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While numerous reasons are given for their deaths, they can all be summed up by the first pasuk in our reading, B’karvatam lifnei Hashem, vayamutu. They came (too) close to G-d - & they died. All their actions were intended to add to the prescribed offering; entering the Mishkan when it was not called for; getting drunk; even refraining from having children, so that they could devote themselves 24/7; all these were done in an effort to supercharge their spirituality & come closer to the Almighty.
But how do we reconcile Nadav & Avihu’s fate with the opening pasuk of our second Sedra: "Kedoshim tihyu, ki kadosh ani Hashem Elokeychem; Be holy, for I, G-d, am Holy." If Hashem wants us to be kadosh/holy, a word which means, "to separate ourselves for a higher purpose" - then isn’t this exactly what Nadav & Avihu did?! So why were they punished?
I want to suggest that Nadav & Avihu were not so much punished, as they were the victims of their own actions. They took so much upon themselves, they so overloaded their circuits with such massive spiritual energy, that the whole system broke down, & they experienced burn-out. They came too close to the Heavenly fire &, despite their good intentions, their wings got singed & they crashed.
There is a profound lesson to be learned here. G-d surely wants us to get close to Him, to come under His wings & within His protective force-field. But if we get too close, if we cross the Divine line into the "red zone," we risk losing everything & plummeting into the depths of despair, or worse. And if we take the law into our own hands - deciding for ourselves, rather than reacting to the will of Hashem and doing what He wants us to do - than the gain is swallowed up by the loss.
This message is a timely one for our present situation. We want, of course, to pray communally, in minyanim - and the more the merrier, as we generally hold by the principle of "B'rov am, hadrat Melech," the larger the gathering, the more it honors the monarch. And we want to learn together as a group, in shiurim where we can share with others around us. But if this endangers our lives - and the lives of others - than we have to step back, and follow the directives of our spiritual leaders, who (hopefully!) follow the advice of the medical experts to contract our public activities and thus safeguard our lives.
Any competent doctor will tell you that prescriptions are carefully calibrated to bring relief from illness. If you are prescribed to take 2 pills, but instead you take 4 - assuming that you will now receive twice the relief - the exact opposite may result. Kedusha, the ultimate form of spiritual medicine, is sometimes best consumed in small doses.
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The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
Chukat "HOW ENTEBBE STOLE THE BICENTENNIAL
The Difference Between Historic & Eternal"
As we approach America's 250th birthday, it's worth remembering her 200th Bicentennial birthday, on Jul. 4th 1976, when Israel "stole the show" by shocking the world & miraculously saving 101 hostages in a foreign continent. As Pres. As Pres. Trump decides which countries get priority in his new Middle-East, it's worth reminding him of the difference between historic events and eternally historic ones. This obviously connects with this week's parsha, as well!
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 6 - The Parable of the King of India
The advantages of testimony over circumstantial evidence or philosophical speculation.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 5- "Proofs of G-d"
This may be the most important class of the entire book, where we finally get to the Jewish proof of the existence of G-d and truth of the Torah. We should follow His own direction where He tells us how to get to Him: through the Nation of Israel: Jewish history, Jewish prophets (and today, prophecies fulfilled), and national reward & punishment towards Am Yisrael.
Ein Aya One Humanity, One Creator, One Jerusalem
Rav Kook innovatively and beautifully explains this aggadeta where our sages say that after Jerusalem was destroyed her cinnamon fragrance is only found locked in a particular kingdom's treasury.
