Yehuda Bachana: The Fire of the Lord & the Sons of Aharon – Shemini[2025]

This weekend, our community will be out on a retreat in Mitzpe Ramon, for some precious quality time to connect, pray, study, and an enjoyable hike.

The Area of Mitzpe Ramon

Mitzpe Ramon is a Negev desert town in the South of the country, on the edge of ‘Machtesh Ramon’, also known as the ‘Ramon Crater’. The town was established in 1953 as a camp for the workers who paved the road to Eilat, and became a permanent settlement in 1956. Today, some 5,000 residents live there.

The town is touristic in a positive way, as it’s warm and welcoming. The area is blessed with a wide variety of activities for families, ranging from breathtaking viewpoints, rappelling, jeep tours, unique geological tours, and plenty of marked hiking and driving trails. It’s a great place to stargaze, especially when the town turns off all of its public lights to diminish excess light, from time to time. The area also has a variety of small farms that grow grapes, or produce wine or olive oil. It’s such a privilege to enjoy this beautiful land! And also to buy some of the local produce to help support our local agriculture and economy.

This is an excellent opportunity for our community to connect in the desert—with one another and with God and His Word.

This week's Torah Portion is called ‘Shemini’, which means ‘eighth’, and refers to the seven days of preparation for the dedication ceremony of the Tabernacle; whereas,

“on the eighth day Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel” (Leviticus 9:1)

to inaugurate the Tabernacle.

A Great Tragedy

Then, a great tragedy happens during the dedication celebrations of the Tabernacle: two of Aaron’s sons—two beloved leaders and priests—who were called to serve in holiness, die in a display of divine punishment as God’s fire consumes them:

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus 10:1-2)

The Reason For This Punishment

The reason for the severe punishment of Aaron’s sons is mentioned explicitly in the Scriptures: Nadav and Abihu offered ‘unauthorized fire.’ And yet, the reason isn’t entirely clear. And so, throughout generations, many have tried to explain the sin of Aaron’s sons. Some say Nadav and Abihu were drunk, and others say they were unclean (due to unwashed hands and feet). Then there are those who call Nadav and Abihu’s act ‘rebellious’ and an attempt to seize Moses and Aaron’s leadership; and, yet others point to spiritual ecstasy.

Logical Reasons

Each of these reasons contain a level of logic. For example, the claim that Aaron’s sons served while being drunk could easily be rejected, and might not be the reason for the punishment. And yet, we can still find its logic as—immediately after the punishment—God speaks to Aaron and tells him to refrain from wine when entering the sanctuary:

“And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ‘Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations’.” (Leviticus 10:8-9)

It’s possible to read this Bible verse and claim that Aaron’s sons died because they sinned with wine. And that God warned Aaron and other future priests to refrain from drinking wine when entering the holy tent of meeting so they wouldn’t die, as well.

Other interpretations touch upon holiness, and that’s exactly the topic I’d like to delve into today, while focusing on the idea of (unauthorized) fire.

Fire

Hebrews describes that,

“God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29)

Fire, and especially the ‘fire from God’, appears at the important moments in Israel’s history, starting with the mysterious

“smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” (Genesis 15:17)

that passed between the pieces as God made a covenant with Abraham.

Again, we encounter fire at the Burning Bush, where God tells Moses to not come near and to take off his sandals, as the fire’s presence sanctifies the ground. Then, during the Exodus from Egypt, God Himself leads the people,

“by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.” (Exodus 13:21)

Later on, God descends with fire at Mount Sinai:

“Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.” (Exodus 19:18)

Then, in this week’s Parashat Shemini, fire descends from heaven once again. Beforehand, Moses prepares the People of Israel by saying,

“for today the Lord will appear to you.” (Leviticus 9:4)

Then, after the Tabernacle service was prepared with much dedication and care,

“fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.” (Leviticus 9:24)

In all of these examples, the source of the fire is divine and not man-made. This fire doesn’t behave like ‘normal fire’, as it consumes sacrifices but not the desert bush (which burns but isn’t consumed). Then, in Elijah’s challenge on Mount Carmel, this fire descends on a soaking wet altar and the water doesn’t hinder it (but is even burned up by the fire):

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” (1 Kings 18:38)

So What’s This ‘Fire Of God’?

The fire of God is the Holy Spirit. It’s the ‘Shekhinah’, which is God’s divine presence revealed in varying degrees of holiness. The Holy Spirit also rests upon human beings, and fills us with prophetic words and every other spiritual gift. It’s what connects human beings to God.

The Holy Spirit

In the New Testament, Yeshua promised that the Holy Spirit would descend on every disciple of the Messiah. And indeed, just like God’s fire descended on Mount Sinai on Shavuot (Pentecost, traditionally the Feast of the Giving of the Torah); likewise, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples:

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” (Acts 2:2-4)

The New Testament describes the Holy Spirit like fire, as the Holy Spirit rested on each disciple as “tongues of fire.”

(Unauthorized) Fire

In return to Aaron’s sons: fire came from God and gladly received the offering on the altar. This fire is heavenly, divine, holy, and it shouldn’t be desecrated. Yet, in the case of Aaron’s sons, they brought a new, man-made fire they’d lit themselves:

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it (...) unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them.” (Leviticus 10:1)

Nadav and Avihu added unauthorized fire and desecrated what was intended to be holy. Immediately, fire came from God and devoured them, and they fell dead before the sanctuary. Whether the additional fire was lit intentionally or not, Aaron’s sons still changed—or at least tried to change—the order God had prescribed through Moses, and His fire consumed them. Later, this same fire would also consume Korach and his followers.

Did Aaron’s Sons Act Intentionally Or Not?

I tend toward the idea that it was a mistake, as is hinted in this week’s Haftarah reading (2 Samuel 6). Here we read that the Ark of God is being transported on a cart to Jerusalem and seems to be slipping. Instinctively, Uzzah reaches out to prevent the Ark’s fall, and touches it, after which he dies immediately.

Uzzah didn’t have evil intentions. On the contrary, he was very concerned for the Ark of God. And yet, by touching the Ark of God, he desecrated its holiness for which he paid with his life.