And Aaron Was Silent

(1) Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the LORD alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. (2) And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the LORD. (3) Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD meant when He said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.” And Aaron was silent.​​​​​​​

The evil Titus entered the Holy of Holies, ripped apart its curtains, and was left intact, while Aaron’s sons entered to offer sacrifices and left as ashes!

(1) ‎‎ '‏וגו‎‎‎ 'הוא אשר דבר ה‎ THIS IS WHAT THE LORD SPOKE, etc. — Where had God spoken this? In the statement (Exodus 29:43), “And there I will be met by the children of Israel and it (the Tabernacle) shall be sanctified by My glory (בכבודי).” Read not here בִכְבוֹדִי, “by My Glory” but בִּמְכֻבָּדַי, “through My honored ones.” Moses here said to Aaron: “My brother, Aaron! I knew that this House was to be sanctified by those who are beloved of the Omnipresent God and I thought it would be either through me or you; now I see that these (your sons who have died) are greater than either of us!”

(2) ‎וידם אהרן AND AARON WAS SILENT — He received a reward for his silence. And what was the reward he received? That the subsequent Divine address was made to him alone and not to Moses also — for to him alone was spoken the section (vv. 9—11) dealing with those who are intoxicated by wine (see v. 8).

(1) Then Moses said to Aaron: “Do not mourn nor weep, and do not desist from carrying on with your priestly duties. What I am telling you, this is what the LORD meant when God said: 'Through those near to Me I show Myself holy' - I want to be sanctified by the High Priests, the ones who are “near” to Me and who perform the service for Me. I do not want that they should desecrate My name and My holy service by letting their private concerns take precedence.”

(2) and gain glory before all the people - This is the glorification of God’s Presence: seeing your sons die, yet ignoring your grief and continuing with the service of your Creator.

(3) And Aaron was silent - He desisted from his mourning, did not weep, and did not perform rites of mourning.

In my opinion, according to the plain-sense, there is no need for all this because [in another sense] God "said" God's decrees, and thoughts, and the matters of God's ways. And this "speech" is entirely like: "I said to myself," (Ecclesiastes 1:16) i.e. "I thought." ...So behold, what Moses really said in this verse was: "This is what the LORD meant when He thought to Himself, 'through those near to Me I show Myself holy so that my holiness will not be ruined, and I will gain glory before all the people so that they will behave respectfully in my Tabernacle.'" And the reason that Aaron was silent was that he was crying loudly and fell silent.

(16) Terror and dread descend upon them; Through the might of Your arm they are still as stone— Till Your people cross over, O LORD, Till Your people cross whom You have ransomed.

(12) For I have noted how many are your crimes, And how countless your sins— You enemies of the righteous, You takers of bribes, You who subvert in the gate The cause of the needy! (13) Assuredly, At such a time the prudent man keeps silent, For it is an evil time.