In this weeks Torah portion the laws of Yom Kippur are given for the first time. The detailed description of the service of the High Priest is introduced by linking Yom Kippur to the death of Nadav and Avihu: "And God spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they approached God and they died" (Leviticus 16:1). In the portion of Shemini we already began to discuss the connection between Nadav and Avihu and Yom Kippur and will continue here with additional insights.
We already discussed that on one hand we need the passion and spontaneity of Nadav and Avihu, but we also have to be very sure that we remain within a Torah framework, or our very positive intentions can turn negative or destructive.
In Kabbalah and Chassidut there is a concept called "run and return." The dynamic "run" of the soul seeks to unite once again with God and its Divine source, while continually being committed to "return" to the earthly realm in order to fulfill the soul's purpose in this world. It is a delicate matter to balance both tendencies. Most people either squelch their passion and enthusiasm to serve God with the fire of the soul, or it often happens that the ongoing experience of life simply grinds these tendencies down. On the other hand, many people are too tied to the "return" and are caught up in the materialism of the world and forget what it is to let their soul fly free. Or alternatively, others are too connected to the spiritual realms and lack the ability to function practically on a day to day basis.
Nadav and Avihu when they entered the sanctuary with the fire pan and incense were "on fire" to draw close to God and lacked the firm commitment to "return," and in fact they did not. This is why their actions cannot be lauded. Nonetheless, the High Priest on Yom Kippur in fact does the very same thing - enters the Holy of Holies with fire pan and incense. There must then be a positive aspect of their actions that we can learn from.
The Torah relates the following regarding the High Priest: "Any person shall not be in the Tent of Meeting when he comes to provide atonement in the sanctuary… (Leviticus 16:17). The Slonimer Rebbe points out that one could understand from the wording of the verse that if no person should be in the sanctuary when the High Priest enters, then in essence the High Priest must reach a level of soul that is so nullified to God that he is able to fulfill the requirement that no person be there! He continues by bringing a teaching from Rebbe Levi Yitzchak of Berdichiv that for the atonement of Yom Kippur to truly work one must at some point during Yom Kippur reach this elevated consciousness where one's ego becomes totally nullified.
In a positive sense we can learn from Nadav and Avihu the passionate desire to be close to God and to unite with Him through nullifying our ego. This process of nullifying the ego is helped further by the prohibitions of eating, drinking, sexual relations, leather shoes and anointing, as well as the various customs of the day that make us feel like angels, not men.
Now that we have no Temple, High Priest or service in the Temple, each person in a sense becomes a priest in performing the service. This is one of the fundamental understandings of our daily services. Especially on Yom Kippur during the Musaf prayer when we actually follow the High Priest through his service in the Temple do we have the opportunity to enter into the Holy of Holies, which is explained to be the most inner point of the heart and soul. In that deeply private place we meet God.
Despite bowing at the knee many times a day during various parts of our prayer services the only time we actually get down on our knees with face to the ground is during the service of Musaf on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We are taught that this is a unique opportunity to give permission to our souls to "run" towards God with no fear of not "returning." A moment of true ego nullification is critical in orienting our soul to its true relationship with God. Paradoxically, it is the truly humble who have the greatest power to act in this world in a holy and effective way. Moses is the prime example of one who reached the pinnacle of both humble service of God while serving as a forceful leader.
We need to take the positive elements of Nadav and Avihu, while at the same time committing ourselves to apply the high moments of spiritual experience in a manner that brings rectification to the world. In that way their action is uplifted and rectified.
