(1) Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before יהוה alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. (2) And fire came forth from יהוה and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of יהוה. (3) Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what יהוה meant by saying:
Through those near to Me I show Myself holy,
And gain glory before all the people.”
And Aaron was silent.
What do you think is meant here by "strange fire" or "alien fire"?
What could Nadab and Abihu have possibly done that would have warranted this kind of punishment?
What do the scholars below suggest might have been meant by "strange fire"?
What does each commentary reveal about its author's concerns about purity and danger?
How does each commentary change your understanding of the story?
What might be some obstacles and dangers to maintaining a sacred space and performing sacred tasks?
Dr. Lisbeth S. Fried, The Torah: A Women's Commentary, p. 620: The world is perceived as a dangerous place, and God can protect but also create harm (Isaiah 45:7). The ancient world's protection is the sacrificial ritual correctly performed according to the prescribed rules. However, contact with the holy must be rigorously safeguarded from illegitimate incursion. If the procedures are performed incorrectly, the sanctuary becomes defiled, with disastrous consequences (Lev. 15:13). This story, however, leaves the reader uncertain as to what precisely constitutes the sons' transgression.... What makes the fire strange is unclear....The verse implies that the offering might have been fine if it had been ordered by a proper authority. This episode underscores what everyone in the Ancient Near East apparently believed; the deity must be worshipped precisely as specified or catastrophe occurs.
Mary Douglas, Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (1966), p. 2: If we can abstract pathogenicity and hygiene from our notion of dirt, we are left with the old definition of dirt as matter out of place. This is a very suggestive approach. It implies two conditions: a set of ordered relations and a contrevention of that order. Dirt then, is never a unique, isolated event. Where there is dirt there is a system. Dirt is the by-product of a systematic ordering and classification of matter, in so far as ordering involves rejecting inappropriate elements.
Do not disdain your mother when she is old. (23) Buy truth and never sell it,
And wisdom, discipline, and understanding. (24) The father of a righteous man will exult;
He who begets a wise son will rejoice in him. (25) Your father and mother will rejoice;
She who bore you will exult. (26) Give your mind to me, my son;
Let your eyes watch my ways. (27) A harlot is a deep pit;
A forbidden woman is a narrow well. (28) She too lies in wait as if for prey,
And destroys the unfaithful among men.
(29) Who cries, “Woe!” who, “Alas!”;
Who has quarrels, who complaints;
Who has wounds without cause;
Who has bleary eyes? (30) Those whom wine keeps till the small hours,
Those who gather to drain the cups. (31) Do not ogle that red wine
As it lends its color to the cup,
As it flows on smoothly; (32) In the end, it bites like a snake;
It spits like a basilisk. (33) Your eyes will see strange sights;
Your heart will speak distorted things. (34) You will be like one lying in bed on high seas,
Like one lying on top of the rigging.-d
