Serving Hashem through living, not dying

בפסוק אחרי מות כו' דבר כו' ולא ימות כו' פרש"י זה זרזו יותר כו'.

On the verse "After the death... speak... that he not die..." (Vayikra 16:1-2), Rashi explains: "This urged him all the more" — that he should not enter the Holy of Holies improperly, so that he not die as his sons died.

The Sefas Emes begins with Rashi's comment that the mention of the death of Aharon's sons was meant to give Aharon an extra, urgent warning not to enter the Kodesh HaKodashim at the wrong time.

מה שהי' צריך במצוה זו כ"כ זירוז.

The question is: why did this mitzvah require such intense urging?

He asks why Aharon needed such especially strong encouragement and warning regarding this particular command.

נראה כי הי' נסיון גדול כי לא לחנם מסרו נפשם נדב ואביהוא אשר היו צדיקים גדולים ועשו בזה תיקון גדול לכלל ישראל.

It appears that there was a great test, for Nadav and Avihu did not give up their lives for nothing — they were great tzaddikim and accomplished a great rectification for all of Yisrael through this.

Nadav and Avihu's deaths were not meaningless; as great tzaddikim, their self-sacrifice in drawing close to Hashem actually brought about a profound tikkun for the entire Klal Yisrael.

אך שהי' חסרון במעשיהם כמ"ש חז"ל.

But there was a deficiency in their actions, as Chazal said.

Nevertheless, as Chazal teach, their deed was flawed — their overwhelming desire to draw close overstepped the proper boundary.

ונראה כי זכו בנ"י לעבודת יוה"כ על ידיהם.

And it appears that Bnei Yisrael merited the avodah of Yom Kippur through them.

Through the self-sacrifice of Nadav and Avihu, Bnei Yisrael were granted the entire avodah of Yom Kippur — the once-a-year entry of the Kohen Gadol into the Holy of Holies.

לכן קורין הפרשה ביו"כ [כנ"ל אם כן רצון הש"י] לכן נתקנא בהם מרע"ה באמרו הם גדולים ממני וממך.

Therefore we read this parsha on Yom Kippur — as above, this was the will of Hashem — therefore Moshe Rabbeinu envied them, saying: "They are greater than me and you."

Since their death opened the path to the Yom Kippur avodah, we read this portion on Yom Kippur. Moshe Rabbeinu himself envied their spiritual greatness, recognizing that their level of closeness to Hashem surpassed even his and Aharon's.

ונוכל לפרש ולא ימותו הוא בכלל האזהרה כי הי' אפשר שימסור אהרן נפשו לכנוס אף שימות.

And we can explain that "that he not die" is included in the warning, for it was possible that Aharon would give up his own life to enter, even though he would die.

The warning "that he not die" was needed because Aharon, like his sons, might have been willing to sacrifice his life in order to enter the Holy of Holies and achieve that intense closeness to Hashem.

לכן נאמר לו אל יבא ולא ימות כי רצון המקום שיחי'.

Therefore it was said to him: "Let him not come... that he not die" — for the will of the Omnipresent is that he should live.

Hashem specifically warned Aharon not to enter at the wrong time, because Hashem's true ratzon is that a person serve Him through living, not through dying.

והנה כל אדם א"י לכנוס לק"ק ואהרן הי' יכול אלא שנאסר לו לכנוס והי' נסיון גדול לכן הוצרך להזהירו כ"כ כנ"ל:

Now, any person cannot enter the Holy of Holies, but Aharon was able to — except that he was forbidden to enter; and this was a great test, therefore it was necessary to warn him so much, as above.

For an ordinary person, staying out of the Kodesh HaKodashim is no test at all, since he could not enter anyway. But Aharon had the spiritual capacity to enter, so holding himself back was a tremendous nisayon — which is why he needed such powerful warning.

Summary: Nadav and Avihu were great tzaddikim whose self-sacrifice brought a great tikkun and opened the avodah of Yom Kippur for Bnei Yisrael, though their deed was flawed. Aharon, who had the capacity to enter the Holy of Holies, faced the great test of restraining that very longing for closeness to Hashem — for Hashem's will is that we serve Him through living, not through dying. Hence the unusually intense warning he was given.