When Israel beheld the funeral rites prepared in honor of Aaron by God
and by the angels, they also prepared a funeral ceremony of thirty days
in which all the people, men and women, adults and children, took part.
[642] This universal mourning had its foundation not only in Israel's
emulation of the Divine mourning and of the ceremonies arranged by
Moses and Eleazar, or in their wish to show their reverence for the
deceased high priest, but first and foremost in the truth that the
people deeply loved Aaron and deeply felt his death. They mourned for
him even more than they did later for Moses; for the latter only a part
of the people shed tears, but for Aaron, everyone. Moses, as a judge,
was obliged to mete out justice to the guilty, so that he had enemies
among the people, men who could not forget that he had pronounced them
guilty in court. Moses, furthermore, was sometimes severe with Israel
when he held up to them their sins, but never Aaron. The latter "loved
peace and pursued peace, loved men and brought them near to the Torah.
In his humility, he did not consider his dignity hurt by offering
greetings first even to the lowliest, yes, he did not even fail in
offering his greeting when he was certain that the man before him was
wicked and godless. The lament of the angels for Aaron as one "who did
turn many away from iniquity" was therefore well justified. This
kindliness of his led many a sinner to reform, who at the moment when
he was about to commit a sin thought to himself: "How shall I be able
to lift up my eyes to Aaron's face? I, to whom Aaron was so kind, blush
to do evil." Aaron recognized his especial task as that of the
peace-maker. If he discovered that two men had fallen out, he hastened
first to the one, then to the other, saying to each: "My son, dost thou
not know what he is doing with whom thou hast quarreled? He beats at
his heart, rends his garments in grief, and says, 'Woe is me! How can I
ever again lift up my eyes and look upon my companion against whom I
have acted so?'" Aaron would then speak to each separately until both
the former enemies would mutually forgive each other, and as soon as
they were again face to face salute each other as friends. If Aaron
heard that husband and wife lived in discord, he would hasten to the
husband, saying: "I come to thee because I hear that thou and thy wife
live in discord, wherefore thou must divorce her. Keep in mind,
however, that if thou shouldst in place of thy present wife marry
another, it is very questionable if thy second wife will be as good as
this one; for at your first quarrel she will throw up to thee that thou
art a quarrelsome man, as was shown by thy divorce from thy first
wife." Many thousands of unions were saved from impending rupture by
the efforts and urgings of Aaron, and the sons born to the couples
brought together anew usually received Aaron's name, owing, as they
did, their existence to his intercession. Not less than eighty thousand
youths bearing his name took part in the mourning for Aaron. [643]
When Moses beheld the deep-felt sorrow of the heavenly beings and of
men for Aaron, he burst into passionate weeping, and said: "Woe is me,
that am now left all alone! When Miriam died, none came to show her the
last marks of honor, and only I, Aaron, and his sons stood about her
bier, wept for her, mourned her, and buried her. At Aaron's death, I
and his sons were present at his bier to show him the last marks of
honor. But alas! How shall I fare? Who will be present at my death? I
have neither father nor mother, neither brother nor sister, - who then
will weep for me?" God, however, said to him: "Be not afraid, Moses, I
Myself shall bury thee amid great splendor, and just as the cave in
which Aaron lied has vanished, that none may know the spot where Aaron
is buried, so too shall no mortal know thy burial place. As the Angel
of Death had no power over Aaron, who died 'by the kiss,' so shall the
Angel of Death have no power over thee, and thou shalt die 'by the
kiss.'" Moses grew calm at these words, knowing at last that he had his
place among the blessed pious. Blessed are thy, for not only does God
in person gather them to Him, but as soon as they are dead, the angels
go joyously to meet them and with beaming faces go to greet them,
saying, "Enter into peace." [644]