AND AARON SHALL PLACE

LOTS UPON THE TWO GOATS, ONE MARKED FOR THE LORD AND THE OTHER MARKED FOR

AZAZEL. AARON SHALL BRING FORWARD THE GOAT DESIGNATED BY LOT FOR THE LORD,

WHICH HE IS TO OFFER AS A SIN OFFERING; WHILE THE GOAT DESIGNATED BY LOT FOR

AZAZEL SHALL BE LEFT STANDING BEFORE THE LORD, TO MAKE EXPIATION WITH IT AND TO

SEND IT OFF TO THE WILDERNESS FOR AZAZEL.

(Vayikra 16:8-10)

Our fathers taught us

in their teachings how awesome the Lord's deed is, and that is the

matter of Azazel that is written above, for

that word contains a matter that is found in our teachings, that the word aza [strong] describes a wind, as in ruah kadim aza [a strong east wind] (Shemot 14:21).

Since the letter hey

cannot appear in the middle of a word, it is replaced with an alef, and the word zel

also describes a sudden and very powerful wind that can demolish human

buildings in a moment. This wind is found in Arabia, and of it it is said a scorching wind is their lot (Psalms 11:6). It flies and kills in a moment. If

this is what happens naturally, all the more so when it occurs wondrously. If

this is so, then Azazel is composed of aza and zel, that

is to say, a strong zel wind. It [the goat] is

pushed away from before the Lord by a powerful wind which breaks the goat's

bones apart, leaving no two bones connected. This is a wondrous sign of the obliteration of the sins of the House of

Israel. And so Yonatan ben Uziel translated: A powerful wind pushes it from before

the Lord and it dies.

(Rabbi Yitzhak Shemuel

Reggio on Vayikra 16:22)

…each of us is like a

"goat." Each has been granted to the power to resist, and each is

capable of strongly resisting any request made of him. The moral worth of our

lives depends on how we employ that power. We can decide to use the power of

resistance in accordance with God's permission and under His authority. We can

be like the goat for the Lord, and resist all of the inner and outer

stimuli that seduce us away from the Lord. Or, we can decide to be like the goat

for Azazel and exercise our power of resistance

by refusing to listen to the Lord's voice.

(Rabbi S. R. Hirsch on Vayikra

16:10)

Nadav, Avihu, and the Fate of

Humanity

David Malkiel

Our parasha begins with a reference to the story of Nadav and Avihu who died when

they drew too close to the presence of the Lord. As was mentioned in these

pages in the article for parashat Shemini,

the Sages understood their story to be a tragedy, a tale of crime and

punishment. I would like to suggest an alternative reading, one without crime

or punishment, at least not in the usual sense of those words. There was indeed

a tragedy, but not the one we were taught about.

The

story takes place just after the erection of the Tabernacle. Aaron and his sons

the priests make the necessary preparations and sacrifice the first series of

offerings. Aaron blesses the people, Moses and Aaron bless the people together,

the Lord's glory is displayed before the whole people, and fire goes out from

the Lord's presence to consume the sacrifices. Those attending shout out cries

of praise and fall on their faces.

This

is one of the greatest religious experiences in the history of the Jewish

people in biblical times, and the key to the story is the impression that such

an experience could make on those present. I imagine that when someone is

present at such a moment of divine revelation, all of his doubts regarding God's

existence and purview melt away. It would become immediately clear that there

is life after death and that God watches over His creations, repaying humans

according to their deeds.

Through

such an experience, one gains certainty: previously, one believed. Now, one

knows. And what a great difference there is between belief and knowledge! How

would we react to a transition from faith to knowledge? I suggest that Nadav and Avihu reacted naturally

– they disdained temporal existence.Pessimistic attitudes

towards life are not at all alien to Scripture: "Vanity of vanities,"

vanity" and more chillingly: The span of our life is seventy years,

sorrow (Psalms 90:10). Indeed, our

forefathers also suffered from the pressures and difficulties which lay in wait

for us every day: economic problems, the stress of child-rearing, social

competition, loneliness. How many have felt that the day is just too short to

manage it all, and ended their lives! And isn't the thought that there might

not be any existence following death one of the factors that deters the sane

amongst us from taking desperate action? God's revelation had removed that

great doubt from the hearts of Nadav and Avihu. Who knows? With the doubt gone, perhaps they chose to

leave as well? I do not know if they understood that the bringing of a strange

fire would result in their deaths, or whether they acted out of the ecstasy of

revelation. Either way, the main thing is that their death was not a punishment

for the transgression of an arbitrary ritual law: Nadav

and Avihu died because they did not know how to go on

living after the revelation. For them, death was a natural and necessary

outcome of their religious experience.

