Shemini

The parsha this week tells us about the death of two of the sons of Aaron who brought a sacrifice that they weren't commanded to and instead of the heavenly fire consuming the sacrifice it consumed them.
The posuk then says that Moshe told Aaron הוא אשר דבר ה' לאמר בקרבי אקדש, this is what Hashem said with my close ones I will be sanctified.
Rashi says, Moshe says to Aaron, my brother, I knew that the mishkan would be sanctified by someone who was close to Hashem. I thought it would be either me or you. Now I see that they are greater than us.

The שערי ארמון asks, by mattan Torah it says ואל אצילי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו, and to the אצילי בני ישראל Hashem didn't punish. Rashi says that the אצילי were Nadav & Avihu who really deserved death for gazing at Hashem while eating & drinking.
The אור החיים says that the reason Hashem didn't punish them then was because He didn't want to mar the joy of mattan Torah for all of klal Yisroel would mourn for them.
So why now by the inauguration which was as great to Hashem as the day heaven & earth were created, would He want to mar the joy of the people with the death of Nadav & Avihu?

The Otzros HaTorah relates a parable to help explain. There was a king who wanted to build a city where everyone would be happy; a city that had everything. He appointed someone to be in charge & build this beautiful city. They were to build spacious homes, parks, gardens, wells and anything else one could want.

After the city was built & the people were living in it the king came to see that all was the way he envisioned. The people made a big meal for the king & while they were all at the meal the king asked if they were all satisfied with the city. All as one they answered with a resounding yes. Again, the king asked is there anyone with any problem? Finally one man got up & said the only thing this town is missing is a doctor. Immediately the king promised to send them a doctor.

On the day the doctor came to town they once again made a big meal. The whole town came to greet the doctor dressed in their best clothes. The doctor was a little taken aback by all the honor bestowed upon him & thought to himself, these people probably don't know what a doctor is. They probably think a doctor is a miracle worker who can heal the blind & bring the dead back to life.

At the meal the king took attendance to make sure all the people were there & there was one person missing. After investigating where he was, they reported that he was sick. The king turns to the doctor & says, go heal him. The doctor goes to the man, gives him a bunch of pills & comes back. A short time later there's a commotion in the hall. The sick man had died! The king angrily turns to the doctor & says, what happened?? He wasn't that sick! The doctor responds," I killed him"! The king recoils in shock.
The doctor continues and explains, had I healed him it would have been detrimental to the people of this city, for then they would all rely on me to cure everything. They wouldn't be careful about what they do because they would think that I could just heal anything. I wanted them to know that my powers are limited & I cannot always help so that they would take care of themselves too.

Here too, before there was a mishkan the Jews were warned not to sin for there was no way to get forgiveness ואיש בחטאו יומת, man died for his sin. Now that the mishkan was built & there were karbonos to gain atonement for their sins, there was a fear that the people would do as they please & rely on the korbonos to grant them forgiveness. In order to dispel this misconception Hashem had to punish Nadav & Avihu at the inauguration of the mishkan for a minor infraction in a big way. Their merits didn't help nor did the fact that they were Aaron's children or Moshe's nephews. This placed the fear of sin back on the Jewish people & showed that no matter who you are or what korbanos you can bring, you still can't rely on outside forces to help you.
Rather, each one of us must take care of ourselves by avoiding sin to ensure that we don't get "sick".