Our Torah portion tells of the tragic deaths of two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, on the very day that they were installed as priests, charged with serving God in the newly dedicated sanctuary, along with their father and their other 2 brothers.
The Torah’s report is enigmatic, except to state that they brought a “strange fire that they were not commanded [to bring].” (Lev. 10:1) Their deaths have evoked much commentary over the centuries, but I believe that it is peculiar to our own times that a very strong sense of anger and outrage is often expressed at their deaths, which many among us have strongly condemned as arbitrary and undeserved. Why is that reaction so commonplace today?
It seems to express unhappiness with and a strong rejection of a very traditional Jewish idea: the belief that suffering may result as a punishment for sin. Our aversion to this concept does not arise out of a vacuum. As we observe Yom Ha-Shoah this week, we might note that this idea, repeatedly mentioned in our classical literature and in our prayers, has become almost intolerable to contemplate after the Shoah. Large segments of the Jewish people (outside the ultra-Orthodox camp) have staunchly refused to accept that any purported sins of the Jewish people could possibly justify the Divine judgment of a Holocaust.
Once the idea broke down with regard to the Holocaust it was inevitable that it would break down completely. As a result, the tables have been turned in many minds. The guilty party is the God Who does not exist, Who is guilty for not forgiving human beings when they sin, since their sins are no sins. This statement is not meant to be sarcastic or condemnatory. It is meant to accurately describe the anguished dead-end of morality and theology that many of us have reached. (For a recent discussion that nevertheless finds some merit in the classical Jewish idea, see Anne Roiphe’s recent essay – http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/190139/is-zionism-racism)
If there are good reasons for abandoning the old concept of suffering as punishment for sin, there is also a price to be paid. In abandoning the punishment part of the idea we too often end up also abandoning the sin part of the idea. It becomes harder for us to judge any action as sinful. Thus, it is hard for us to condemn Nadav and Avihu. But our inability to do so does not only reflect on our magnanimous natures. It also sometimes reflects a failure on our part to imagine that sin and evil are real. We will not credit the Torah with presenting us with a real problem of human sinfulness. But, as we read today’s stories of seemingly “normal,” “good” kids who turn to hate crimes or join murderous (and often religiously identified) terrorist groups, we are repeatedly confronted with the mystery of the human soul’s capacity for sin and evil. Automatically exonerating Nadav and Avihu will not help us to clarify this mystery. Nor will blaming God.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein
Image: “Good and Evil” by Alex Eylar
used with permission via Creative Commons: Attribution-NoDerivs License
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