Why Moses Assembled All Israel at the Tent for Aaron

"And assemble the whole congregation" (Leviticus 8:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Show him honor, so that all Israel may see that you show honor to the priesthood, and warn them, so that they not dispute the priesthood, just as Korah and his congregation disputed it and were swallowed up. And warn them with all your power, because Uzziah is destined to arise and dispute the priesthood, as it is said, "a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron draw near" (Numbers 17:5). He was not of the seed of Levi, just as Korah was, and he said he would offer incense, and Uzziah drew near to offer incense, as it is said, "And Uzziah was wroth, and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he raged with the priests, the leprosy broke forth in his forehead" (II Chronicles 26:19). Moses said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the universe, just as You made a mark upon Korah, so do to Uzziah. Immediately the leprosy broke forth in his forehead. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Just as I did with your hand when you said, "But behold, they will not believe me" (Exodus 4:1), I said to you, "Put now your hand into your bosom," and he took it out, "and behold, his hand was leprous as snow" (Exodus 4:6); and concerning this it is said, "that he be not as Korah and as his congregation" (Numbers 17:5), who disputed with Moses, "as the LORD spoke by the hand of Moses to him" (ibid.). Why did it need to say "by the hand of Moses"? It should have said "as the LORD spoke to Moses." Rather, it said "by the hand of Moses": just as Moses was smitten in his hand with leprosy, so everyone who contends against the priesthood is smitten with leprosy. Therefore the LORD said to Moses, "Assemble the whole congregation," so that you may warn them, and they will fear greatly. Another interpretation: "And assemble the whole congregation." He said to Him: Where shall I assemble them? He said to him: At the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: And you wonder at this? Come and see these heavens, how great they are, for all the earth is not, before the heavens, like a single mustard seed; and the eye sees only from the black within the black, and the heavens are contained within that black. And you say to Me, where can they gather? And not only that, but in the time to come I shall do thus: for all the multitudes that have been from the first man until the end of the world, all of them I must bring to life and bring them to the city of Zion. And how much can Zion contain? And they are destined to say, "The place is too narrow for me; give place to me that I may dwell" (Isaiah 49:20). And what do I do for them? I widen it, as it is said, "Enlarge the place of your tent" (Isaiah 54:2). And from where do you learn it? From Sinai. When the Holy One, blessed be He, was revealed upon it, what is written? "The chariots of God are myriads, even thousands upon thousands" (Psalms 68:18). Twenty-two thousand chariots descended with the Holy One, blessed be He, and each and every chariot was like that which Ezekiel, peace be upon him, saw. And Mount Sinai could not hold them, but it was a work of miracles. For the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the mountain: Widen and lengthen, that they may serve your Master; immediately it widened and received them all. So too in the world to come the Holy One, blessed be He, widens Jerusalem, as it is said, "and it grew wider and wound upward" (Ezekiel 41:7), until it reaches the Throne of Glory. And how do they ascend? The Holy One, blessed be He, makes for them clouds, and they ride upon the clouds, and He brings them up on high, as it is said, "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?" (Isaiah 60:8). And each and every one of the righteous has a canopy of his own, as it is said, "And the LORD will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies... for over all the glory shall be a canopy" (Isaiah 4:5). And when they reach the Throne of Glory, He says to them: I and you will walk in the world, as it is said, "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be My people" (Leviticus 26:12). And for the righteous He makes pathways, and the Holy One, blessed be He, sits in the midst, and they say to one another, "For this God is our God for ever and ever" (Psalms 48:15), because the nations were saying in this world, "Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted?" (Deuteronomy 32:37); therefore, "I am your God."