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Shemini: Curb Your Enthusiasm
In Parashat Shemini, we witness one of the most tragic moments in the Torah. After days of spiritual preparation, Aaron and his sons begin their priestly service. A divine fire comes down to consume the offering, and the people fall in awe.
But then, something goes terribly wrong. Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, bring an offering of “esh zarah”, a strange fire, which God had not commanded. A fire goes out from God once again, but this time, it consumes them.
What went wrong? According to many commentators, the problem was not only what they did, but how they did it. Their act may have been fueled by spiritual passion, but it ignored boundaries.
The midrash in Sifra, Shemini 1:23 says: “They drew too close in a way that was not commanded, and were consumed by the very holiness they sought.”
And maybe that’s the warning for us today.
In an age that prizes spiritual spontaneity and self-expression, we sometimes forget that holiness is not just about feeling; it is about form. Fire is powerful, but without a hearth, without something to contain it, it becomes dangerous.
Judaism offers us a structure, not to suppress the spirit, but to channel it. Kashrut, Shabbat, prayer, and many other mitzvot, they are all ways for us to “curb our enthusiasm” so that our spiritual lives remain sustainable and safe, to be for the long run and not to be consumed by the spur of the moment.
Nadav and Avihu remind us that even the most sincere spiritual offering can go astray without the humility to ask: “Is this what God wants? Or just what I want?”
In a time when passions can burn hot, let us embrace the wisdom of boundaries. Let us not quench our spirit, but discipline it, shape it, and sanctify it.
- Rabbi David Cohen-Henriquez
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