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<blockquote type="cite" style="padding-left:5px; border-left:#1010ff 2px solid; margin-left:5px; width:100%">I find it mystifying why Nadav and Avihu paid with their life for a sin we are not even sure of. It says strange fire, whatever that means. Moshe Rabbeinu?s sins of smashing the Tablets and not speaking to the rock seemed quite serious, and yet, he didn?t pay with his life, at least not immediately. I have seen explanations given which only weakened the argument. Any new insights? <br /><br /></blockquote>
<p>I like your question. (And, I'm giving a short vort tonight in a kiruv context, and this is exactly the question I'm addressing).<br /><br />There's a chassidishe view that Nadav and Avihu got exactly what they wanted. Their whole lives they were separating themselves from the community in order to be "more holy" from their (incorrect) definition of kedusha. It is for this reason, e.g., that they didn't marry. They thought they could get closer to H' without having to worry about the mundane aspects of life (such as marriage). (This is the view some clergy have in other places, right?) It is _this_ that was the "strange fire" that "H' did not command" that they brought.<br /><br />They wanted to become as close to H" as possible. H" gave them what they wanted -- that's why were were "consumed" (and not "punished") just like a korban. In fact, and crucially, note the similar phrasealogy between how Aharon's korbanos had just been accepted and what happened to them. (9:24 "Vateitzei eish milifnei H' v'tochal al hamizbeach es ha'olah... " vs 10:2 "Vateitzei eish milifnei H' v'tochal osam...")<br /><br />One of the simple messages for us (besides the obvious: "do what H' says, don't try to improvise") is that we're not to be like Nadav and Avihu, who, had they could, would have sat on a mountaintop, celebate, communing with H'. We're supposed to get into the world, interact with it. Elevate it.</p>
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