לְמִי חַכְלִלוּת עֵינָיִם, לְמִי שֻׁמְשְׁמִין דְּעַיְינִין, כָּל אֵלֶּה לְמִי לַמְּאַחֲרִים עַל הַיָּיִן, זֶה שֶׁנִּכְנַס לְבֵי קְפֵילָא קַדְמָאי וְנָפֵיק בַּתְרָאי, לַבָּאִים לַחְקֹר מִמְסָךְ, מִן דְּמִשְׁמַע הֵן אִית לֵיהּ חַמְרָא טָבָא דָּרֵיךְ בַּתְרֵיהּ, מַה כְּתִיב בּוֹ בַּסּוֹף (משלי כג, לב): אַחֲרִיתוֹ כְּנָחָשׁ יִשָּׁךְ וגו', מַה צִּפְעוֹן זֶה מַפְרִישׁ בֵּין מִיתָה לְחַיִּים, כָּךְ הִפְרִישׁ הַיַּיִן בֵּין אָדָם לְחַוָּה, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בַּר אִלְעָאי אוֹתוֹ הָעֵץ שֶׁאָכַל מִמֶּנּוּ אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן עֲנָבִים הָיוּ (דברים לב, לב): עֲנָבֵמוֹ עִנְבֵי רוֹשׁ וגו', הַלָּלוּ הֵבִיאוּ מְרִירוּת לָעוֹלָם. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וּכְצִפְעֹנִי יַפְרִשׁ, מַה צִּפְעוֹן זֶה מַפְרִישׁ בֵּין מִיתָה לְחַיִּים, כָּךְ הִפְרִישׁ הַיַּיִן בֵּין נֹחַ לְבָנָיו לְעַבְדוּת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית ט, כא): וַיֵּשְׁתְּ מִן הַיַּיִן וַיִּשְׁכָּר וַיִּתְגַּל, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ כָּךְ אָמַר (בראשית ט, כה): אָרוּר כְּנָעַן. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וּכְצִפְעֹנִי יַפְרִשׁ, כָּךְ הִפְרִישׁ הַיַּיִן בֵּין לוֹט לִבְנוֹתָיו לְמַמְזְרוּת, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (בראשית יט, לג): וַתַּשְׁקֶיןָ אֶת אֲבִיהֶן יַיִן, שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ כָּךְ (בראשית יט, לו): וַתַּהֲרֶיןָ שְׁתֵּי בְנוֹת לוֹט מֵאֲבִיהֶן. דָּבָר אַחֵר, כְּצִפְעֹנִי יַפְרִשׁ, מַה צִּפְעוֹן זֶה מַפְרִישׁ בֵּין מִיתָה לְחַיִּים, כָּךְ הִפְרִישׁ הַיַּיִן בֵּין אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו לְמִיתָה, דְּתָנֵי רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן לֹא מֵתוּ בָּנָיו שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן אֶלָּא עַל שֶׁנִּכְנְסוּ שְׁתוּיֵי יַיִן לְאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד. רַבִּי פִּנְחָס בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר מָשָׁל לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ בֶּן בַּיִת נֶאֱמָן, מְצָאוֹ עוֹמֵד עַל פֶּתַח חֲנֻיּוֹת, וְהִתִּיז אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ בִּשְׁתִיקָה, וּמִנָּה בֶּן בַּיִת אַחֵר תַּחְתָּיו, וְאֵין אָנוּ יוֹדְעִים מִפְּנֵי מָה הָרַג אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹן, אֶלָּא מִמַּה שֶּׁמְּצַוֶּה אֶת הַשֵּׁנִי וְאָמַר לֹא תִכָּנֵס בְּפֶתַח חֲנֻיּוֹת, אָנוּ יוֹדְעִין שֶׁמִּתּוֹךְ כָּךְ הָרַג הָרִאשׁוֹן, כָּךְ (ויקרא ט, יב): וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה' וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם, וְאֵין אָנוּ יוֹדְעִים מִפְּנֵי מָה מֵתוּ, אֶלָּא מִמַּה שֶּׁמְּצַוֶּה אֶת אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַר לוֹ (ויקרא י, ט): יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר אַל תֵּשְׁתְּ, אָנוּ יוֹדְעִין מִתּוֹךְ כָּךְ שֶׁלֹּא מֵתוּ אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי הַיָּיִן, לְכָךְ חִבְּבוֹ הַכָּתוּב לְאַהֲרֹן וְיִחֵד אֵלָיו הַדִּבּוּר בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: יַיִן וְשֵׁכָר אַל תֵּשְׁתְּ.
[Following a long treatise on drunkenness] “At last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like a basilisk” (Proverbs 23:32) … Even as a basilisk divides between life and death, so did wine make a division between Aaron and his sons by causing death. As R. Simeon taught: The sons of Aaron died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting drunk with wine. .... Thus [it is said, And there came forth fire from before the Eternal, and devoured them, and they died before the Eternal (Lev. 10:2). But we would not know why they [i.e. Nadab and Abihu] died, but for God commanding Aaron: Drink no wine or strong drink. We know from this that they died precisely on account of the wine. For this reason [that Aaron remained silent and uncomplaining when his two sons died] did Scripture show love to Aaron by directing the divine utterance to him alone, thus, Drink no wine, etc.
Apropos the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, an aggadic midrash on this subject is quoted: And it had already happened that Moses and Aaron were walking on their way, and Nadav and Avihu were walking behind them, and the entire Jewish people were walking behind them. Nadav said to Avihu: When will it happen that these two old men will die and you and I will lead the generation, as we are their heirs? The Holy One, Blessed be God, said to them: We shall see who buries whom. Rav Pappa says: This explains the adage that people say: Many are the old camels that are loaded with the skins of young camels.
