(1) Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before יהוה alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. (2) And fire came forth from יהוה and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of יהוה. (3) Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what יהוה meant by saying: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent.

(2) Rabbi Yitzḥak began: “Your words were revealed, and I consumed them; Your words were gladness for me and the joy of my heart because Your name was called upon me, Lord, God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This statement was said to Moses at Sinai, but its [meaning] was not known to him until he encountered the incident. Moses said to Aaron: ‘My brother, it was stated to me at Sinai that I [God] am destined to sanctify this House, and it is with a great man that I will sanctify it. I believed that perhaps it was through [the death of] either you or me that this House would be sanctified. Now, [it is clear that] your two sons are greater than me and you.’ When Aaron heard that his sons were God-fearing, he was silent, and he was rewarded for his silence. From where is it derived that he was silent? “Aaron was silent” (Leviticus 10:3). From where is it derived that he was rewarded for his silence? It is because he was privileged and the divine speech was directed to him alone, as it is stated: “The Lord spoke to Aaron.”

(1) ‎‎ '‏וגו‎‎‎ 'הוא אשר דבר ה‎ THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SPOKE, etc. — Where had He spoken this? In the statement (Exodus 29:43), “And there I will be met by the children of Israel and it (the Tabernacle) shall be sanctified by My glory (בכבודי).” Read not here בִכְבוֹדִי, “by My Glory” but בִּמְכֻבָּדַי, “through My honoured ones” (Zevachim 115b). Moses here said to Aaron: “My brother, Aaron! I knew that this House was to be sanctified by those who are beloved of the Omnipresent God and I thought it would be either through me or through thee; now I see that these (thy sons who have died) are greater than me and than thee!” (Leviticus Rabbah 12 2). (2) ‎וידם אהרן AND AARON WAS SILENT — He received a reward for his silence. And what was the reward he received? That the subsequent Divine address was made to him alone and not to Moses also — for to him alone was spoken the section (vv. 9—11) dealing with those who are intoxicated by wine (see v. 8) (Zevachim 115b; Leviticus Rabbah 12 2). (3) בקרבי IN THEM THAT COME NEAR UNTO ME — i. e. in My chosen ones. (4) ועל פני כל העם אכבד AND BEFORE ALL THE PEOPLE I WILL BE HONOURED — When the Holy One, blessed be He, executes judgment upon the righteous He becomes feared, and exalted and praised. If this be so in the case of these (when He judges the righteous) how much more is it so in the case of the wicked (i. e. when He punishes the wicked)! And in a similar sense it says (Psalms 68:36) “Thou art feared, O god, ממקדשיך”. Read not here מִמִּקְדָשֶׁיךָ, “from out of Thy sanctuaries”, but ‎ ‏ מִמִּקֻדָּשֶׁיךָ“because of Thy sanctified ones” (Zevachim 115b).

(1) ועשו לי מקדש AND LET THEM MAKE ME A SANCTUARY — Let them make to the glory of My Name (cf. Rashi on v. 2) a place of holiness.

(1) אלה פקודי THESE ARE THE SUMS [OF THE TABERNCLE] — In this section are enumerated all the weights of the metals given as a contribution for the Tabernacle, of silver, gold and copper, and also there are enumerated the vessels used for every kind of service in it. (2) המשכן משכן OF THE TABERNACLE, EVEN OF THE TABERNACLE — The word משכן is mentioned here twice in allusion to the Temple that was taken in pledge (משכן) — as it were — (as a security for Israel’s repentance) by being twice destroyed for Israel’s iniquities (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 5). (3) משכן העדת THE TABERNACLE OF THE TESTIMONY — The Tabernacle was a testimony to Israel that God had shown Himself indulgent to them in respect to the incident of the golden calf, for through the Temple He made His Shechinah dwell amongst them (Midrash Tanchuma, Pekudei 6). (4) עבדת הלוים THE SERVICE OF THE LEVITES — The things in the Tabernacle which were counted and its vessels constituted the service entrusted to the Levites in the wilderness — to carry them, to take them down and to set them up, each man according to the burden which was assigned to him, as is set forth in the section נשא (Numbers 4). (5) ביד איתמר BY THE HAND OF ITHAMAR — He was the officer appointed over them (the Levites) with the duty to hand over to each “house of the father” (בית אב) the service that devolved upon it.

(6) And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not bare your heads and do not rend your clothes, lest you die and anger strike the whole community. But your kin, all the house of Israel, shall bewail the burning that יהוה has wrought. (7) And so do not go outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, lest you die, for יהוה’s anointing oil is upon you.” And they did as Moses had bidden.

(19) The priest who offers it as a sin offering shall eat of it; it shall be eaten in the sacred precinct, in the enclosure of the Tent of Meeting. (20) Anything that touches its flesh shall become holy; and if any of its blood is spattered upon a garment, you shall wash the bespattered part in the sacred precinct. (21) An earthen vessel in which it was boiled shall be broken; if it was boiled in a copper vessel, [the vessel] shall be scoured and rinsed with water. (22) Only the males in the priestly line may eat of it: it is most holy. (23) But no sin offering may be eaten from which any blood is brought into the Tent of Meeting for expiation in the sanctuary; any such shall be consumed in fire.

(17) Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be ready prey; and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, “Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us.” (18) Yet I will keep My countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods.