Kehilat Kesher: Community Synagogue of Tenafly and Englewood, Orthodox
Standing outside the Young Israel of Scarsdale this past Sunday, mourning the loss of two great leaders taken by a strange fire, I could not help reflecting on the loss of the sons of Aharon, two great leaders taken by a strange fire. Rabbi Jacob and Debbie Rubenstein were taken last Friday night in a fire that we still do not understand. They were founders of the Jewish community of Scarsdale and they both created a powerful presence for these last 25 years. The shul was filled to capacity, with more than 2,000 people inside. Several hundred others stood outside. Listening to the words of my contemporaries mourn their parents and standing with old high school classmates, I could not help but shed a tear.
Kehilat Kesher: Community Synagogue of Tenafly and Englewood, Orthodox
Standing outside the Young Israel of Scarsdale this past Sunday, mourning the loss of two great leaders taken by a strange fire, I could not help reflecting on the loss of the sons of Aharon, two great leaders taken by a strange fire. Rabbi Jacob and Debbie Rubenstein were taken last Friday night in a fire that we still do not understand. They were founders of the Jewish community of Scarsdale and they both created a powerful presence for these last 25 years. The shul was filled to capacity, with more than 2,000 people inside. Several hundred others stood outside. Listening to the words of my contemporaries mourn their parents and standing with old high school classmates, I could not help but shed a tear.
And so we turn to the parasha to find solace. There we read of what the Jewish people learned about after the tragic death of Nadav and Avihu, two great leaders taken through a strange fire. If we look back at the events of their death we are left with questions. What could these two young pure leaders have done to deserve such a harsh punishment? Try as we might, there is no truly satisfying answer to be found in the chumash itself.
We are reminded of the suffering of Job — a righteous man who seemed to be free of sin. Job is visited by several friends, all with the same basic message. They try to convince him that he must have done something wrong to deserve these punishments from a just God. The Gemara (Bava Metzia 48b) refers to the friends’ message as "ona’at devarim" — words of torture. The Rabbis understood that to approach a person while he is suffering and tell him that it is his own fault is not an act of pious theodicy but rather self-righteous violence.
There are times when there are simply no answers to the question of "why," and we must move onto the question "what now?"
The narrative of the death of the sons of Aharon, Nadav and Avihu, is embedded within several chapters that outline the laws of purity. The high point is the opening of this week’s parasha. Here we are told about the special ceremony for Yom ha-Kippurim, the holiest day of the year. The Torah is very careful to delineate when we are permitted to come close to the holiness of HaShem contained inside the Holy of Holies. The Torah’s fundamental response to the loss of Nadav and Avihu is the pursuit of holiness — in terms of food, interpersonal relations (metzora), and ritual worship — in every aspect of our lives.
Perhaps the beginning of a response to the tragic loss of Rabbi Jacob and Debbie Rubenstein is to carry forward their Torah into the next generation. Listening to the four children speak brought out both intense feelings of loss as well a sense of tremendous inspiration. As we prepare for our seders, our hearts reach out to each and every one of them.
May the family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.