From here, I would like to move to the explanation of the Oznaim LaTorah, but to understand his words, we must first introduce a premise. Before Matan Torah, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commands Moshe to warn Bnei Yisrael not to approach the mountain:
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁה רֵד הָעֵד בָּעָם פֶּן־יֶהֶרְסוּ אֶל־ה' לִרְאוֹת וְנָפַל מִמֶּנּוּ רָב׃
And Hashem said to Moshe, Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to Hashem to see, and many of them fall.
Nevertheless, special entry tickets to the mountain were given to 74 select people:
וְאֶל־מֹשֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל־ה' אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא וְשִׁבְעִים מִזִּקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם מֵרָחוֹק׃
And to Moshe He said, Go up to Hashem, you and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Yisrael, and bow from afar.
Chazal say that each one of them received a section of the mountain for himself! The Torah says in Parshat Mishpatim:
וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ׃
And to the nobles of Bnei Yisrael, He did not send His hand, and they saw Hashem, and they ate and drank.
Rashi explains, the nobles in question were Nadav, Avihu, and the seventy elders, and לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ implies they deserved to have a hand sent against them in response to their actions. The Midrash says (Tanchuma, Acharei Mot 6): Rabbi Hoshaya asked, does this mean they brought provisions with them up to Har Sinai? Did they bring fresh sandwiches to eat? Was there a kiosk on the mountain selling cold drinks? Heaven forbid! Rather, it teaches that they fed their eyes on the Shechinah, like a person who gazes at his friend while eating and drinking. They didn’t eat or drink; they simply reacted inappropriately upon seeing the Shechinah.
When fire descended and consumed the offerings – prior to Nadav and Avihu’s Ketoret – the Torah says:
וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה' וַתֹּאכַל עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֶת־הָעֹלָה וְאֶת־הַחֲלָבִים וַיַּרְא כׇּל־הָעָם וַיָּרֹנּוּ וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם׃
And a fire went out from before Hashem and consumed the burnt offering and the fats on the altar, and all the people saw and sang and fell on their faces.
Six hundred thousand people saw the Shechinah descending, all at once, without prior notice, and fell on their faces! Why did they react this way? “The Shechinah is coming!” Just as Moshe Rabbeinu did when he saw the Shechinah for the first time:
וַיִּסְתֵּר מֹשֶׁה פָּנָיו כִּי יָרֵא מֵהַבִּיט אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים – And Moshe hid his face, for he was afraid to look at Hashem. However, there were seventy-two people standing beside Moshe and Aharon who reacted in a very different way. The Shechinah descends on Har Sinai, and instead of falling to the ground and covering their faces, what do they do?
וַיֶּחֱזוּ אֶת הָאֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאכְלוּ וַיִּשְׁתּוּ – And they saw Hashem, and they ate and drank. At least cover your faces – show that you are afraid! Nothing! No fear, no awe whatsoever!
If so, the grievance against them was: How can they gaze at Hakadosh Baruch Hu when He revealed Himself to Bnei Yisrael? If Moshe Rabbeinu – the greatest of prophets – covered his face, how much more so should they cover theirs! The Midrash says, this teaches that they were brazen in their hearts and stood on their feet and fed their eyes on the Shechinah.
The Midrash also says, when they fed their eyes on the Shechinah, they proclaimed: “Did Moshe not go to heaven and gaze at the Shechinah without needing food or drink? So too, since we are gazing at the Shechinah, we do not need food or drink.” This means, Moshe Rabbeinu was in heaven for forty days and forty nights – he neither ate nor drank. So, what sustained him? The Midrash tells us here, it was the radiance of the Shechinah that sustained him! One who benefits from the radiance of the Shechinah does not need physical food! But for Nadav and Avihu, this was not enough. Despite benefiting from the radiance of the Shechinah, they still needed physical food.
Four times in Tanach it is stated that Nadav and Avihu died: once in Parshat Shemini, once in Parshat Acharei Mot, once in Parshat Bamidbar, and once in Divrei HaYamim. In Bamidbar, it says:
וַיָּמׇת נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא לִפְנֵי ה' בְּהַקְרִבָם אֵשׁ זָרָה לִפְנֵי ה' בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי.
