This parsha, in its opening line seems unclear,

but this contains a lesson which we need to hear.

“Aharon’s sons died because they were close to God,”

and this is a reason which at first sounds very odd.

Being close to God is clearly something very good;

they longed for this closeness. Everyone should!

One explanation is that we all have things we need to purge,

including, sometimes, something that seems like a good urge.

Sometimes, something that may look good and right,

is actually something against which we have to fight.

We need to be close to God, and to do it in God’s way;

we need to listen to every detail of each thing that He does say.

When we choose to be close only in the way that we want to,

we end up doing things that we’re not supposed to do.

So, we’re reminded that even the Kohanim that got so close,

needed to look at fear of God and take an extra dose.

And balance the love that they felt which was so strong,

and be sure to never let that love lead them to do something wrong.

May we be blessed, particularly at this time of year,

during Sefirat HaOmer, to add a little extra fear.

And remember Rabbi Akiva’s students who thought that they were right,

when against one another—for the sake of Heaven—they did fight.

But they used their sincerity in a disrespectful way, that was too strong,

because they applied their zealous nature in a way that was wrong.

May we be blessed that the longing for God that we feel,

should always be intense and always be real.

And to  use our desire for God in a way which is good,

and always keep things balanced the way that we should.

Rabbi Neil Fleischmann, an ordained rabbi from RIETS, has taught Torah for over 30 years, primarily at The Frisch School, where he coached the award-winning poetry team. As an integral part of the Yeshiva Poetry Society, Fleischmann is a passionate advocate for the arts within the Torah world. He was named New York’s funniest rabbi and has performed stand up comedy, as well as presenting as scholar in residence, across the city and country. His literary work includes the haiku collection, “In The Field,” and he has contributed close to 20 poems to the “Stories of Our Lives” anthologies, parts 1 and 2. Currently, Fleischmann is working on a book of parsha poems that combines meaningful content with whimsical formatting. You can reach him at [email protected].