Why Nadav and Avihu Said

Below is the full daily lesson as delivered by The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a, on Monday night, the eve of the 13th of Av, Parshas Eikev, after the Ma’ariv prayer:

‏“So Nadav and Avihu said—Nadav and Avihu said: ‘When will these two elders die? When will these elders die already? The poor old men have no strength anymore. These elders no longer had strength—because all day long they only speak words of Torah and they don’t allow people to speak idle talk. When will they finally die…?’

But Dasan and Aviram were Tzaddikim—they didn’t say words like that. They said: ‘Why do you rule over us…? We also want positions… Let there be democracy.’ (They were against the judicial reform—they didn’t want it to happen. Because now Bibi wants to be a dictator, what—who needs Bibi…?)

We need Korach. We need Dasan and Aviram. We need people like that—we need them. What, suddenly Moshe took control over us?! We’re finished with that. He was king for a year—one year passed, let him hold elections! And there will be new elections and we’ll choose new leaders. We’ll choose Korach, we’ll choose Dasan and Aviram.

Aharon the Kohen—we’ll see. We’ll discuss it, we’ll consult with the court, with the prosecution. If he’s בכלל worthy—he was involved with the Golden Calf—what can he be…? How did he become the Kohen Gadol?! I don’t understand this! Just because he’s the brother of Moshe Rabbeinu, he becomes Kohen Gadol? What are these connections? He made a calf—let him sit quietly on the side.

Look—on the second day [of the inauguration] he already didn’t appear. The first day—1st of Nissan—he appeared. The second day he sat on the side, hidden. He can’t burn the Parah—he can’t burn a cow. A person made a calf—and he burns a Parah?! Besides, he himself will get burned—wasn’t it enough that two sons of his already got burned?

Like Lot—his wife was righteous in practice; one daughter of his was burned—one daughter they smeared with honey. What does Lot want? Why is he inviting guests again? Wasn’t it enough for you?! Two daughters have already been burned for you—what do you want, that they should burn all the daughters for you?! The whole house?! A righteous woman—she was right.

I told Lot: ‘Listen to your wife’s voice—listen.’ He didn’t listen to me. What came out in the end? The whole city was overturned… the whole city was overturned… What did I tell him? ‘Listen—you have a good, righteous wife. Two daughters have already been burned for you—enough!’ They were תלמידות of Avraham Avinu, so they were burned. They said: ‘We bring in guests—we don’t care about anything! Burn us, smear us with honey—we don’t care!’

But Nadav and Avihu were such Tzaddikim—Moshe says they were greater than me and greater than you—greater—and they would say, ‘When will they die already’?

The sefer Aseres Ma’amaros explains: Heaven forbid—they did not say such words. That’s an invention of Shuvu Banim. They did not say such words.

Rather, it is written: ‘And Moshe went up, and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel’—in Parshas Mishpatim (Shemos), chapter 24 (9). It is written that Hashem called Moshe and Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, and the elders of Israel. A Bas Kol went out and said: ‘Elders—until here. Nadav and Avihu—until here. Stop!’

They saw that Moshe and Aharon were going toward Har Sinai—they went toward Har Sinai. First thing: to travel to Har Sinai. They said: ‘If they are already going up to Har Sinai, they won’t come down. They won’t come down—once you’re in Heaven, you don’t come down.’

Even Rebbe Nachman writes in תק"ע that he was in Heaven; he saw the Throne from the shidduchim. He decided that he would not go down anymore—he would not go down. In the end he had mercy on us, found some kind of ladder—maybe it was Yaakov’s ladder—he managed to come down. Maybe a spacecraft—I don’t know how the Rebbe got there—he came down from Heaven, a distance of billions of light-years, but he did it in one second. You don’t need pilots—there is The Tikkun HaKlali. You say The Tikkun HaKlali, and it’s possible to cross a million light-years in one second.

So he says—what is this [‘When will these elders die?’ he explains]—Aseres Ma’amaros: that Nadav and Avihu meant that after Moshe was already in Heaven—he went up to receive the Torah—he certainly would not come down. So who would be fit to lead the generation? Us. So come, let’s already prepare from now…”‏.

To watch the replay of last night’s Ma’ariv broadcast with singing and niggunim—the lesson begins at 53:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42JCtiDyFEc&ab_channel=%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91%D7%95%D7%91%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D