,rye vhkg unhahu at ivc ub,hu u,,jn aht tuvhctu csb irvt-hbc ujehu

kft,u vu_h hbpkn at tm,u :o,t vum tk rat vrz at vu-h hbpk uchrehu

:vu_h hbpk u,nhu o,ut

What was their sin?

Sifra Parashat Shemini

vbhfa vsrh tku ohagnv kf uagbu ,ubcrev kf ucrea irvt hbc utra iuhf rjt rcs

at ukyb shn at tkc khac, kacna ost lk ah hfu tuvhctk csb uk rnt ktrahk

aht tuvhctu csb irvt hbc hba ujehu rntba ohasev hase ,hck uxbfbu vrz

h,ut o,scfa vnn r,uh of,t scft hbt v"cev ovk vrnt at ovc ub,hu u,,jn

:vruvy atc of,t ;urat hbt vtny at hbpk o,xbfv o,t

When Aaron’s sons saw that everything was done accordingly and God’s spirit did not descend upon Israel, Nadav said to Avihu: Is there any man that prepares a meal without fire? Immediately they took an alien fire and entered the innermost chamber, as it is said: "and they brought before Hashem an alien fire". God said: I will honor you more than you honored Me. You brought in front of Me an alien fire. I will burn you with a pure fire!

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XX: 8

kg irvt ka uhbc u,n ohrcs ws khcac rnt rzgkt ic vhnrh wr oac trpe rc

uxbfba vchrev kg 'vzn vz vmg ukyb tka kgu vrz at kg vcrev kgu › vchrev

ohrhf ,hcn at vrz at kg uuymb tka icre uchreva vcrevv kgu ohbpku hbpk

unmgn aht u,,jn aht (zh rcsnc oa) rntba vzn vz vmg ukyb tka kgu uxhbfv

'vzn vz vmg ukyb tka uag

Bar Kappara in the name of Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar said: Aaron's sons died on account of four things: for drawing near to the holy place, for offering, for the strange fire, and for not having taken counsel from each other. 'For drawing near,’ since they entered into the innermost precincts of the sanctuary. 'For offering,’ since they offered a sacrifice, which they had not been, commanded to offer. 'For the strange fire ‘: they brought in fire from the kitchen. 'And for not having taken counsel from each other,’ as it says, Each of them his censer (Leviticus X, 1), implying that they acted each on his own initiative, not taking counsel from one another.

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XII: 1

hcr sgun kvtk ihh hhu,a uxbfba kg tkt irvt ka uhbc u,n tk iugna hcr hb,s

,uhbj j,p kg snug utmn intb ,hc ic uk vhva lknk kan rnt huk wr oac xjbp

,t drv vn hbpn ohgsuh ubt ihtu uh,j, rjt ,hc ic vbhnu veh,ac uatr ,t zh,vu

lu,na ihgsuh ubt ,uhbj j,pc xbf, tk rntu hbav ,t vumna vnn tkt iuatrv

vn hbpn ohgsuh ubt ihtu o,ut kft,u wv hbpkn at tm,u ( trehu) lf iuatrv drv lf

ihgsuh ubt ,a, kt rfau ihh ( trehu oa) uk rntu irvt ,t vumna vnn tkt u,n

hbpc rucsv uhkt sjhhu irvtk cu,fv uccj lfk ihhv hbpn tkt u,n tka lf lu,n

/,a, kt rfau ihh rntba unmg

As Rabbi Simeon taught: The sons of Aaron died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting drunk with wine. Rabbi Phinehas said in the name of R. Levi: This may be compared to the case of a king who had a faithful attendant. When he found him standing at tavern entrances, he severed his head in silence,1 and appointed another attendant in his place. We would not know why he put the first to death, but for his enjoining the second thus: ‘You must not enter the doorway of taverns’; whence we know that for such a reason he had put the first to death. Thus [it is said], And there came forth fire from before the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord (Leviticus X, 2), but we would not know why they [i.e. Nadab and Abihu] died, but for His commanding Aaron: DRINK NO WINE NOR STRONG DRINK. We know from this that they died precisely on account of the wine. For this reason did Scripture show love to Aaron by directing the divine utterance to him alone, thus, DRINK THOU NO WINE, etc.

Eruvin 63a

/icr van hbpc vfkv uruva sg irvt hbc u,n tk :rnut rzghkt hcr

Rabbi Eliezer says; Aaron’s sons die because they taught (Halacha) in front of Moshe, their teacher.

