(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 the LORD alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. (2) And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the LORD. (3) Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent.

(1) NOW AHARON’S SONS NADAV AND AVIHU EACH TOOK. Already, before the fire went forth from before Adonai, they had each taken their firepans to offer incense inside on the gold altar, because the morning incense offering precedes the disposal of the remains of the previous night's [animal] sacrifice. And each put extraneous fire, which Moshe had not commanded them for this day, for even though regarding other days it is written (Lev. 1:7), "The sons of Aharon the priest shall put fire on the altar," on this day, Moshe did not command and did not want themto bring mundane fire, because they were expecting the descent of supernal fire, and it would not be good on this day to bring this, in order to sanctify the name of Heaven, that everyone would know that fire had come from the heavens, as Eliyahu said (I Kings 18:25), "but apply no fire," because he wanted to sanctify the name of Heaven through the descent of the fire from above.

Rabbi Berechyah opened: "To punish the innocent is surely not right, (or to flog the great for their uprightness). (Prov. 17:26 TNK). The Blessed Holy One said: Nevertheless, I punished Aaron and I took his two sons from him, this was not right, except "to flog the great for their uprightness (Prov. 17:26)." This is what Scripture says: "After the death...." Rabbi Eliezer taught that the sons of Aaron would not have died if they had not taught a Halacha in the presence of their teacher, Moses. An incident concerning one student who taught in the presence of his teacher, Rabbi Eliezer. He said to Imma Shalom: Alas for the wife of this one, he will not outlast the week! The week did not pass before he died. The Sanges came to him and they said: Are you a prophet? He replied: I am no prophet nor am I the son of a prophet (Amos 7:14), but I have received this: "Whoever teaches a law in the presence of his master earns death.

(1) (Lev. 16:1:) “After the death of Aaron's two sons.” R. Berekhyah opened (his discourse with Prov. 17:26), “To punish also the righteous is not good; to smite the noble ones for uprightness.”³⁵Lev. R. 20:6; PRK 26(27):6/7. Said the Holy One, blessed be He, “Although I punished Aaron (for the golden calf) by taking his two children from him, it is not good. It was only (according to ibid., cont.) “to smite the noble ones for uprightness.”³⁶Perhaps either because they themselves had sinned or in order to sanctify the Divine Name, since (according to Lev. 10:3) Aaron accepted their deaths in silence. See Enoch Zundel in his commentary on Tanh., Lev. 6:5.

Bar Kappara, in the name of Rabbi Yirmeyah son of Elazar said: On account of 4 things the sons of Aaron died: (1) for coming near, (2) for the offering, (3) for strange fire and (4) for not consulting with each other. For coming near: Since they entered before the Presence, For offering: Since they offered a sacrifice they had been commanded to offer. For the strange fire: they brought in fire from the kitchen. For not consulting with each other: As Scripture says: "Each with his firepan...(Leviticus 10:1)." Each one acted on his own and did not consult with the other. Rabbi Yirmeyah son of Elazar said: The death of Aaron's sons is mentioned in four places and in each one their wrongdoing is mentioned. Why all this? To inform you that they were not guilty except for one sin alone. Rabbi Elazar of Modin said: Come and see how much the deaths of Aaron's sons concerned the Blessed Holy One--for in every place that Scripture mentions their death, it mentions their offense. Why all this? To let you know so that you do not open your mouth when you go out to the world, saying they committed contemptible acts in secret and that on this account they died.

Rabbi Manai of Sheav, Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin and Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The sons of Aaron died on account of four things, for about each of them death is written: (1) that they had drank wine--in connection with death is written, as Scripture says: "Wine and strong beer do not drink...lest you die (Leviticus 10:9),"(2) Because they were missing garments, and death is written about this, as Scripture says: "And they shall be upon Aaron and his sons [when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the altar to officiate in the sanctuary, so that they do not incur punishment and die.] (Ex. 28:43)." What did they lack? The robe, in connection with which death is written, as Scripture says: "Aaron shall wear it while officiating, [so that the sound of it is heard when he comes into the sanctuary before the LORD and when he goes out -- that he may not die.] (Exod. 28:35)." (3) Because they entered [the Sanctuary] without washing their hands and feet, that they not die, as Scripture says: "they shall wash their hands and feet, lest they die. (Exod. 30:21)" And it is written: When they enter the Tent of Meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die (Exod. 30:20), and (4) Due to their lack of children, concerning which death is written. So it is written: "But Nadab and Abihu died by the will of the LORD, when they offered alien fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai; and they left no sons. (Num. 3:4)." Abba Chanin says it was because they had no wives, so it is written: "Aaron is to offer his own bull of sin offering, to make expiation for himself and for his household. (Lev. 16:6). "His household," this is his wife.

