The Daily Strengthening of The Rav, the holy Gaon HaTzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – Parshas Tazria–Metzora • Why does the Torah leave the story of Nadav and Avihu in the middle and suddenly begin dealing with the matters of “Tazria–Metzora”?

Thursday, 3 Iyar 5785 – “You spoke about someone—you spilled rivers of blood,” these are his holy words:

It is written in all the holy sefarim, in Noam Elimelech, that suddenly in the middle (of the parshah), Shuvu Banim inserted “Tazria–Metzora” right in the middle of the parshah!

You’re speaking about Nadav and Avihu—you want to understand what happened with them—and suddenly we move to “Tazria–Metzora.” Tzara’as here, tzara’as there—tzara’as on the head, tzara’as on the shoulder.

Who did this? Until today I have questions.

They slaughter the bird and place it into the blood—what does it mean, into the blood?

But the moment you spoke about someone, you spilled rivers of blood. They tell him: How much blood you spilled by speaking about just one person!

You said: “Yes, like this, right.” You shouldn’t speak about him at all—finished. You made a river of blood; you made a river of blood.

And people distance themselves from him—you don’t notice, but people pull away— a river of blood.

So they need to take the bird and immerse it in the blood. And then, after they tell us about every type of tzara’as in the world, they return once again to the story.

Nadav and Avihu wanted to be burned; Nadav and Avihu knew they would be burned—here it is written that they knew they would be burned—but here, in truth, it was forbidden for them to be burned!

Here it was forbidden for them to be burned, because Moshe and Aharon did not agree to it.

They did it not with the consent of Moshe and Aharon, so they came back again as Eliyahu HaNavi. But what they merited was that they became invested within Eliyahu HaNavi, and he brought down fire from Heaven.

That fire, which was supposed to come down now—and they did not succeed in bringing it down—Aharon brought it down.

Specifically Aharon brought it down—after Aharon made the Golden Calf, he brought down that fire. But they merited to come as Eliyahu HaNavi and bring down fire from Heaven.

And this is the revelation of the Shechinah that we speak about on the night of the Seder.

May we merit a revelation of the Shechinah, and may the Beis HaMikdash be built speedily in our days, amen.