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XX: 10. See also Sanhedrin 52b

ihfkuv irvtu van uhva snkn 'v kt vkg rnt van ktu (sf ,una) tsv in sugu

ukkv ohbez 'c h,n ohrnutu ivhrjt ktrah kfu ivhrjt ihfkvn tuvhctu csbu vkj,

'r vzk vz urnt ovhpc rnt ucht 'r oac isuh 'r ruchmv kg vrra ihdvub ubtu oh,n

urvrv ockc rnt xjbp

Moreover their arrogance may be inferred from the following: And unto Moses He said: Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel (Exodus XXIV, 1). This teaches us that Moses and Aaron went first, Nadab and Abihu walked behind them, and all Israel followed, and Nadab and Abihu were saying: ‘When will these two old men die and we assume authority over the community?’ R. Judah in the name of Rabbi Aibu said that they uttered this to one another with their mouths, while Rabbi Phinehas said that they harboured the thought in their hearts.

'ivhrjt ktrah kfu ivhrjt ihfkvn tuvhctu csbu lrsc ihfkvn irvtu van uhv rcfu

rnt ?rusv ,t dhvbb v,tu hbtu ukkv ohbez hba u,unh h,nht :tuvhctk csb uk rnt

/hn ,t rcue hn vtrbv :tuv lurc ausev ivk

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XX: 10

ohrnut uhv vn ovk ,ubh,nn ,ubudg ,ucauh uhv ohab vcrv uhv ohmja rnt huk wr

vat uz ht vbuvf hbdx hba ubtu kusd ivf ubhct thab ubnt hjt lkn ubhct hjt

ubk ,bduv

Rabbi Levi says that they were arrogant. Many women remained unmarried waiting for them. What did they say? ‘Our father's brother is a king, our mother's brother is a prince, our father is a High Priest, and we are both Deputy High Priests; what woman is worthy of us?’

Midrash Rabbah - Leviticus XX: 10

snkn tkt ohvktv ,t uzjhu rnt ,ts hbhxn ivng ,kg ihrukhe hfu gauvh r"ts

v,anu kftn lu,n urhcjc yhcna ostf ohvktv ,t uzjhu vbhfav in ovhbhg ubza

For Rabbi Joshua said: Did provisions go up with them to Sinai, that you should be able to say: "And they beheld God, and did eat and drink"? No, but it teaches you that they fed their eyes upon the Shechinah. 'And they beheld God,’ as a man looks upon his neighbor while in the act of eating and drinking.

Sifra 24

Overwhelmed by joy on perceiving the new fire, they sought to redouble their love, whereupon "each took his fire pan"

Or haHayim

Scripture tells us that they had not actually entered the innermost chamber but that they pressed forward, and die. We are thus taught to reject the notion of a violent bid for closeness to the Divine even at life’s expense. The apparently unnecessary repetition of "and they died’ emphasizes that Aaron’s sons perished without achieving this goal. This is a lesson to be mastered

Nehama Leibowitz

Evidently, Nadav and Avihu did not offend against any ritual precepts but sinned by reaching for God through the dictates of their own hearts rather than through the path set by God. Submission to the yoke of heaven –the ultimate aim of the Torah- was here supplanted by unbridled religious ecstasy. Hence their punishment.

It is neither through momentary passion nor even through self-sacrifice that the religious goal is attained but rather through the discipline spelled out in the precepts of the Torah.

Many consider such submission to the commandments, as against spontaneous worship stimulated by personal and subjective sentiments, as mechanical and objectionable. Yet, we learn from the Sifra, it was precisely the unrestrained desire to ascend to forbidden heights that constituted an unpardonable sin.

Moses told the people that after they carried out God's command, His glory would appear to them. This concept is fundamental to Jewish faith, that first a Jew must dedicate himself to obeying the will of God, and untold beneficial results will flow from it. At the Splitting of the Sea, for example, the Jews plunged into the waters, and, in reward for their faith, God showed them unprecedented miracles and a higher degree of revelation, than was experienced even by the prophet Ezekiel. Such was the resolve that moved the people to declare to Moses that they were ready to perform all the commandments even before they knew what God would ask of them (Exodus 24:7; Shabbos 88a). Once a Jew displays his trust in God, God will reciprocate with every manner of blessing (R' Aharon Kotler) (Artscroll Chumash)

If you do like Hashem has commanded you to do, that is with simple faith, then the secrets ad the reasons of the commandments will be revealed to you (Yalkut Divrei Chachamim) (Yiturei Torah, Vayikra, Page 48)

To which commandment does the verse refer? We don’t see any commandment in the previous verses! Rather we read in the previous verse: "and the entire assembly approached and stood before Hashem". Explains Rabbi Mordechai Hacohen: If you stand together before me, united, as one people, then the glory of Hashem will appear to you" (Leviticus 9:6) (Yiturei Torah, Vayikra, Page 48)