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Shabbat Shalom: Parshat Shemini Leviticus 9:1-11:47
By Shlomo Riskin
Efrat, Israel-“And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed (the
two sons of Aaron) and they died before the Lord” (Leviticus 10)
One of the greatest tragedies in biblical history is the death of Nadav and
Avihu, the two sons of Aaron the High Priest, on the day of the celebration
of the dedication of the Sanctuary . Aaron’s greatest triumphs turned
tragedy. And one of the deepest Biblical mysteries is the reason why G-d
Himself sent down a fire to consume them. Why?
The Midrash (VaYikrah Rabbah 12,1) attempts to provide an explanation:
“It seems impossible to understand why G-d would have caused them to die.
And then comes the explanation in the verse which appears immediately after
this incident ; ‘And the Lord said to Aaron saying, do not drink wine or
mead, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter into the Tent of
Meeting so that you do not die. It is an eternal statutes for your
generations so that you may distinguish between the holy and the profane,
between the impure and the pure’”
Apparently the Midrash is teaching that Nadav and Avihu were given this
capital punishment because they had brought a fire unto G-d which had not
been commanded while having become intoxicated with wine. From this
perspective, wine - which removes the ability of the individual to
distinguish between the Holy and the profane, between the pure and the
impure - can lead to evil action and can bring about tragic consequences.
And indeed at least according to one Rabbi Meir’s view in the Talmud (B.T.
Sanhedrin 70A, 70B), “The fruit from which Adam ate was the fruit of the
vine because there is nothing which brings greater woe to the individual
than wine”. And of course it was Noah’s planting of the vineyards which
caused him to become drunk; The Midrash even goes so far as to suggest that
Satan was Noah’s partner and convinced him to plant a vineyard and drink
from its fruit.
At the same time however we have just concluded the festival of Passover
whose first Seder night is punctuated by four cups of the wine which
symbolizes redemption. The Talmud goes on to teach “There is no joy
without wine since ‘wine gladdens the heart of humanity’”(B.T. Pesahim
109A). And further enjoins that we ‘Remember (the Sabbath day) on wine’
both at the inception of the Sabbath day by means of the Kiddush and at the
closing of the Sabbath day by means of Havdallah. Is it not strange that the
very wine which has the capability of causing forgetfulness and debauchery
drunkenness can also be used as a means towards understanding and
distinguishing. After all the very reference to Havdallah (separation
between the Holy and the profane) is placed in the blessing in which we ask
G-d to provide us with understanding and the ability to distinguish. In the
words of our Sages, “If there is no knowledge how is it possible to
distinguish between night and day, the Sabbath and the rest of the week, the
holy and the profane. And the blessing of Havdallah is specifically recited
over wine!
The Talmud links wine with the hebrew word Tirosh which is usually
translated as grape; the hebrew Rosh means head and the hebrew Rash means
poverty. If the individual who drinks the wine has merit, he will become a
head; if not he will become a pauper. Wine therefore can lead the individual
in two very opposite and even antithetical directions. It depends on the
individual drinking the wine.
Maimonides, who first establishes the fact that the joy of the festival must
be expressed through meat and wine, goes on to distinguish between drunken
frivolity and joyous festivity “Drunkenness and much frivolity and levity
is not rejoicing but is foolish hooliganism”. We were not commanded to be
foolish hooligans but rather to be joyous servant in the service of the
creator of all things. The Bible even states that “curses will come upon
us because ‘you did not serve the Lord your G-d in joyousness and good
heartedness”.(Maimonides Chapter 6 of Laws of the Festival Law 20)
And later on, at the end of his Laws of the Lulav (8:15) “the joy with
which the individual must rejoice is by means of the doing of the
commandments and loving the Lord; such joy is a great act of divine service”.
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik magnificently explains that the more energy the
human being expends, the greater will be the sanctity and the deeper will be
the joy. Ordinary juice is extracted from the fruit merely by squeezing it,
wine is produced by the vine only by a long and arduous process, and
therefore wine demands a separate and unique blessing. Apparently Nadav and
Avihu, at least according to the Midrash we cited previously, went into the
Tent of Meeting of the Sanctuary having already been intoxicated “You
shall not drink wine or mead when you come into the Tent of Meeting” (VaYikrah
Rabbah 12,1 ) The Sabbath wine on the other hand is a very different
experience. We are commanded to “make ( Laasot)” the Sabbath, and when
we hold aloft the wine goblet of Havdallah it is after we have spent at
least most of Friday in preparation for the holy day. Wine which is drunk
before one has expended energy and accomplished an ideal will lead to
drunkenness; only wine which comes to express an inerstate of sanctity and
accomplishment as a result of successful human effort will lead to great
joy. In the words of one of my great teachers Rav Poleyoff :’ If you are
empty inside and expect the wine to put in the joy, the wine will only lead
to forgetfulness and drunkenness; but if you are filled inside with a deep
sense of self worth and accomplishment - and you see the wine as an
expression of your own state of human happiness - then the wine will lead to
true rejoicing, sanctity and remembrance of the Divine.
Shabbat Shalom
Shlomo Riskin
Chancellor Ohr Torah Stone
Chief Rabbi - Efrat Israel
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