Shabbat Parashat Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - 5786

Shabbat Parashat Acharei Mot/Kedoshim - 5786

Rabbi Hal Miller

  God spoke to Moshe after the death of the two sons of Aharon when they approached before

  God and they died. And God said to Moshe, speak to Aharon your brother, he may not come at

  all times into the Sanctuary, within the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the Ark and he

  will not die, for with a cloud I appear upon the Ark cover. [Vayikra 16:1-2]

Nadav and Avihu died earlier in Vayikra [10:1-2]. Thus chapters 10 through 15 appear after that but prior to our verses. Why only now are we informed of a conversation between God and Moshe that occurred "after the death of the two sons of Aharon"? Further, there seems to be something missing here, as we often find in the Torah the expression "God spoke to Moshe" and the expression "God said to Moshe", but not together. Each comes to give some thought or speech, so it would not be necessary to have both. We see what God said to Moshe in the second verse but what did He speak about in the first verse?

Ramban tells us that the entire Torah is in chronological order except for a couple instances where it specifies that is relating things out of order, and he gives some examples. He calls our verses one of those examples, and says that the conversation in these verses actually took place immediately after the deaths of Aharon's two sons. According to Ramban's opinion, we would have to wonder why those chapters had to interpose in the story line. Not everyone agrees with Ramban that the Torah is entirely chronological, and they would therefore not need to wonder about this issue.

Rav Hirsch gives us a partial resolution to the difficulty on Ramban. He notes that all of chapter 10 is an explanation of the rules that establish and maintain the sanctity of a Kohen, some of which Nadav and Avihu violated. Chapter 11 is about foods that will keep someone sanctified or will separate them from sanctity. Chapter 12 does the same for childbirth, chapter 13 for tzara'at, chapter 14 for the metzora and chapter 15 for other impure people. All of those topics are introduced by the acts of the sons that led to a breach of sanctity. Now that we have learned those laws, it is time to return to the narration, thus rather than going back in time, we are here picking up from where we left off. This also helps us to understand the basis for the severe punishment of Nadav and Avihu.

Or HaChayim asks a series of questions on our verses, one of which is why did the Torah add that this occurred "after the death of the two sons", and he wants to know what this has to do with the statements to follow. His explanation has to do with the word 'after', which here is written 'acharei'. He says that acharei implies something very close in time, and the more common 'achar' is something that follows at a greater span of time. This view, although not universal, supports what we see in Ramban and Rav Hirsch, though the latter seems to concentrate more on the text interruption not being an actual interruption in the story line, just information that makes sense to present at that point.

As to the question about "God spoke to Moshe" followed by "God said to Moshe", Sforno tells us that the first merely tells us that something is about to be said, and the second tells us what it was. But as Sforno notes, not everybody agrees with this approach. Ordinarily each phrase would introduce a statement by itself.

Or HaChayim also asks this question and explains the second verse tells us what God said, but the first was God telling Moshe that since he performed the service too and was effectively a Kohen himself, it applies to him too, not just to Aharon and his sons. Yoma 53a says that the sons died because they offered incense inside the Holy of Holies. Torat Kohanim says they died because they did not consult Moshe before doing so, thus the sin was haughtiness. Given these two, perhaps we have our two verses to cover both possibilities. Rashi cites Sifra with a parable that indicates there is sometimes more impact when a thing is explained a second time in more depth. Torat Kohanim deals with this by saying that the first verse teaches Aharon that he may not enter the holy of holies any time he wants, and the second verse tells that he may enter only on Yom Kippur. Or HaChayim further suggests that our first verse is God telling Moshe that he will be speaking to Aharon, and the second verse is when God tells him what to say, which is like Sforno.

Chapter 16 presents laws about the service of Yom Kippur, which require the utmost in sanctity for the people performing that service. It is thus tied to the incident of Aharon's sons and implements the laws presented since that point in the story. Rav Moshe Feinstein sees a tie between the deaths and Yom Kippur in that there are two ways of looking at sins, one being a mistake, the other being an intent to do something outside of what we are commanded, even for what we see as a positive purpose. He explains that atonement for the mistake is straightforward as the person regrets and returns to God, but that the second kind is more difficult since the person is taking it upon himself to make decisions that are in effect overruling God. Our verses are a warning that we are not to do that.

Whether we view the first verse as meaning "and now back to our story" or as "Moshe this includes you" or as God emphasizing what He is about to say, our verses tie together these last six chapters with what is about to come.