The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. The Day of Atonement regulations are introduced in the shadow of the deaths of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. The connection between the sons' deaths and the Yom Kippur regulations is the connection between unauthorized approach and authorized approach: the deaths of those who approached the divine presence improperly create the context for the regulations governing the one authorized annual approach to the Most Holy Place. The connection is not punitive but pedagogical: the tragedy teaches the necessity of the prescribed approach.

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