This week’s parsha depicts the excitement of the Mishkan inauguration and the shock of the deaths of the new priests, Nadav and Avihu, as: “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 commanded them. And fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them” (Vayikra/Leviticus 10:1-2) What did Nadav and Avihu do wrong? Some say they were drunk (Rashi) on the basis of the warning, a few verses a

The parsha opens with a peculiar Mitzva. It a simple daily Temple ritual called Terumat Hadeshen. Every morning, a priest ascends the altar to the burning pyre that sits on its top, and removes a small volume of ash. He then descends and carefully places the ash in a designated spot alongside the altar. The ash is then disposed of outside the camp. When the Torah instructs this symbolic action of disposal, it adds an additional note: "Every morning the priest is to add firewo