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! Rabbi Manachma in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua son of Nechemiah said: "Fire consumed their young men, and their maidens remained unwed. (Ps. 78:63). Why were their young men consumed by fire? Because their maidens were not praised (in wedding songs). Such is the import of this verse: "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. Rabbi Berechyah said: the Holy Blessed One said to them: "Do not boast of tomorrow, For you do not know what the day will bring. (Prov. 27:1)." Many young assess have died and their skins made into saddle cloths upon the backs of their mothers. Further proof comes from Exodus 24:11: "Yet He did not send His hand against the chieftains of the Israelites; they beheld God, and they ate and drank. (Exod. 24:11). Rabbi Pinchas said: From this you can infer that it was appropriate to send a hand against them. As Rabbi Hoshayah said: Did food and drink go up with them to Sinai, that you say "they beheld God, and they ate and drank"? Rather, this teaches you that they feasted their eyes on the Shekinah, that "they beheld God" as a person looks upon his friend in the midst of eating and drinking. Rabbi Yochanan says: Eating and fullness, as Scripture says: "In the light of the presence of the King is life; His favor is like a cloud of spring rain. (Prov. 16:15). Rabbi Tanchuma said this teaches that they let their hair hang loose on their heads, became bold in their hearts and feasted their eyes on the Shekinah. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sichnin in the name of Rabbi Levi said: Moses did not feast his eyes upon the Shekinah yet derived benefit from the Shekinah, he did not feast his eyes on the Shekinah, as Scripture says: "And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. (Exod. 3:6)," He derived benefit from the Shekhinah nevertheless, as Scripture says: "Moses did not know that the skin of his face was shining, since he had spoken with Him. (Exod. 34:29)" As a reward for hiding his face, he merited "Adonai spoke to Moses... face to face...(Ex. 33:11). As a reward for "he was afraid to look" he merited "they were afraid to draw near him (Ex. 34:20)", as a reward for "he was afraid to look" he merited "and he beholds the likeness of Adonai. (Num. 12:8). Nadav and Avihu, however, feasted their eyes on the Shekhinah and did not derive benefit as a result. Further, Scripture says: "Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of Adonai (Num. 3:4)." Did they indeed die "before Adonai"? We instead learn from this that the Holy Blessed One finds it hard when the children of the righteous die in their [parents'] lifetimes. Rabbi Yudan of Jaffa was asked by Rabbi Pinchas son of Rabbi Chama in the name of Rabbi Simon: "Why does Scripture say [Nadav and Avihu died] "in the presence of Adonai"(Lev. 10:2) & (Num 3:4)", two times while further on it says "Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of their father (1 Chronicles 24:2)" one time? To teach that it was twice as difficult for the Holy Blessed One as it was for their father--so Scripture says "in the presence of Adonai in the wilderness of Sinai; (Num. 3:4)" Rabbi Meir asked: Did they really die in the wilderness of Sinai? This teaches that on Mount Sinai they received their verdict of death. A parable of a king that was celebrating the marriage of his daughter and a fault was discovered in the bride's agent. The King thought, if I kill him now, I will mar the celebration of my daughter. Instead, later, when my own celebration comes [I will kill him]. Better my own celebration than the celebration of my daughter. So thought the Blessed Holy One: If I kill them now, I will mar the celebration of my daughter. Later, my own celebration will come. "My daughter" is the Torah. Hence, Scripture says: "[O]n the day of his betrothal, on the day of his heart's gladness (Song of Songs, 3:11)," "On the day of his betrothal" means Mount Sinai. "On the day of his heart's gladness" this refers to the Tent of Meeting.

They saw [a vision of] the God of Yisrael. They intentionally looked and intently gazed and thereby became liable to death. But God did not want to disturb the joy [of the receiving] of the Torah and therefore waited to punish Nadav and Avihu until the day that the Mishkan was dedicated. As for the elders [He waited] until: “The people were as complainers, etc. and a fire from God burnt among them and consumed בִּקְצֵה of the camp,” [בִּקְצֵה meaning] the leaders of the camp.