(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אַחֲרֵ֣י מ֔וֹת שְׁנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן בְּקָרְבָתָ֥ם לִפְנֵי־יְהוָ֖ה וַיָּמֻֽתוּ׃ (ב) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִיךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכָל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת כִּ֚י בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן אֵרָאֶ֖ה עַל־הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃
(1) YHWH spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons--when they came forward in front of YHWH and died. (2) And YHWH said to Moses, "Speak to Aaron, your brother, and let him not come at all times to the Holy, behind the curtain, in front of the cover [that is over the ark], so he will not die, because I shall appear in the cloud over the cover."
ויקרא י, א-ג
(א) וַיִּקְח֣וּ בְנֵֽי־אַ֠הֲרֹן נָדָ֨ב וַאֲבִיה֜וּא אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ בָהֵן֙ אֵ֔שׁ וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ עָלֶ֖יהָ קְטֹ֑רֶת וַיַּקְרִ֜בוּ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹ֦א צִוָּ֖ה אֹתָֽם׃ (ב) וַתֵּ֥צֵא אֵ֛שׁ מִלִּפְנֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה וַתֹּ֣אכַל אוֹתָ֑ם וַיָּמֻ֖תוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהוָֽה׃ (ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן הוּא֩ אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהוָ֤ה ׀ לֵאמֹר֙ בִּקְרֹבַ֣י אֶקָּדֵ֔שׁ וְעַל־פְּנֵ֥י כָל־הָעָ֖ם אֶכָּבֵ֑ד וַיִּדֹּ֖ם אַהֲרֹֽן׃
Leviticus 10:1-3
(1) And Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan, and they put fire in them and set incense on it. And they brought forward unfitting fire, which He had not commanded them, in front of YHWH. (2) And fire came out from in front of YHWH and consumed them! And they died in front of YHWH. (3) And Moses said to Aaron, “That is what YHWH spoke, saying, 'I shall be made holy through those who are close to me, and I shall be honored in front of all the people.'" And Aaron was silent.
(7) And Aaron shall take the two goats and stand them in front of YHWH, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (8) And Aaron shall cast lots on the two goats, one lot for YHWH and the other lot for Azazel. (9) And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for YHWH arose, and he shall make it a sin offering. (10) And the goat on which the lot for Azazel arose shall be left standing alive in front of YHWH to make atonement over it, to let it go to Azazel, into the wilderness.
(20) And when he has finished making atonement for the Holy and the Tent of Meeting and the altar, then he shall bring forward the live goat. (21) And Aaron shall lay his two hands the live goat's head and confess over it all the crimes of the children of Israel and all their offenses, for all their sins, and he shall put them on the goat's head and let it go by the hand of an appointed man to the wilderness. (22) And the goat will carry all their crimes on it to an inaccessible land. And he shall let the goat go in the wilderness.
"Out of fear, we project our inner darkness onto others. We make demons out of them and then cast them away. Out of fear, we turn away from our own sacred center."
"Propitiation of the gods, human sacrifice, this is not the way of Yom Kippur. The way of Yom Kippur is to accept our imperfection. This is what Yom Kippur is all about. We accept that to be human is to be imperfect, to be broken, and we realize that we don't have to project our brokenness onto someone else. We don't have to try to cast it out. We can fix it. We can repair it in the context of our own lives. --Rabbi Alan Lew, This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, p. 254