Avot says: “Make His will as your will, so that He may make your will as His will; nullify your will before His will, so that He may nullify the will of others before your will.”
The Sefat Emet explains that a person must perform God’s will according to their own true will, but no more—without external additions. A person who serves God more than they truly are cannot fulfill the second part of the Mishnah: “nullify your will before His will,” because a person can only nullify what truly belongs to them, not external “add-ons.”
The Chiddushei HaRim used to quote the verse from Song of Songs: “How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O daughter of a noble.” He explained that even “nobility”—generosity and good will—requires “sandals” (boundaries and protection) so that they do not overflow into pride or personal bias.
According to the Sefat Emet, Nadab and Abihu entered while intoxicated by wine in order to reach spiritual heights and direct great and sublime intentions in their holy service. However, the wine—which activates emotional and intellectual power—and their unique personal intentions were considered an “offering of strange fire.”
When a person engages in holy matters, there is a fear that out of sheer enthusiasm and excitement, they may reach a point of spiritual damage, in the sense of “He who adds, diminishes.” Therefore, the expectation of Nadab and Abihu was that they fulfill God’s command with absolute precision and total self-nullification—exactly as He commanded them.
True service of God is not measured by the intensity of emotion or the sublime intentions initiated by the individual, but by the nullification of personal will and absolute adherence to God’s command. Nadab and Abihu, though giants of the world, were punished because they added a “strange fire” of private enthusiasm that “He had not commanded them.”
For comments: fogelman75@gmail.com