And Nadav and Avihu died before Hashem when they offered strange fire in the wilderness of Sinai.
The Midrash asks: Did they really die in the wilderness of Sinai? Did they not die in the Ohel Moed? Rather, it teaches that their actions were grievous before Hakadosh Baruch Hu and they received their death sentence back at Ma’amad Har Sinai, but the punishment was only carried out later. It is like a king who was marrying off his daughter, when something obscene was found in his bridal agent. The king said: “If I kill him now, I will disrupt my daughter’s joy.” So, the king decided: “Tomorrow, my own joy will come, and I will kill him then; better in my joy than in my daughter’s joy.” So too, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: “If I kill them now, I will disrupt the joy of the Torah (בְּיוֹם חֲתֻנָּתוֹ). Tomorrow, My joy will come (וּבְיוֹם שִׂמְחַת לִבּוֹ); better in My joy than in the joy of the Torah.
Rabbotai, why did they have to die specifically on the day of Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s joy and not on another random day not marked by a special occasion? If we look at the seventy elders, according to Rashi, they died only later on during the incident of the mitlonenim (complainers) – implying there was a need to separate the death of Nadav and Avihu from the death of the seventy elders. But why? Why was it necessary to “settle the account” with Nadav and Avihu earlier on and specifically on the day of the Mishkan’s dedication?
To understand the essence of this subject, I would like to bring the explanation of the Maggid of Dubno, presented through a parable. There was a king who built a city for his kingdom’s wealthiest individuals – all transportation was built underground, as were all the electricity infrastructures, etc. Everything these tycoons needed was set up for them underground. Everything was also “green” – grass, trees, lakes, and chirping birds everywhere! No noise, no pollution and no traffic! The king said: “If this is the most beautiful place in the world, it must also be the healthiest place in the world!” So, what did he do? He built a hospital and brought the world’s top doctors to it. Among the top doctors was a specialist from Boston whom the king greatly admired – and the king was willing to hire him for any sum in the world! Finally, after tripling his salary, the doctor agreed to come and work at the king’s hospital for a million dollars a month! “But ensure that our residents live to 120!” the king said to the doctor.
All the city’s dignitaries gathered to welcome the Bostonian doctor, and in the middle of the reception, one minister turned to his friend: “Jerry, I’m not feeling so well...” “What’s wrong?” “I feel pressure in my chest...” “Is this the first time this has happened to you?!” “Yes... I feel like I’m sweating too.” “What do you say, I read that these symptoms are a precursor to a heart attack!” What will they do now? They decided to call their new top doctor: “Hello, Doctor? There’s a person here who’s not feeling well – it’s urgent!” The doctor arrives running and they hastily tell him: “He was sweating and complaining of chest pain and now he’s unresponsive!” The doctor jumps in: “Yes, I see, it’s a heart attack.” He lays the minister on the floor and starts performing CPR – but after fifteen minutes, a final gasp, and the minister passes away. Everyone starts whispering: “What’s going on here?! The king brought this guy in for a million dollars – and he couldn’t even save him! The doctor is useless and worthless!”
After the body was removed, the doctor stood up to address all the VIPs gathered: “Ladies and gentlemen! I am truly sorry for your minister’s passing. But I want to tell you that, overall, it’s good that he died! Why? Because I saw your kingdom’s newspapers this past week and all the headlines were bombastic. They all portrayed my arrival as being a new guarantee of life until 120! I can guide you on how to live healthily, and you may live many years; but if you thought you could eat donuts, lamb ribs, and pizza all day – please know that it won’t work! I take responsibility only for those I treat from A to Z. But for someone who does what he wants and says, ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got a great doctor’ – know that I am not responsible!”
The Maggid of Dubno says, when the Mishkan was built, people said, “How wonderful, the Mishkan is built! For every sin we commit, we can now bring a Korban and it’ll be atoned!” Hakadosh Baruch Hu thus said: “Do not think that the Attribute of Justice has diminished – even by a millimeter! Midat HaDin remains in full force for those who act improperly!” Therefore, specifically on the day of the Mishkan’s dedication, to instill awe and fear in Bnei Yisrael, Hakadosh Baruch Hu took Nadav and Avihu!
