Though Moses was the greatest prophet and leader of the Jewish people, his older brother Aaron was by his side every step of the way. He towered in his own right.

Aaron was chosen by God to be the first High Priest and to this day his descendants are known as Kohanim, those who serve in the Temple.

When Moses died, it is written that the  people of Israel descended into a great, month-long period of mourning. But previously when Aaron passed, it is written that “all” of Israel cried for 30 days.

Why the extra word “all” when mentioning the mourners of Israel following Aaron’s death?

Moses was the only man who ever talked to God face to face and acted as an intermediary between the people and God.

But Aaron played a different role and when it was lost, it grieved ALL of the people deeply, especially the women.

Aaron was the intermediary between husband and wife.

Though he lived to serve God and his people, the service that set Aaron apart was his position as peace-maker between married couples.

Aaron had a crafty style:

When a couple was in the midst of an argument he would approach each partner separately. Aaron would tell them that he had spoken with their spouse and that they were desperate to resolve the disagreement and work it out. He would then approach the other partner and do the very same thing. Both partners, believing that the other was eager to reconcile, would then be disarmed and moved to make up with their estranged spouse.

Aaron’s little white lies prompted each partner to believe that the other was in pain over their distance and wanted to be close again. But it was more than that.

Aaron was a man of ultimate truth, serving God with all of his being. But he knew that truths between husband and wife are not absolute. They are fraught with complex emotion, subjectivity & misunderstanding. So Aaron told partial truths, because he knew that the only truth that mattered was one that brought love and closeness back into a marriage and home.

Aaron was a man so dutiful to God, but even more so to couples in pain. For that, he won ALL the hearts of the Jewish people.