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In this week's Parsha, Nadav and Avihu, Aharon's eldest sons sin against Hashem. The Torah says "Aharon's sons, Nadav and Avihu, each took his fire pan, placed fire on it and then incense. They offered before G-d a strange fire that G-d had not instructed them. Fire came forth from before G-d and consumed them; and they died before G-d. (Vayikra 10:1-2)" But what exactly was the sin?

A little further into the Parsha, Hashem speaks to Aharon, instructing him that when he or his sons come to the Ohel Moed, not to drink wine or intoxicating beverages. Based on the juxtaposition of the two passages, Rashi explains that Nadav and Avihu's sin was they were intoxicated with wine when they entered the Ohel Moed. Furthermore, Rashi explains they also sinned a second way. The second sin was that they didn't listen to Moshe when he told them that they are only allowed to bring certain Korbanot at certain times. This time was not one of those times, and so, they were "trespassing" in the Ohel Moed.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin shares another insight regarding Nadav and Avihu's personalities. The Gemara explains that Nadav and Avihu had no children. They were punished in this way midah k'neged midah because they sinned by saying (or by thinking), "When will these two elders (Moshe and Aharon) pass on already so that the two of us may lead the generation (into the Land of Israel)." Nadav and Avihu walked behind Moshe and Aharon because they were considered to be on the same level, even more so than their other two brothers. Because of this, they assumed they were going to take over when Moshe and Aaron died. However, Hashem said, "let's see who is going to bury whom." They were punished, not being able to lead the future generation of Bnei Yisrael because they wanted the power so badly that they overstepped their boundaries.

While these comments are less flattering to Nadav and Avihu, there are others who paint a more generous picture.. The Or Hachaim says that they were on the level of Moshe and Aharon and they wanted to do avodah so badly in the name of God; they had the right intentions—they sinned l'shem shamayim—but they made a mistake. Because of this, they were obligated to accept their fate. If they had every good intention and they were trying to do the right thing, then why are they being so severely punished with death?

The Gemarah in Yevamot says that tzadikim are judged more harshly then others who are not as righteous. They were considered to be so great, so it made their sin even worse. Although we can trace two ways to look at Nadav and Avihu, we can see one common denominator throughout: they overreached. They lost sight of the goal to serve Hashem and got carried away. From Nadav and Avihu's story, we learn two important lessons. First, we learn the lesson of humility. Had they simply done what was commanded and not more, they would never have been punished. Second, we learn the lesson of being aware of the level you are on. Serving Hashem is a great goal, but overreaching can be detrimental. Had Nadav and Avihu had known these important lessons, they might have gone on to be the next leaders of Bnei Yisrael and bring the nation into Eretz Yisrael.

D'vora Biderman comes to AMIT from Jamaica Estates, New York and plans to attend NYU College of Dentistry next year. She really enjoyed all of the Purim events at Beit Hayeled. "Seeing the kids so happy and excited to dress up made me realize that this is what my year is really about. I came to AMIT with the goal of learning and helping others and this month, it all came together. My goals have been fulfilled".