Our parsha this week, Aharei Mot, אחרי מות opens with a reference to the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. This was the horrifying epsode during which these two sons of Aharon were immolated by a fire from God for having brought a fire into the Mishkan on their own initiative.

 וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אַחֲרֵ֣י מ֔וֹת שְׁנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן בְּקׇרְבָתָ֥ם לִפְנֵי־יְהֹוָ֖ה וַיָּמֻֽתוּ׃

God spoke to Moshe after the death of the two sons of Aharon having drawn too close to GOD’s presence and they died.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֒יךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכׇל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת כִּ֚י בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן אֵרָאֶ֖ה עַל־הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃

God said to Moshe: Tell your brother Aharon that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover.

Vayikra/Leviticus 16:1-2

Apparently the motives of Nadav and Avihu were holy, yet they were punished despite having received no prior warning against such an initiative. To say that their punishment was harsh would be quite the understatement. Harsher still was the virtual order for their bereaved and shocked father to remain silent.

Perhaps recognizing that it was a bit unfair to condemn the two novice kohanim without having warned them first, Parhsat Aharei Mot provides the sort of advance warning that was absent in the earlier episode (16:2).

Later on in our parsha there is a further warning – this to all Israelites – against bringing any sort of animal sacrifice away from the Mishkan/Tabernacle. The Torah goes so far as to equate such a sacrifice to the murder of a fellow human being.

אִ֥ישׁ אִישׁ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשְׁחַ֜ט שׁ֥וֹר אוֹ־כֶ֛שֶׂב אוֹ־עֵ֖ז בַּֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה א֚וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִשְׁחַ֔ט מִח֖וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃

Regarding anyone of the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or sheep or goat in the camp, or does so outside the camp …

וְאֶל־פֶּ֜תַח אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵד֮ לֹ֣א הֱבִיאוֹ֒ לְהַקְרִ֤יב קׇרְבָּן֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה לִפְנֵ֖י מִשְׁכַּ֣ן יְהֹוָ֑ה דָּ֣ם יֵחָשֵׁ֞ב לָאִ֤ישׁ הַהוּא֙ דָּ֣ם שָׁפָ֔ךְ וְנִכְרַ֛ת הָאִ֥ישׁ הַה֖וּא מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמּֽוֹ׃

… and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to God, before God’s Mishkan: is guilty of bloodshed; having shed blood, that person shall be cut off from among the people.

Vayikra/Leviticus 17:3-4

(NOTE: To “be cut off from among the people” (כרת) is not a formal, court-ordered execution. Rather, it is to die without progeny.)

This is astonishing, to say the least. If the Torah were to assert a blanket prohibition on any offering that is not confined to the precincts of the Mishkan there might be some logic regarding the severity of the transgression.

But the Torah does not issue a blanket prohibition. This prohibition refers to animal sacrifices only, and does not include meal offerings. And let us recall that a meal offering is not only a valid offering to God, but is considered the holy of holies of such offerings:

וְנֶ֗פֶשׁ כִּֽי־תַקְרִ֞יב קׇרְבַּ֤ן מִנְחָה֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה סֹ֖לֶת יִהְיֶ֣ה קׇרְבָּנ֑וֹ וְיָצַ֤ק עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ שֶׁ֔מֶן וְנָתַ֥ן עָלֶ֖יהָ לְבֹנָֽה׃

When a soul (נפש) presents an offering of grain to God: The offering shall be of choice flour;  and he shall pour oil upon it, and place frankincense on top

…וֶֽהֱבִיאָ֗הּ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹן֮ הַכֹּהֲנִים֒ וְקָמַ֨ץ מִשָּׁ֜ם מְלֹ֣א קֻמְצ֗וֹ מִסׇּלְתָּהּ֙ וּמִשַּׁמְנָ֔הּ עַ֖ל כׇּל־לְבֹנָתָ֑הּ וְהִקְטִ֨יר הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶת־אַזְכָּרָתָהּ֙ הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חָה אִשֵּׁ֛ה רֵ֥יחַ נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיהֹוָֽה׃

.. and present it to Aharon’s sons, the priests; and (the priest) shall scoop up a handful of its choice flour and oil, as well as all of its frankincense; and the priest shall immolate this token portion on the altar, a fragrant fire offering to God.

וְהַנּוֹתֶ֙רֶת֙ מִן־הַמִּנְחָ֔ה לְאַהֲרֹ֖ן וּלְבָנָ֑יו קֹ֥דֶשׁ קׇֽדָשִׁ֖ים מֵאִשֵּׁ֥י יְהֹוָֽה

And the remainder of the (grain) offering shall be for Aharon and his sons, the holy of holies among the fire offerings to God.

Hence it is odd, to say the least, that making the lesser offering of an animal sacrifice outside the designated Mishkan setting is a capital offense while making the most sacred of offerings under similar circumstances prompts no such retribution.

I would suggest that the Torah is reminding us that God does not crave broiled meat. In fact, the opening verses of Parshat Vayikra seem to indicate this by making it clear that the seemingly richest voluntary offering – that of a perfect bullock – is brought by the lowest form of human being  — an Adam – (and is even a sin).

It could well be that this is the basis for Rambam’s (Maimonides) assertion in his Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) that animal sacrifice was an allowance by God to accommodate the primitive state of the Israelites who knew of no other way of worship — and that in the Third Temple, following Redemption, there would be no animal sacrifices.

In our parsha this week the Torah take s a quantum leap farther by literally equating the shedding of a sheep’s blood to that of wanton human murder.

Now this is quite a leap, to say the least.  It almost sounds like a declaration by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), a radical animal rights group that actually equates the value of human and animal life.

The Torah is hardly a manifesto for veganism, but it is sympathetic.  During the period from Genesis through the Flood, meat consumption was not permitted. But apparently such Divinely imposed vegetarianism had the opposite effect by redirecting man’s congenital craving for blood to aggression against other humans. Hence, following the Flood, humankind was allowed to become carnivorous – better to consume the flesh of animals than to consume one another.

On this basis, should there ever be Messianic Redemption and a Third Temple it is most likely that both God and His human subjects will be feasting on foods other than hamburgers and lamb chops.

It is especially fascinating to note that all this occurs  – in the flesh, literally – in the story of Cain and Hevel (Cain and Abel). The two brothers were living at the dawn of human history, at a time when animal consumption (a fortiori animal sacrifice) was prohibited. Hevel (Abel) takes it upon himself to shed the blood of a sheep as a sacrificial gift to God. This is the first time in the Torah that blood of any kind is shed. And, as per our Torah reading this week, the punihsment Hevel deserved – and got – was to “be cut off from among the people”. Truly the archtype of   מידה כנגד מידה measure for measure.

To read more about my personal take on the Cain/Hevel legend please go to http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/bereishit-cain-and-abel/

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)