Biblical Counterterrorism Advice

This week's Torah portion, Bamidbar (the beginning of the Book of Numbers), deals with mundane matters – detailed results of a population census and a description of the Israelites' camping and travel arrangements.

But in the midst of these seemingly boring numerical data, there is an important piece of counterterrorism advice.

Incidental to the census of the Tribe of Levi, a verse dealing with the death of Aaron's two sons, Nadab and Abihu, recalls a tragic event of the past:

"But Nadab and Abihu died by the will of the Lord, when they offered alien fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they left no sons." (Numbers 3:4)

And the question is: Since we already know the circumstances of the death of Nadab and Abihu, why is it necessary for the Torah to repeat the events that were already recounted in great detail in the previous chapters? Certainly we remember very well the dreadful story– thoroughly documented in Parashat Shemini – of their being consumed in a fireball because they brought the alien fire ('eish zara')!
Back in Parashat Shemini, when the Torah described this dramatic and tragic event, we are told that Nadab and Abihu offered "before the Lord alien fire which He did not command them." (Leviticus 10:1). What is the import of "alien fire which He did not command them?"

One of the great late-19th century rabbis, the Netziv of Volozhin, explains:

They entered because of the fire of enthusiastic love of God, and the Torah teaches that even though love of God be very dear in the eyes of God, this is not the way; He did not command this.

In their religious fervor, Aaron's sons performed acts which God had not ordered. Their religious zeal led them astray. They distorted the religious goals of sacrificial offerings; and, because of this, they were sentenced to die. Thus, even religious fervor can be an "alien fire."

The severe punishment which Nadab and Abihu suffered was a warning to prevent others from performing unacceptable acts in the name of that dangerous religious passion. The Netziv points out that enthusiasm in the performance of mitzvot can lead to loss of judgment and to extreme behavior. The "alien fire" is an expression and symbol of a warped service of God; a religious philosophy in which "the end justifies the means."

In our parasha, the Torah appends an important fact about Nadab and Abihu– "and they left no sons." On first thought, this seems to have been added for the purpose of the census. But perhaps there is more to this statement than meets the eye. This additional fact may very well be a key explanation of why people perform radical and extreme acts in the name of religion.

Instead of engaging in cultivating their own garden, e.g. raising children, building a career, living a normal life, they immersed themselves in a world of holiness. Nadab and Abihu saw the world through a prism of holiness. Driven and consumed by this motivation to be holy in every single aspect of their life, they made a grave error of judgment and crossed the boundaries -- only to be punished and die in a terrible death.

According to this interpretation, "and they left no sons" is not only a statement of fact; it is the cause of their tragic fate. This is why they fell into the trap of religious zealotry. Had they understood that the Torah commands us to live normal lives – and the epitome of normal life is raising a family – they would not have reached so tragic an end.

In this day and age, when we are devoting so much time and energy to foil terrorist plots of religious extremists, this is an important piece of counterterrorism advice. People who are not living a normal life, people who don't have families - are easily radicalized. The combination of being single and highly religious is a combustible one -- and can lead to acts of extremism and terror. In order to identify these people and foil these plots in advance -- that's where we should be looking.

Nidal Malik Hasan, the perpetrator of the Ford Hood massacre, was single. Yigal Amir, the Jewish terrorist who murdered Yitzhak Rabin, was single. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit, was single. These are examples of people who turned away worldly pleasures and family life, and their warped religious devotion radicalized them to the point of committing murder. Thus, "and they left no sons" is a key piece of counterterrorism advice: Look out for people who are single, are not interested in family life, and are immersed in a world of religion.

Another conclusion follows: maintaining a normal life is just as important to proper religious observance. God does not want us to give up on the normal joys and enjoyments of life; a situation in which the sole focus is achievement of holiness is highly dangerous.

Thus, seeking to enjoy the "normal" things that most people want in life is not an inferior goal. It is not a shallow "North Tel-Aviv" longing. In Israel, you often hear the West Bank settlers and their supporters denounce the "empty" Israelis living in Israel's metropolitan areas who only want to be "normal" and are focused on the pleasures of life. The idea found in this week's parasha is a rebuttal: living a normal life and wanting to be normal like the rest of the world is an essential condition for balancing out the dangers of religious radicalism.

Certainly, not all people who devote their lives to attaining holiness are terrorists; but one must beware of people who are so religious that they neglect to enjoy the pleasures of life. The story of Nadab and Abihu is significant because it teaches us that if everything in life is viewed through the lenses of holiness (and especially if it's holiness of the land or holiness of the state), one can easily lose good moral judgment and become obsessed with holiness to the extent of justifying killing innocent people.