We’ll begin with a verse in Kohelet.
קהלת ד
(יז) שְׁמֹ֣ר [רַגְלְךָ֗] (רגליך) כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר תֵּלֵךְ֙ אֶל־בֵּ֣ית הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים וְקָר֣וֹב לִשְׁמֹ֔עַ מִתֵּ֥ת הַכְּסִילִ֖ים זָ֑בַח כִּֽי־אֵינָ֥ם יוֹדְעִ֖ים לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת רָֽע׃
Kohelet 4
17 Watch your feet when you go to the House of God, and be ready to obey, rather than fools should give sacrifice, for they know not that they do evil.
The clauses of the verse are difficult to break up. We are reminded by King Solomon to guard ourselves upon going to the House of God. Listening is preferred to the offerings of fools. This is reminiscent of another verse, “And Samuel said, "Has the Lord (as much) desire in burnt offerings and peace-offerings, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than a peace-offering; to hearken (is better) than the fat of rams.” (Samuel I 22:15). The final clause conveys a degree of ignorance, it is not willful evil, but wrong nonetheless.
The Rambam (Moreh I:5) cites this verse in reference to multiple interconnected episodes in the Torah. These include Nadav and Avihu and the 70 elders at Har Sinai (Shemot 24), Nadav and Avihu at the dedication of the Mishkan (Vayikra 10), and the episode of evil complaining in the desert (Bamidbar 11). Rashi provides a succinct summary of the explication of the Sages:
שמות כד
(ט) וַיַּ֥עַל מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְאַהֲרֹ֑ן נָדָב֙ וַאֲבִיה֔וּא וְשִׁבְעִ֖ים מִזִּקְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (י) וַיִּרְא֕וּ אֵ֖ת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְתַ֣חַת רַגְלָ֗יו כְּמַעֲשֵׂה֙ לִבְנַ֣ת הַסַּפִּ֔יר וּכְעֶ֥צֶם הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם לָטֹֽהַר׃ (יא) וְאֶל־אֲצִילֵי֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹ֥א שָׁלַ֖ח יָד֑וֹ וַיֶּֽחֱזוּ֙א אֶת־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃
Shemot 24:10
(9) And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ascended, (10) and they perceived the God of Israel, and beneath His feet was like the forming of a sapphire brick and like the appearance of the heavens for clarity. (11) And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank.
רש"י שמות כ"ד:י'
ויראו את אלהי ישראל – נסתכלו והציצו, ונתחייבו מיתה. אלא שלא רצה הקב"ה לערבב שמחת התורה, והמתין לנדב ואביהוא עד יום חנכת המשכן, ולזקנים עד: ויהי העם כמתאננים, ותבער בם אש ותאכל בקצה המחנה (במדבר י"א:א') – בקצינים שבהם.
Rashi – Shemot 24:10
And they perceived the God of Israel – They gazed and peered and [because of this] were doomed to die, but the Holy One, blessed is He, did not want to disturb the rejoicing of [this moment of the giving of] the Torah. So He waited for Nadab and Abihu [i.e., to kill them,] until the day of the dedication of the Mishkan, and for [destroying] the elders until [the following incident:] “And the people were as if seeking complaints… and a fire of the Lord broke out against them and devoured at the edge (בִּקְצֵה) of the camp” (Num. 11:1). [בִקְצֵה denotes] the officers (בִקְצִינִים) of the camp [i.e., the elders]. -[From Midrash Tanchuma Beha’alothecha 16]
Apparently the death of Nadav and Avihu at the dedication of the Mishkan and the fire that broke out among the complaining in the desert are connected to an error made at the giving of the Torah. What that error was is discussed by the Rambam:
Maimonides – Guide to the Perplexed I:5
The nobles of the children of Israel, on the other hand, were overhasty, strained their thoughts, and achieved apprehension, but only an imperfect one. Hence it is said of them: And they saw the God of Israel, and there was under His feet, and so on; and not merely: And they saw the God of Israel. For these words are solely intended to present a criticism of their act of seeing, not to describe the manner of their seeing. Thus they were solely blamed for the form that their apprehension took inasmuch as corporeality entered into it to some extent- this being necessitated by their overhasty rushing forward before they had reached perfection. They deserved to perish. However, [Moses], peace be on him, interceded for them; and they were granted a reprieve until the time they were burnt at Taberah, whereas Nadab and Abihu were burnt in the Tabernacle of the Congregation, as is stated in a correct tradition. This having happened to these men, it behooves us, all the more, as being inferior to them, and it behooves those who are inferior to us, to aim at and engage in perfecting our knowledge of preparatory matters and in achieving those premises that purify apprehension of its taint, which is error. It will then go forward to look upon the divine holy Presence. It is accordingly said: And let the priests also, that come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. Accordingly Solomon has bidden the man who wishes to reach this rank to be most circumspect. He said warningly in parabolic language: Guard thy foot when thou goest to the house of God.
The Rambam makes these comments in a chapter focusing on the process of acquiring knowledge in complicated areas. One starting premise is to recognize that man’s intellectual capacities are limited. When he ventures into subjects that are complex, he must proceed cautiously. This is exemplified by Moshe. Moshe originally hid his face when confronted with the burning bush. The Sages explain that he was rewarded with more knowledge as a result (Berakhot 7a).
The contrasting example is Nadav and Avihu and the elders at Har Sinai. They had a certain perception about God which was mistaken. This error manifested itself at two later points in Jewish history. A fire broke forth and killed Nadav and Avihu at the dedication of the Sanctuary. And another fire broke forth when the people complained, a turning point in the Jewish people’s march toward the land of Israel ultimately leading to 40 years in the desert.
When we enter into a new area of knowledge we must be careful to recognize we are in uncharted intellectual territory. If we go in leading with our preconceived notions, we may merely re-confirm what we already know. Thomas Kuhn discusses this in the context of science, when scientists fit new anomalous facts into old paradigms. This not only causes us to miss out on an opportunity to advance our knowledge, but can even distort our perceptions and interpretations. It is essential to be patient, to explore new horizons without judgment, and sometimes to let the knowledge come to us.
References
Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions ([2d ed., enl). Univ. of Chicago Press.
Maimonides, M., & Pines, S. (1978). The guide of the perplexed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rosenberg, A. (1980). A new English translation of the Hebrew Bible text and Rashi, with a commentary digest. New York: Judaica Press. Retrieved from: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/
Steinsaltz, A., In Weinreb, T. H., In Schreier, J., & Hotsaat Koren (Jerusalem),. (2017). Koren Talmud Bavli, the Noe edition: Talmud Bavli. Retrieved from: https://shas.alhatorah.org/
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