Arrogance
g(י) רַבִּי לֵוִי אָמַר שְׁחָצִים הָיוּ, הַרְבֵּה נָשִׁים הָיוּ יוֹשְׁבוֹת עֲגוּנוֹת מַמְתִּינוֹת לָהֶם, מָה הָיוּ אוֹמְרִים, אֲחִי אָבִינוּ מֶלֶךְ, אֲחִי אִמֵּנוּ נָשִׂיא, אָבִינוּ כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל וְאָנוּ שְׁנֵי סְגָנֵי כְּהֻנָּה, אֵי זוֹ אִשָּׁה הוֹגֶנֶת לָנוּ. ......
וְעוֹד מִן הֲדָא (שמות כד, א): וְאֶל משֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵה אֶל יקוק, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיוּ משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן הוֹלְכִין תְּחִלָּה וְנָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא מְהַלְּכִין אַחֲרֵיהֶן וְכָל יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרֵיהֶן, וְאוֹמְרִים מָתַי שְׁנֵי זְקֵנִים הַלָּלוּ מֵתִים וְאָנוּ נוֹהֲגִין שְׂרָרָה עַל הַצִּבּוּר. רַבִּי יוּדָן בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי אַיְבוּ אָמַר בְּפִיהֶם אָמְרוּ זֶה לָזֶה. רַבִּי פִּנְחָס אָמַר בְּלִבָּם הִרְהֲרוּ.
Rabbi Levi said: They were arrogant. There were many women that were sitting unmarried, waiting for them. What did they say? The brother of our father is a king, the brother of our mother is a prince, our father is High Priest and we are two deputy priests. No woman is worthy of us!
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"Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel, and bow low from afar. (Exod. 24:1)." We learn from this that Moses and Aaron were walking first and Nadav and Avihu came after them, and all Israel after them. They said: When will these two old men die and allow us to assume authority over the community? Rabbi Judah in the name of Rabbi Aivu said that with their mouths they said this to each other. Rabbi Phinchas, on the other hand, said that they thought it in their hearts.
"Adding Love to Love"
Sifra Col. 92, no. 32
Upon beholding the fire of divine approval immediately preceding their action (Lev. 9:23-24), they joyfully arose "to add love to love," and "each took his censor" and "took" refers to joy...
Sifra Col. 92, no. 32
Upon beholding the fire of divine approval immediately preceding their action (Lev. 9:23-24), they joyfully arose "to add love to love," and "each took his censor" and "took" refers to joy...
Overpowering Desire for Mystical Union
(טז) ואומרו וימותו בתוספות וא''ו, רמז הכתוב הפלאת חיבת הצדיקים, שהגם שהיו מרגישים במיתתם לא נמנעו מקרוב לדביקות נעימות עריבות ידידות חביבות חשיקות מתיקות עד כלות נפשותם מהם והבן ובחינה זו אין מכיר איכותה, והיא מושללת ההכרה, לא מפי מין האנושי, ולא מפי כתבו, ולא תושג בהשערות מושכל הגשם, ולמשיג חלק מהשגה זו תבדיל ממנו המונע אותו מהתקבל ותכירהו על ידי סימניה כי זה הפכה מנגדת שונאיה ותפעול בו פעולה רשומה לשלול ממנו כח המונעו והמקיימו, ולפעמים תמאסהו הנפש ותריבהו מריבה גדולה והוא סוד הוללות הנביאים (ש''א יט כד), ולכשתרבה בחינה זו בפנימיותו תגעל הנפש את הבשר ויצתה מעמה ושבה אל בית אביה. ואודיע למתבונן בפנימיות השכלת המושכל, שהשכלת ההשכל תשכיל ההשכלות, ובהשכל בהשכלתו, ישכיל, שמושכל מושלל ההשכל, וכשישכיל בהערת עצמו, ולא עצמו ישכיל, שהמושכל מושכל ממושכל, בלתי מושכל מהשכל, והשכילו למשכילים ביחוד, השכלתו בסוד נשמה לנשמתו. ואז מותריו יהיו עטרי מלכים וכסאם. וכי יש חיים לחיים שעליהם אמר משה (נצבים ל יט) ובחרת בחיים בית המודעות, ושוללת חיים הנשתוים בהרגש הכללי, ויברך ברוך אלקים חיים אשר סגל סגולה זו לסגולתו:
(16) This is the meaning of the extra letter ו in בקרבתם לפני ה׳ ו־ימותו. The Torah alludes to the fact that though these righteous people felt that they were approaching an area which would result in this "kiss of death" they did not flinch and kept getting closer. They attained a state of religious intoxication. The desire of their souls to fuse with the divine was so overpowering that they no longer made decisions in which their powers of conscious perception were involved. If we were to evaluate part of the emotional process these people underwent, perhaps the following may help. There are times when certain people feel such an overpowering hatred for someone that they will abandon all restraining influences in the desire to exercise their revenge even while they are subconsciously aware that they are forfeiting their very lives by the act of revenge. This may be the mystical dimension of what appears as licentious behaviour by prophets in Samuel I 19. There is a mystifying verse in Samuel I 19,24 which tells of Saul's pursuit of David and the religious experiences first experienced by the messengers despatched to capture David who at that time was in the proximity of the prophet Samuel and other prophets. All the messengers are reported as being overcome by an aura of religious experiences of these prophets. Eventually, the same happened to Saul himself. He is described as having divested himself of his clothing and remained naked [symbol of the desire to abandon the restrictions imposed on man by his body, Ed.] for a whole day in the presence of the prophet Samuel. Perhaps that verse affords us an inkling of the result of overpowering emotions of hatred. When we think of the other extreme of man's emotional range, his love for his source, i.e. his Creator, and the overpowering desire to be united with that source, we may have an inkling of what possessed Nadav and Avihu at the time. Basically speaking, we are dealing with the natural abhorrence each soul has for the need to be imprisoned inside a mere body. It is always the soul's desire to escape this body. Nadav and Avihu's souls experienced such an urge in an unusual manner. [At this point the author describes how a person may arrive at progressively purer insights due to his mind's ability to triumph over the impeding element of self, ego. Eventually, such a person will view "life" itself in an entirely new light such as hinted at by Moses in Deut. 30 19 when he exhorts the Jewish people to "choose life." The letter ב at the beginning of the word ב־חיים, is understood to refer to a life devoid of what he calls הרגש הכללי, emotions felt by all normal human beings. The author blesses the Lord for having granted selected individuals the ability to rise to such spiritual heights. Ed.]
"A Message of Love"
Strange Fire
The Indigo Girls
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soil is burned
By the fire in my blood
I come with a softer answer
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Fire
Mercenaries of the shrine
Now who are you to speak for god
With haughty eyes and lying tongues
And hands that shed innocent blood
Now who delivered you the power
To interpret calvary
You gamble away our freedom
To gain your own authority
Find another state of mind
You know it's time we all learned
To grab hold
Strange fire burns
With the motion of love
Fire
Fire
When you learn to love yourself
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask
I said to have the gift of true release
This is a peace that will take you higher
Oh I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Fire
Fire
I come to you with strange fire
Strange Fire
The Indigo Girls
I come to you with strange fire
I make an offering of love
The incense of my soil is burned
By the fire in my blood
I come with a softer answer
To the questions that lie in your path
I want to harbor you from the anger
Find a refuge from the wrath
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Fire
Mercenaries of the shrine
Now who are you to speak for god
With haughty eyes and lying tongues
And hands that shed innocent blood
Now who delivered you the power
To interpret calvary
You gamble away our freedom
To gain your own authority
Find another state of mind
You know it's time we all learned
To grab hold
Strange fire burns
With the motion of love
Fire
Fire
When you learn to love yourself
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask
I said to have the gift of true release
This is a peace that will take you higher
Oh I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire
This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired
I come to you with strange fire
Fire
Fire
I come to you with strange fire