This

interpretation sheds light on the connection between holiness and death. Rules

were set up in the story's wake that delineate precise

limits to nature and location of the priests' activities. The Torah emphasizes

the dangers of not heeding these instructions. Once again, it seems as if this

is a matter of punishing transgressors but, if I understand correctly, here too

the true intention is to address what someone might do to himself in the wake

of intimate contact with the divine. God does not punish, rather the human

loses his will and ability to live.

Here,

as often occurs, when we achieve a new understanding we see it everywhere. The

dynamic I have described here reveals itself in several other Scriptural

situations. I have always wondered about the meaning of the verses from the

revelation at Mount Sinai: Then the Lord told Moses, "Go down, warn the

out against them" (Shemot

19;22-23). The idea also fits the famous

proclamation: for no man shall see me and live (Shemot 33:20). This matter does not

relate only to texts from the Torah, but even to the story of the four who

entered the orchard. There it is written that Ben Azai

"looked and died" – he was like Nadav and Avihu. Notice that in connection to Ben Azai's

death, the Gemarah says: It is of him that Scripture

says the death of His pious ones is dear in his eyes (Haggigah 14b). That

is to say that the Sages emphasized Ben Azai's

righteousness in order to remove the suspicion from our hearts that his death

was punishment for a sin. In all of the cases I have mentioned, the tie between

revelation and death is not a tie of crime to punishment, but rather a human reaction

to the removal of doubt.

Who

must deal with this danger on a daily basis? The priest who

performs the Temple rites. He had to walk a tight-rope; because of his

closeness to the divine presence, he could have crossed the line at any moment

and lose his ability to continue living in this world. Here we have a new

meaning for the expression "the war of survival" – and the priest is

posted at the front! This is the reason for all of the rules and limitations

associated with the Temple: they were intended to make sure that the priests

would continue to bear the yoke of doubt and faith, and withstand the

temptation of ascending to heaven in a blazing flame. This difficult demand is

the key to Aaron's response to the death of his sons: and Aaron was silent.

That is to say: Aaron was ambivalent. The sorrow of bereavement was opposed by

recognition of the joy that his sons experienced in their last moments and

awareness of how powerfully they were tempted to act as they did.

The

hidden things are for the Lord our God, but for reasons known only to Him the

Holy One blessed be He wanted us to endure this constant trial. We read in the haftarah for parashat Pekudei that when the work of the Temple's construction was

completed, it is written: Then Solomon said: "The Lord has chosen to abide

in a thick cloud" (II Kings 8:12). Our

fate is to lie in a fog of uncertainty as long as we live. Perhaps that is the

tragic element in the story of Nadav and Avihu: not their ecstatic death, but rather the human condition

of those who remain here, behind them.

David Malkhiel teaches in Bar-Ilan

University's Department of Jewish History

When a stranger resides in your land, you

shall not wrong him.

(Vayikra 19:33)

The true moral test occurs in your land

We

learned – Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol

says: Why does the Torah warn us thirty six times – some say: forty-six time –

regarding [mistreatment of] the stranger? Lest you drive him back to evil ways.

Why is it written, You shall not wrong a

stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Shemot 23:20)? They learned – Rabbi Natan

says: Do not point out your own shortcoming [i.e., having been a stranger

yourself] in others.

(Bava Metziya

59b)

A stranger resides in your land: If he was a stranger in a foreign country

where you too are a stranger, it would only be natural to love him, for it is

the custom of strangers [i.e. aliens] to love each other (Pesahim 113), and you sympathize with his troubles in

order to avoid them yourself. But if he lives in your land, in any case

do not wrong him.

(Ha-Emek Davar

Vayikra 19:33)

And love your neighbor as yourself

And love your neighbor as yourself – Rabbi Akiva says:

This is the great principle of the Torah.

