Rabbi Aba in the Zohar comments on the verse "And G-d
said to Moses, 'Speak to Aaron, your brother, that he should not come at all
times into the holy place….'" (Lev. 16:2), explaining that there are
particular times which are favorable moments to come before the Holy One,
blessed be He. These times are favorable to draw down blessings and to make
requests.
There are other times that are not favorable, and
blessing is not waiting to be drawn down then. At those times harsh judgment is
in the world. There are other times when judgment is pending, positioned in
balance between mercy and judgment.
This week's Torah reading begins with a reference to
the incident described in parashat Shemini in which Nadab and
Abihu, the two elder sons of Aaron, were killed by a flame of fire that burst
forth from the Holy of Holies when they offered incense that G-d had not
commanded. Nadab and Abihu committed the same sin that Adam committed; this
blemish was that of "strange fire", i.e. a foreign woman. This refers to the
"first Eve", Lilith, who copulated with Adam before the real Eve. This is why
Adam said [about Eve], "this one shall be called 'woman'" (Gen. 2:23) -
"this one" and not the other one.
Instead of rectifying the sin of Adam and his sons,
Nadab and Abihu repeated it. The Torah refers to the incense that Nadab and
Abihu offered as a "strange fire". We can understand "fire" to mean "desire" or
"passion". The Hebrew words for "man" (spelled alef-yud-shin) and "woman"
(spelled alef-shin-hei) are both grammatically based on the word for
"fire" (spelled alef-shin); the word for "man" includes an added yud,
and the word for "woman" an added hei. The two added letters, yud
and hei, together spell the divine name Y-ah. In other words, man
and woman are fully man and woman only when together they manifest the Divine
Presence.
The Shelah teaches that in this portion we find
allusions to the sanctity of time and space, notably the Holy of Holies, also
known as the "inner of the inner", which was accessible only on Yom Kippur, and
then only to the High Priest. The report of the death of the two sons of Aaron
when entering this part of the Sanctuary is repeated here to stress that their
very death was the beginning of their life in the World to Come. Their entry
into this sacrosanct area was an expression of their closeness to G-d.
G-d is the source of life and one who draws close to
G-d, attaches himself to the source of life. The purpose of a Jew is to refine
and repair every aspect of his soul, until each one is working together in
harmony, each quality in its proper proportion. If one would serve G-d only
through love or
chesed, he couldn't survive. The chesed
of G-d is boundless and so great that no one is capable of receiving so much
without perishing. Similarly, if one served G-d only through the quality of
fear, or gevura, he couldn't survive either. G-d is
so awesome, who could stand before him?
Nadab and Abihu drew close to G-d with only one quality
- that of chesed - and therefore couldn't survive. Only those who serve
G-d with both qualities in harmony will endure.
The service of the
Kohen Gadol (High Priest) on Yom Kippur included the offering of two
goats: one brought as a sacrifice in the Holy Temple, and one thrown down a
steep cliff , both thus atoning for the sins of the nation of Israel.
The nature of
holiness is the desire to give and to emanate; this corresponds to the goat
which is designated ‘for Hashem'. However, the drawing down of these lights is
only possible if there are great vessels to receive them. The Sitra Achra’s
role is to draw down the light, but not to make use of it.
The Sitra Achra
benefits from the receiving of these lights, but since they are not using the
lights according to the way of holiness, such a revelation causes destruction
and harm in the world. According to the holy Zohar, the goat which was
designated to Azazel, was given for the purpose of appeasing the Sitra
Achra
The Lubavitcher
Rebbe gives a very interesting explanation for
the fact that the High Priest would be escorted home at the end of his service,
and it would be a celebration for those close to him that he went out from the
Sanctuary in peace. The High Priest was required to be a married man.
Nonetheless, he separated from his wife several days before Yom Kippur in order
to sanctify himself. Yet, the High Priest was required to pray not just for
himself, but for his spouse also, and concluding his service he was to
immediately return to his family and his everyday mundane tasks.
These details demonstrate the lofty service of G-d in
the Temple. On the one hand, we see the highest possible level of personal
sanctity, in the most sanctified place on the most special day. Yet, the purpose
was never to remain in the Sanctuary separated from the mundane, but rather to
take that holiness and integrate it into the world. This is the reason that at
the end of Yom Kippur, the High Priest would return to his home. This was to
make public the understanding that the purpose of this divine service was to
bring the G-dliness into the framework of his daily life.
The man in Vienna was so frustrated he didn't know what to do. He decided to ask his wife's opinion.
Shabbat Shalom.
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