זדה, אשר לא צוה אותם, strange fire, which God had not commanded them. The words "which God had not commanded them" define the nature of the strangeness of the fire. It is possible that if these two sons of Aaron had taken the fire for their incense from the altar G'd would not have minded so much; it is also possible that G'd would have minded for a different reason; at any rate, the sin consisted in their doing something on their own initiative which G'd had not commanded them.
Etz Chayim Torah Commentary, p. 633: The Torah narrates the death of Nadav and Abihu very briefly, never telling us explicitly what they did to cause them to be struck down. Therefore, commentators over the generations have used their imaginations to speculate about what grave sin they might have committed. One explanation is that they brought the instruments for making fire into the Tent, not realizing that on this special occasion God was going to send fire miraculously from heaven (Lev. 9:24). Because they were too close to that fire, they were killed. Their sin, if any, was a lack of faith, trying to help God in a situation in which God did not need their help (Mekhilta).
Most of the Sages, however, judge them less charitably. Some find them guilty of egotism (each took his own fire pan, consulting neither with each other nor with their father, Aaron), or of entering the sanctuary drunk ... or of entering so casually dressed that they showed disrespect for their surroundings. Others accuse them of impatience to succeed Moses and Aaron as the leaders of the people. The "strange fire" they bore was the fire of ambition.... Based on the comment of the Sifra that their sin was not consulting their father, [Rabbi Samson Raphael] Hirsch, champion of modern Orthodoxy, identifies their sin as making themselves the highest authority and disregarding the tradition of their elders.
One intriguing interpretation see them as motivated by excessive piety. Out of their love for the divine, they tried to come too close to God who is like a raging fire (Or HaChayim). They were motivated by a passion for closeness to God that God did not command because it was too dangerous. (Nadab means “willing” and Abihu means “God is my father”). They could not be satisfied with rituals and sacrifices but had to draw so close to God that they were consumed by the strange fire in their souls. Perhaps Aaron is warned so often and so sternly about when and how to enter the tabernacle lest he too be struck down in his desire to be one with God.
"Strange Fire" is a song released by the Indigo Girls in their first album in 1987, which was also called "Strange Fire."
How does the artist (Amy Ray) interpret the story of Nadab and Abihu?
What might we understand as "strange fire" in our lives today?
"Strange Fire" by The Indigo Girls
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soul is burned
By the fire in my blood
I come with a softer answer
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Mercenaries of the shrine
Now who are you to speak for god
With haughty eyes and lying tongues
And hands that shed innocent blood
Now who delivered you the power
To interpret calvary
You gamble away our freedom
To gain your own authority
Find another state of mind
You know it's time we all learned
To grab hold
Strange fire burns
With the motion of love
When you learn to love yourself
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask
I said to have the gift of true release
This is a peace that will take you higher
Oh I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Amy Ray shared her inspiration behind “Strange Fire” in the liner notes of the compilation Retrospective: The seeds for this song were planted during my time at Emory (College) as a religion major. I read so many interpretations of the bible that my head was spinning. I took a few verses and stories, and twisted them around to prove my point just like everyone else does. The irony was probably lost a little in the midst of what turned out to be a very earnest song.
(The verses below, plus the story of Nadab and Avihu, are referenced in this song. The reference to casting stones comes from the New Testament)
(1) A gentle response allays wrath;
A harsh word provokes anger.
(16) Six things the Eternal hates;
Seven are an abomination to God: (17) A haughty bearing,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood, (18) A mind that hatches evil plots,
Feet quick to run to evil, (19) A false witness testifying lies,
And one who incites brothers to quarrel.
Rabbi Yael Levy, "Shemini: The Eighth Day," in Directing the Heart: Weekly Mindfulness Teachings and Practices from the Torah, pp. 75-76.
We do not know the meaning
Of strange fire
Or if Nadav and Avihu were being punished
Or blessed by the consuming flames.
And we ask:
What do we do when faced with mystery,
When faced with what we can never understand?
What do we do when faced with catastrophe,
When even the best intentions and heartfelt actions
Bring forth results that leave us trembling and afraid?
There is no easy answer,
No sure way through.
There is, though, the power of presence.
Let us remember to draw close to each other
And make an offering of our presence.
With words,
With a touch,
With silence, with a glance,
Let our presence appear.
Let our presence go forth.
Let our presence to each other be sturdy and strong.
Let our presence be an offering in the face of the Mystery
And a balm for the consuming fires of pain, devastation, hardship
and fear.