Over the past week, I have been counting the Omer and refraining from shaving, as part of the mourning customs observed until Lag BaOmer. This is one of the traditions I have held onto over the years, not because of the well-known Talmudic lesson about the deaths of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students “because they did not treat each other with respect.” (Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot, 60b), but because the truth is far more complicated. Rabbi Akiva’s students followed his messianic fervor and were killed in the Bar Kokhba Revolt. Unlike most sages of the time, the charismatic Rabbi Akiva crowned the leader of the revolt as the Messiah and sent his students into what became a suicidal confrontation with the Roman Empire, an event that de-facto led to the beginning of exile and the great uprooting from the Land of Israel.
Parashat “Shemini” reveals the danger of “Strange Fire.” Fire is so essential to our lives. Mastery of fire marked the beginning of human dominance, both for good and for ill, on this planet. In morality, religion, and values more broadly, there is much fire that inspires us to charge forward, to climb the hills of our lives, and to bring about repair and transformation in reality.
But fire also carries great danger. The very same fire that sends us to protect Palestinian farmers and communities can also send young people living in outposts to kill, expel, and dispossess, believing they are fulfilling the will of God, personally delivered to them. This is the danger of “Strange Fire.” That is why there was no compromise when it came to Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the High Priest, who alongside Moses stood in direct relationship with the Divine. The strange fire they brought into the sacred space led to their own destruction.
The danger of a person who loses their head, their compass, and their conscience, who believes they know exactly what God demands of them and implements violent and harmful plans in God’s name, is a terrible danger.
Standing against it is the mission of our lives: to cultivate within us a fire that warms and nurtures, and to restrain the dangerous fire that would destroy and burn the most delicate and essential foundations of our lives.
This period we are in, after Passover and before the Days of Remembrance and Independence Day, in the “eighth” day, is an excellent time to burn away our internal and collective chametz. To distinguish between one fire and another, between sacred and profane, between good and evil, and to act for justice, peace, and equality in our world.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Rabbi Avi Dabush is the CEO of Rabbis for Human Rights. He was ordained by the Shalom Hartman Institute and continues to integrate Jewish values with social activism. In 2023, he received the Sami Michael Award for his work in reducing social and economic inequality. On October 7th, Rabbi Dabush survived the Hamas terror attack in his home at Kibbutz Nirim. He has become a leading voice in advocating for the return of the hostages and continues to call for human rights and peace across the region.
Parashat “Shemini” reveals the danger of “Strange Fire.” Fire is so essential to our lives. Mastery of fire marked the beginning of human dominance, both for good and for ill, on this planet. In morality, religion, and values more broadly, there is much fire that inspires us to charge forward, to climb the hills of our lives, and to bring about repair and transformation in reality.
But fire also carries great danger. The very same fire that sends us to protect Palestinian farmers and communities can also send young people living in outposts to kill, expel, and dispossess, believing they are fulfilling the will of God, personally delivered to them. This is the danger of “Strange Fire.” That is why there was no compromise when it came to Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the High Priest, who alongside Moses stood in direct relationship with the Divine. The strange fire they brought into the sacred space led to their own destruction.
The danger of a person who loses their head, their compass, and their conscience, who believes they know exactly what God demands of them and implements violent and harmful plans in God’s name, is a terrible danger.
Standing against it is the mission of our lives: to cultivate within us a fire that warms and nurtures, and to restrain the dangerous fire that would destroy and burn the most delicate and essential foundations of our lives.
This period we are in, after Passover and before the Days of Remembrance and Independence Day, in the “eighth” day, is an excellent time to burn away our internal and collective chametz. To distinguish between one fire and another, between sacred and profane, between good and evil, and to act for justice, peace, and equality in our world.
Shabbat Shalom!
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Rabbi Avi Dabush is the CEO of Rabbis for Human Rights. He was ordained by the Shalom Hartman Institute and continues to integrate Jewish values with social activism. In 2023, he received the Sami Michael Award for his work in reducing social and economic inequality. On October 7th, Rabbi Dabush survived the Hamas terror attack in his home at Kibbutz Nirim. He has become a leading voice in advocating for the return of the hostages and continues to call for human rights and peace across the region.