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ב"ה
וַתֵּצֵא אֵשׁ מִלִּפְנֵי ה' וַתֹּאכַל אוֹתָם וַיָּמֻתוּ לִפְנֵי ה' (ויקרא י, ב)
And fire went forth from before G-d and consumed them, and they died before G-d. (Vayikra 10:2)
Expectations
Why were Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, punished with sudden death? According to R' Yishmael (cited in Vayikra Rabbah 12:1), they died because they entered the Mishkan under the influence of alcohol, as is evidenced by G-d's immediate warning to Aharaon and his surviving sons to refrain from drinking wine before entering the Mishkan.
To illustrate this explanation, the Midrash relates a parable of a king who once found his devoted domestic aide entering a tavern. The king executed him without a word, and appointed another aide in his place. "It might not have been obvious at first why the first aide was put to death," explains the Midrash, "but when the king instructed the new aide, 'Do not enter the doors of taverns,' the cause for the first aide's execution became evident."
Rashi (on Vayikra 10:2) cites R' Yishmael's explanation and refers the reader to the Midrashic parable: "This is analogous to a king who had a domestic aide etc., as taught in Vayikra Rabbah." Though he does not quote the parable in full, Rashi draws attention to its opening words, thereby addressing the most troubling issue raised by R' Yishmael's explanation: How could G-d punish Nadav and Avihu for entering the Mishkan while intoxicated, if they had never been instructed otherwise? The warning not to drink wine before entering the Mishkan was told to Aharon immediately after their deaths, but not before!
To explain, Rashi emphasizes that the Midrashic parable likens Nadav and Avihu to the king's trusted aide,—בן בית in Hebrew, a member of the king's household.Even though he was not warned, the aide is held accountable for his behavior because as a member of the king's household he should have intuitively sensed that his behavior was against the king's wishes.
The same is true of Nadav and Avihu, of whom G-d told Moshe, "Through those nearest to Me I will be sanctified" (10:3). Even if entering the Mishkan after drinking wine had not yet been explicitly forbidden, the appropriate mode of conduct should have come to Nadav and Avihu instinctively.
—Likutei Sichos, vol. 12, pp. 50-52
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