Ben Azzai says: This is the record of

Adam's line [When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God] (Bereishit 5:1) is an even greater principle.

(Sifra, Kedoshim

2)

It cannot be understood literally, since it is well-known that

"your life takes precedent over that of your friend." Rather, the RaMBaM (Hilkhot Avel 14) explains it as meaning "[doing for your

friend] as you would wish your friend would do for you." It is obvious

that no one would expect his friend to love him as much as he loves himself,

but rather to the proper extent taking into account good manners and how close

the people are to each other – to that same degree you must love other people.

That is why it [love your neighbor…] appears immediately after the

preceding admonition [You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge].

Just as in the case when you wrong someone, you would not want him to take

vengeance, but you would rather have him forgive your sin, so you should treat

your neighbor as well. This is how the juxtaposition of the passages is to be

interpreted according to the RaMBaM.

I

learned another explanation of their juxtaposition from the Jerusalem Talmud (Nedarim 9:4), which states:

It is written; You

shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinsfolk How does

this work? If one cuts meat [with one hand] and accidentally cuts [the other]

hand would he then cut the ["offending"] hand? And love your

neighbor as yourself. Rabbi Akiva says: This is

the great principle of the Torah.

This

means that one who takes vengeance against his fellow is like someone who cuts

meat. The hand holding the knife is negligent and cuts the other hand. Could

someone imagine striking the hand that cut to avenge it? Similarly, love

your neighbor as yourself follows you shall not take vengeance Even

though one's own life and well-being take precedence over those of one's

friend, in any case it is as if the two were one in the same person – even

though it be proper for one limb to strike the other, in any case if the damage

is already done there is no point to taking vengeance against the offending

limb. Similarly, one should not take vengeance against one's fellow who has

already harmed him, since he is just like you, all of Israel being a single

soul.

(The NeTziV MiVolozhon's Ha-Emek Davar, Vayikra 19:18).

And love your neighbor as yourself – Not that one should

love every person as he actually loves himself, for that is impossible, and

Rabbi Akiva already taught that "Your life takes

precedent over your friend's life." Rather as yourself in the sense of [your neighbor] who is like you – as in [the verse] for

you are like unto Pharaoh. So here too as well Love your neighbor who is as yourself; he is equal to

you and similar to you in that he was also created in the image of God, he is a human

being just as you are, and that includes all human beings, for they were all created in the divine image. The

Torah concluded [in the passage] everything with this commandment, just as it

began with each man shall fear his mother and father, because one who

honors the human image and considers it excellences treats himself and all

other people well.

(R. Yitzhak Shemuel

Reggio on Vayikra 18:19)

And you

shall do that which is just and good in the eyes of God – The simple

understanding of the plain reading of the text is: Observe God's commandments

and his admonitions and his laws, and, by doing them, intend to do that which

is good and just in His sight alone. That it may go well with you – a

promise, saying that by your doing that which is right in His eyes, it will go

well with you, for God does well by those who are good and straight in their

hearts. Our rabbis explained this in homiletic fashion, saying that this refers

to compromise and to acting beyond the letter of the law. The meaning is this:

Initially He said that you should observe his laws and his admonitions which He

commanded; now it says that even with regard to that which He did

not command you, give thought

to do that which is good and straight in His sight, because He loves that which

is good and just.

This is a very important matter, because it would

have been impossible for the Torah to mention all behavior of man with his

neighbors and friends, all his dealings, and all local and national regulations

in their entirety. But, after having mentioned many of them, such as Do not

go about as a talebearer among your countrymen, You shall not take

vengeance or bear a grudge, Do not stand upon the blood of your fellow,

You shall not insult the deaf, You shall rise before the aged, etc., the Torah establishes a general rule,

decreeing that one should do that which is good and just in all matters, e.g., compromise and behavior beyond the letter of

the law – such as the law of bar metzra [The

right of pre-emption. When a field is sold, the owner of the neighboring field

has first right of purchase.] and even that which they

said (Yoma 81a, paraphrased) "His personality is without blemish and his

speech with others is gentle," so that – in all matters – he will be

considered a blameless and upright person.

(RaMBaN, Devarim 6:18)

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